The appeal and popularity of Satyajit Ray’s vast and prolific filmography has only grown through the decades, finding audiences across the world at screenings in diverse centres, whether big or small. Recently, six of the auteur’s films — Charulata, Mahanagar, Nayak, Joy Baba Felunath, Mahapurush and Kapurush — were screened at the Tirana International Film Festival, becoming the first Ray films to be screened in Albania.

“Satyajit Ray is an auteur known all over the world, across generations. But to have his films being screened and appreciated in even the lesser-known countries of the world is very heartening. Most people know where Albania is, but not many are aware of the Tirana International Film Festival, which has paid homage to Ray. But in fact, it’s a very well-known festival in Europe and has got the stamp of the Academy Awards,” Varsha Bansal of RDB & Co, which has produced these six films, told t2.

They were recently screened at the festival’s retrospective section, titled ‘RetrospecTIFF’, which introduces new audiences to the most prominent national or international filmmakers in history. Last year, the fest paid homage to the Finnish film director and screenwriter Aki Kaurismäki.

These films were produced by R.D. Bansal, Varsha’s grandfather, and the production house — which has put its muscle and money into as many as 40 films since the 1960s — has taken on the responsibility of not only preserving these Ray classics but also screening them across the world. “In the last two years, our Ray films have gone to the smallest and the biggest of festivals around the world. Besides festivals, we show these films at museums and cinematheques around the world,” said Varsha.

Varsha Bansal

Traditionally, according to Varsha, Charulata is the Ray film which has the maximum number of takers, followed by enquiries for Nayak. “If there is a children’s festival, Joy Baba Felunath has a lot of demand,” said Varsha.

Before they were sent out to audiences across the world, the six classics had to be digitally restored, a feat that was accomplished eight years ago. “They were in the analogue form and to maintain them over so many decades was a challenge and also very costly. When these prints lie around in a godown, there will be an inevitable deterioration. Luckily, my grandfather had the vision to store these precious master prints in an air-conditioned room. We also had some negatives in different labs. It wasn’t very organised at that time because awareness was less than now. We somehow managed to acquire the prints, we got rid of the scratches, we redid some frames and the restoration process took place. The basic challenge was the poor quality of the raw materials,” said Varsha.
The negatives of these films are now with the Austrian Academy.

With increasing demand for these films and with the aim to reach as many people as possible, RDB & Co plans to use its wide distribution network to take Ray to the world. “With these films, our aim is to reach the widest audience possible. It’s not a money-making venture for us,” signed off Varsha.