SATYAJIT RAY’S THE ADVENTURES OF FELUDA SATYAJIT RAY: AN INTRODUCTION SATYAJIT RAY, (BORN MAY 2, 1921, CALCUTTA, INDIA—DIED APRIL 23, 1992, CALCUTTA), BENGALI MOTION-PICTURE DIRECTOR, WRITER, AND ILLUSTRATOR WHO BROUGHT THE INDIAN CINEMA TO WORLD RECOGNITION WITH PATHER PANCHALI (1955; THE SONG OF THE ROAD) AND ITS TWO SEQUELS, KNOWN AS THE APU TRILOGY. AS A DIRECTOR RAY WAS NOTED FOR HIS HUMANISM, HIS VERSATILITY, AND HIS DETAILED CONTROL OVER HIS FILMS AND THEIR MUSIC. HE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMMAKERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY. In 1940 his mother persuaded him to attend art school at Santiniketan, Rabindranath Tagore’s rural university northwest of Calcutta. There Ray, whose interests had been exclusively urban and Western-oriented, was exposed to Indian and other Eastern art and gained a deeper appreciation of both Eastern and Western culture, a harmonious combination that is evident in his films. Returning to Calcutta, Ray in 1943 got a job in a British-owned advertising agency, became its art director within a few years, and also worked for a publishing house as a commercial illustrator, becoming a leading Indian typographer and book-jacket designer. Among the books he illustrated (1944) was the novel Pather Panchali by Bibhuti Bhushan Banarjee, the cinematic possibilities of which began to intrigue him. (W. Andrew Robinson) The film took two-and-a-half years to complete, with the crew, most of whom lacked any experience whatsoever in motion pictures, working on an unpaid basis. Pather Panchali was completed in 1955 and turned out to be both a commercial and a tremendous critical success, first in Bengal and then in the West following a major award at the 1956 Cannes International Film Festival. This assured Ray the financial backing he needed to make the other two films of the trilogy: Aparajito (1956; The Unvanquished) and Apur Sansar (1959; The World of Apu). Pather Panchali and its sequels tell the story of Apu, the poor son of a Brahman priest, as he grows from childhood to manhood in a setting that shifts from a small village to the city of Calcutta. (W. Andrew Robinson) SATYAJIT RAY’S CINEMATIC VISION • RAY NEVER RETURNED TO THIS SAGA FORM, HIS SUBSEQUENT FILMS BECOMING MORE AND MORE CONCENTRATED IN TIME, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON PSYCHOLOGY RATHER THAN CONVENTIONAL NARRATIVE. HE ALSO CONSCIOUSLY AVOIDED REPEATING HIMSELF. AS A RESULT, HIS FILMS SPAN AN UNUSUALLY WIDE GAMUT OF MOOD, MILIEU, PERIOD, AND GENRE, WITH COMEDIES, TRAGEDIES, ROMANCES, MUSICALS, AND DETECTIVE STORIES TREATING ALL CLASSES OF BENGALI SOCIETY FROM THE MID-19TH TO THE LATE 20TH CENTURY. MOST OF RAY’S CHARACTERS ARE, HOWEVER, OF AVERAGE ABILITY AND TALENTS—UNLIKE THE SUBJECTS OF HIS DOCUMENTARY FILMS, WHICH INCLUDE RABINDRANATH TAGORE (1961) AND THE INNER EYE (1972). IT WAS THE INNER STRUGGLE AND CORRUPTION OF THE CONSCIENCE-STRICKEN PERSON THAT FASCINATED RAY; HIS FILMS PRIMARILY CONCERN THOUGHT AND FEELING, RATHER THAN ACTION AND PLOT. ( SATYAJIT RAY’S LITERARY CREATION FELUDA PROFESSOR SHONKU WATSON HOLMES NONSENSE VERSE TODAY BANDHA GHORAR DIM LEWIS CARROLL JABBERWOCKY MULLAH NASIRUDDIN BENGALI PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR BENGALI NOVELS INDIAN BENGALI FILM SATYAJIT RAY BALLYGUNGE KOLKATA WEST BENGAL INDIA BENGALI SANDESH SATYAJIT SUBHAS MUKHOPADHYAY FELUDAR GOENDAGIRI PERSONALITY OF FELUDA PRODOSH CHANDRA MITRA, POPULARLY KNOWN BY HIS NICKNAME FELUDA, FIRST APPEARED IN THE EPONYMOUS BENGALI SHORT STORY FELUDAR GOYENDAGIRI (DANGER IN DARJEELING) IN 1965.THE STORY, WRITTEN BY SATYAJIT RAY, WAS PUBLISHED IN SANDESH, A CHILDREN'S PERIODICAL FOUNDED BY RAY'S GRANDFATHER, UPENDRAKISHORE RAY CHOWDHURY AND EDITED BY RAY HIMSELF. IN THE FELUDA SERIES THAT FOLLOWED, HE WAS PORTRAYED AS A MAN OF AROUND 27 (BORN AROUND 1938) WITH A TALL (ALMOST 6'2"), ATHLETIC FIGURE. DESPITE BEING A STRONGLY BUILT MAN ADEPT IN MARTIAL ARTS, FELUDA RELIES MOSTLY UPON HIS SUPERB ANALYTICAL ABILITY AND OBSERVATION SKILL (JOKINGLY REFERRED TO AS THE MAGAJASTRA OR BRAIN-WEAPON) TO SOLVE CASES INSTEAD OF USING PHYSICAL STRENGTH OR WEAPONS. HE IS VERY CHOOSY ABOUT TAKING UP CASES AND PREFERS CASES THAT REQUIRE CEREBRAL EFFORT. HE POSSESSES A .32 COLT REVOLVER, BUT THE WEAPON IS USED VERY INFREQUENTLY AND MOSTLY FOR NON-VIOLENT PURPOSES. HOWEVER, CONTEMPORARY (2000S) MOVIES BASED ON FELUDA STORIES FEATURE SCENES OF VIOLENCE UNCHARACTERISTIC OF THE SERIES, WHERE FELUDA DEMONSTRATES HIS MARTIAL ART POWERS. FELUDA IS KNOWN TO BE A SKILLFUL SLEIGHT-OF-HAND, AND HE PUT THAT SKILL TO USE FOR SOLVING A COUPLE OF CASES. HE IS ALSO ADEPT AT DISGUISES. FELUDA OFTEN CALLS A MEETING WHILE SOLVING THE MYSTERY, WHERE HE CAJOLES THE CULPRIT INTO ADMITTING THEIR CRIME. FELUDA’S PERSONAL LIFE FELUDA IS OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY HIS COUSIN WHO UNOFFICIALLY IS ALSO HIS ASSISTANT TAPESH RANJAN MITTER (AFFECTIONATELY CALLED TOPSHE BY FELUDA), WHO SERVES AS THE NARRATOR OF THE STORIES. FROM THE SIXTH STORY, SONAR KELLA (THE GOLDEN FORTRESS), THE DUO ARE JOINED BY A POPULAR THRILLER WRITER JATAYU (LALMOHON GANGULI). IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE, FELUDA IS A COMMON BENGALI YOUTH WHO HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP BY HIS FATHER'S YOUNGER BROTHER (TAPESH/TOPSHE'S FATHER) AFTER HIS PARENT'S DEATH WHEN HE WAS ONLY 9. HIS FATHER, THE LATE JOYKRISHNA MITRA, USED TO TEACH MATHEMATICS AND SANSKRIT AT DHAKA COLLEGIATE SCHOOL. FELUDA HAD A JOB IN BANK BEFORE HIS DETECTIVE CAREER. HE FINDS AN AVID LISTENER IN HIS COUSIN TAPESH. ALSO, HE OFTEN USES HIS ORATORY SKILL AT THE CLIMACTIC SCENES TO CAJOLE THE CULPRIT IN CONFESSING HIS CRIME. HE IS AN EARLY RISER AND IS OFTEN SHOWN STARTING HIS DAY WITH EXERCISES AND YOGA. Contrary to his otherwise healthy lifestyle, Feluda enjoys smoking charminar cigarettes, exercising and chewing betel leaves. His favourite brand of cigarettes is Charminar. He is a connoisseur of delicious foods, popular music and movies, and books. He has a great appreciation for Sherlock Holmes and, according to the film Tintorettor Jishu, Bruce Lee. Like Sherlock Holmes, he has a voracious reading habit (reflecting that of Ray's own), which add up to his enormous general knowledge. This know-how often comes handy while socialising with people and unravelling mysteries. He always reads about the place he is visiting. He says it comes in handy sometimes. He is also fond of Tintin, specially his cousin Topshe is a fan of Tintin. Some of the Feluda stories and films have many references of The Adventures of Tintin. He is also a huge fan of the books by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay and Jim Corbett. Feluda has love and respect for Lalmohan Ganguly (Jatayu) and his fictional creation Prakhar Rudra is liked by Feluda. Feluda is protective and caring about his cousin, yet he always keeps picking mistakes or humor of or from Topshe. Topshe, the narrator, greatly admires his brother and loves to be with his adventures. Feluda has never shown interest in any woman, and there are very few female characters (except some minor like Topshe's mother). Some books in the Series of Adventures of Feluda includes: Danger in Darjeeling The Emperor's Ring Kailash Choudhury's Jewel The Anubis Mystery Trouble in Gangtok The Golden Fortress Incident on the Kalka Mail The Key A Killer in Kailash The Royal Bengal Mystery The Mystery of the Elephant God The Locked Chest The Bandits of Bombay The Mystery of the Walking Dead The Secret of the Cemetery The Curse of the Goddess The House of Death The Mysterious Tenant The Criminals of Kathmandu REFERENCES • • HTTPS://WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/BIOGRAPHY/SATYAJIT-RAY • HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/FELUDA • HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/SATYAJIT_RAY.