Manik Da: Memoirs Of Satyajit Ray
By Nemai Ghosh
()
About this ebook
Satyajit Ray, known to his intimates as Manik-da, remains India's most respected name in international film circles. This book reveals in its simplicity the ease and camaraderie between Satyajit Ray, one of India's finest film-makers, and Nemai Ghosh, photographer extraordinaire. Manik-da is the latter's endeavour to depict the man behind the director's mask. Ghosh first worked with Ray on Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, and Ray immediately found in him a kindred spirit who intuitively understood his requirements - and whom he understood. Thus was formed a partnership that spanned over a quarter of a century. In the process, Ghosh was able to photograph Ray at work and play, capturing on film the many moods of the master director. This nuanced and lucid translation from the Bengali original, which includes a perceptive Foreword by Sharmila Tagore, presents to the English reader Ghosh's thoughts on Ray with over fifty exquisite, never-before-seen photographs.
Nemai Ghosh
Nemai Ghosh is best known for his photographs of Satyajit Ray. He has exhibited at Cannes in 1991, at London in 1992, and several times at Calcutta and Delhi. He is the author of Faces of Indian Art: Through the Lens of Nemai Ghosh, Satyajit Ray: A Vision of Cinema (with Andrew Robinson), Satyajit Ray at 70 and Manik Da: Memories of Satyajit Ray.Sankarlal Bhattacharjee is a journalist,academic and author.
Related to Manik Da
Related ebooks
Jaane Bhee Do Yaaro Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Satyajit Ray's Ravi Shankar Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGulzar's Ijaazat: Insights into the Film Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMrinal Sen-60 Years In Search Of Cinema Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsManmohan Desai's Enchantment of the Mind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKhushwant Singh Best Indian Short Stories Volume 2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Directors' Diaries: The Road to Their First Film Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sahir Ludhianvi - The People's Poet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Yeh Un Dinoñ Ki Baat Hai: Urdu Memoirs of Cinema Legends Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Gandhian Affair: India's Curious Portrayal of Love in Cinema Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGulzariyat: Gulzar’s Songs: Discover What’s Beneath Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Main Shayar Toh Nahin: The Book of Hindi Film Lyricists Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gangs of Wasseypur Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Amitabh Bachchan: Reflections on a Star Image Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFreedom: My Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBless You Bollywood!: A Tribute to Hindi Cinema on Completing 100 Years Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMusic, Masti, Modernity: The Cinema of Nasir Husain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoments of Truth: My Life with Acting Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsColourful Notions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPure Evil: The Bad Men of Bollywood Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Adventures with Satyajit Ray: The Making of Shatranj Ke Khilari Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGulzar's Aandhi: Insights into the Film Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGulzar's Angoor: Insights into The Film Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReflection On Cinema Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMera Naam Joker Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeyond Apu - 20 Favourite Film Roles of Soumitra Chatterjee Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBollywood: A History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRaj Kapoor: The One and Only Showman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuru Dutt: An Unfinished Story: An Unfinished Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Personal Memoirs For You
I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything I Know About Love: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing into the Wound: Understanding trauma, truth, and language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Be Alone: If You Want To, and Even If You Don't Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Dream House: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Stolen Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Solutions and Other Problems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glass Castle: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: the heartfelt, funny memoir by a New York Times bestselling therapist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5People, Places, Things: My Human Landmarks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Yes Please Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Mercy: a story of justice and redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Choice: Embrace the Possible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bad Mormon: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Manik Da
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Manik Da - Nemai Ghosh
A Note from the Bengali Publisher
Bengalis are a sentimental people. They brim with emotion just as easily as they distance themselves from it.
As an example one may cite the case of a film-maker in the 1930s, Pramathesh Chandra Barua. He was a pioneer who raised the standard of Indian films from just a stagecraft to that of the very distinct art of the motion picture. If it had not been for his contribution, Bengali, for that matter even Indian cinema would not have been what it is today. However, many of Bengal’s so-called culture czars have not even heard of him or do not remember him.
A lot has been said and written about Satyajit Ray. Many papers have been published on him and his work both in India and abroad. This book is yet another attempt to understand and appreciate the genius that was Satyajit Ray, the man who brought Bengali cinema to the world stage.
Books on him that have been published abroad are beyond the reach of the ordinary Bengali reader. Keeping this in mind, this book has been priced so that it is accessible to the ordinary reader, without compromising on quality.
The author of this book, Nemai Ghosh, had a long-standing association with Ray, one that makes him a witness of his personal as well as working life. Ray has been immortalized in his camera. This book aims to share with its readers some unknown facets of the legendary film-maker, keeping his memory alive in the form of some rare and insightful photographs.
Maitrali Mukhopadhyay
Calcutta Book Fair, 2000
Author’s Note
During a recent session of our usual adda, Kanchana Mukhopadhyay was present while I was narrating how I switched over to photography from theatre, my first love, by virtue of being close to Manik-da. Thinking of the future generation she brought up a proposal to publish, on behalf of Bingsha Shatabdi, an album in Bengali containing some photographs and some reminiscences. Without any hesitation, I concurred immediately. I am sincerely grateful to her and to the publisher.
I have received help in many ways in preparing this album from Gautam Sengupta, Bikash Basu, Sanjay Sau, Ranjini Chattopadhyay, Soumik Nandi Majumdar, and Satyaki Ghosh. The christening is by Rituparna Ghosh. I am grateful to all of them.
I express my gratitude to my friend Shiladitya Sen who has unflinchingly helped in the process of shaping this book.
I am grateful to HarperCollins Publishers India for bringing out the book in English. I hope my humble effort reaches a wider readership through this endeavour.
Foreword
Sharmila Tagore
Ihave known Nemai Ghosh for a long time now. If you ask me to be precise about where and how we met, I haven’t the foggiest idea, but it feels like I have known him forever. What we had in common was Manik-da, who happened to be a mentor to both of us. Till such time that he met Manik-da, incredulous as it may sound, he had no knowledge of professional photography. Despite that, Manik-da decreed that Nemai Ghosh would be the official stills photographer for Aranyer Dinratri. Naturally, like many others, I too had my doubts, but of course no one dared oppose Manik-da. And once again how right Manik-da was and how wrong we were! As they say, the proof of the pudding is in eating, and the stills of Aranyer Dinratri were proof enough of the man’s sheer genius. What a perfect backdrop it was to begin with – the magical forest of Palamau, with its skeletal trees, must have been