Page 8 - Seniors Today - April Issue
P. 8
and newspapers after Pather Panchali
became famous across the world that I
began to sense that he was something more
than just my father. I found that he was
different from other fathers because of
the many letters he received from abroad
and the beautiful postage stamps would
fascinate me. Then, I was surprised to see
a flurry of white-skinned guests walking Sandip Ray
in and out of our home all the time. It was with my exams I will regret forever. One
something new for me. It gave me a feeling film I missed out the shooting of was Goopy
that perhaps my father was someone Gyne Bagha Byne and I could not go to
important,” he says smiling. Rajasthan where the climax was shot as I
“Another strong memory is the party had my exams. My mother remained beside
scene father shot for Parash Pathar where me because she was in charge of punishing
every big star of Bengali cinema featured me, taking care of my studies, my diet and
as guest artists. I did not know nor was everything else so I do not recall ever being
I interested in the actors or in the party scolded by my father. The other location
scene. What pulled me was the camera shoot I missed out on was Aranyer Din
placed high on a crane where my father sat Ratri shot in Daltongunje as my exams were
with the cinematographer Subrata Mitra round the corner. But one location trip I
and the crane went up and down, up and truly enjoyed was the recce trip we had in
down many times and I wondered how the the deserts of Rajasthan—to Jaisalmer,
it was done. So, having been brought up where we went location hunting for Sonar
literally within an ambience of film-making Kella much before it was opened to tourists.
directly, it never ever occurred to me to When we went there for the first time, a
practice any vocation other than making railway line was just being laid and there
films,” he smiles. Since his father would were no hotels either. But it was great fun
be totally focused on the shoot, Sandip and in fact, all these recce tours were fun
was befriended and taken care of by the tours for me.”
members of every film team and literally By this time, Sandip had become the still
grew up with them though they were much photographer for the unit and the film his
older than he was. He developed an interest father was working on. “I began the work
in photography which brought him in from the time he did Pratidwandi and I
closer proximity with his father when the thoroughly enjoyed clicking the production
latter was right into filmmaking. stills that included my father as he worked.
“Baba was such a rooted family man that My father had bought me a still camera
he would go on location with all of us – my from Japan, the same model Kurosawa used
mother, my grandmother, one maternal but for this film, my name did not appear
aunt and me. He organised the shoots in the credits of the film. That made me
to coincide with my school vacations in sad but also happy because I was really
summer, Durga Pooja and winter. The doing something along with my father. I
shootings I missed because they clashed became the official still photographer for
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