The Gandhian Centre for Philosophical Arts and Sciences, MAHE organizes Film Master Satyajit Ray’s birth centenary

The Gandhian Centre for Philosophical Arts and Sciences, MAHE organizes Film Master Satyajit Ray’s birth centenary

Bengaluru, 13th Dec 2021: The Gandhian Centre for Philosophical Arts and Sciences (GCPAS), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal organized Satyajit Ray’s birth centenary. Satyajit Ray was an Indian filmmaker, writer and lyricist, considered one of the country’s greatest filmmakers. Ms Manaswini Srirangam compered the programme. Film writer Maithili Rao and many other film critics and writers were present during the programme.

Speaking at the event, Prof N Manu Chakravarthy, National Golden Lotus award-winning film critic, said, “Master filmmaker Satyajit Ray was prophetic about the problems arising out of certain kinds of globalization, capturing the ‘existentialist struggles’ of the middle classes in many of his films.”

Delivering the commemorative address, Prof Chakravarthy also said that Satyajit Ray anticipated the nature of capitalist globalization in many of his films such as Mahanagar, Nayak, Pratidwani, Seemabadh, etc.

Prof Chakravarthy also cited one of his dialogues, “Ray believed that a sense of justice and equality are better achievements of the modern age than man landing on the moon. Ray’s women characters are very strong and non-stereotypical ones; they provide a counterpoint to the dominant masculinist narrative”.

Critiquing those who are becoming willing partners in the process of dehumanized mindless globalization and related areas, Prof Chakravarthy cited Ray’s opinion, coming through his films, that one shouldn’t become wealthy on the misery and suffering of the people.

Speaking earlier, Prof Varadesh Hiregange (Head of GCPAS) said, “Ray captured ‘reality of his times in his cinematic mode of ‘realism,’ emerging as a class by himself, as a classicist producing classics and cutting across class barriers to be counted among masters of world cinema.” Prof Phaniraj said Satyajit Ray remains as a contemporary with his ‘humanism and modernism.

Imbibing the intellectual heritage of Rajaram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar, and of course Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi, Ray formed his views about colonialism, nationalism, women, education, modernity, war and peace, etc. which also reflected in his films such as Ghare Baire, Shatranj Ke Khiladi.