The absorbing story of how one of the greatest directors of our time began his film-making career 'Ray's fascinating account of how he made the (Apu) trilogy and how his passion for cinema was first kindled.' -India Today 'Written in an impeccable style it brings back memories of an era when film-making was an art born out of a love for the medium and not merely a means to make money. -Sunday Mail 'My Years With Apu prompts wistful thoughts of those other books, the other Ray masterpieces that remained unwritten at the time of the director's death.' -Indian Review of Books 'A swift, detailed, precise narrative...the story and its many links still retain, as a powerful myth of artistic genesis, their freshness, and may have acquired a new significance with the passing of time.' -The Telegraph

It is unusual to come across a life so rich in varied experiences as the one that Bijoya Ray, wife and constant companion to the renowned film-maker Satyajit Ray, has lived. Despite being closely related, Satyajit—‘Manik’ to his friends and family—and Bijoya fell in love and embarked on a life together years before Ray’s groundbreaking film Pather Panchali was made, and their long, happy married life lasted right until Ray’s death in 1992. Bijoya Ray never felt the urge to write her memoirs, but was finally persuaded to pick up the pen when she was well into her eighties. Manik and I brims over with hitherto unknown stories of her life with Satyajit Ray, told in candid, vivid detail.

Profiles the life of the Indian director, and discusses the making of each of his films

Frank and funny, these stories written originally for the Bengali children's magazine Sandesh, are an essential read for all Ray enthusiasts as well as those who want to know Ray, the writer and film-maker, better. In this volume, Ray also shares some of his experiences while shooting Pather Panchali—his epic debut, and subsequent films, particularly for children. He describes how an entire field of kaash flowers was eaten up by cows before he could shoot his famous scene with the train in Pather Panchali; and how a circus tiger let loose in a bamboo grove chased away a group of curious onlookers in the blink of an eye.

Pather Panchali placed Indian cinema on the world map in 1955: this is a simple statement of fact, no hyperbole. In the sixty years since, the movie has acquired cult status, and its sketchbook mythical proportions. Believed to have been forever lost after the film-maker donated it to the Cinematheque Francaise archives, the sketchbook is now available as a book, along with other fascinating and previously unseen material on the film: parts of the draft scenario, reviews, recollections, posters and illustrations. For film and Ray enthusiasts, this is a treasure trove, and for a whole new generation of filmgoers, including those who might not even have seen the film yet, it will reveal a process unfolding, a mind at work. As for connoisseurs of the graphic form, Ray's sketches are legend, and the novelistic qualities of this particular sketchbook have been the matter of intense discussion. As much a chronicle of the work of a genius as it is a handbook for aspiring film-makers, this collector's edition of The Pather Panchali Sketchbook is a must-have for every film lover's library.

"I can never forget the excitement in my mind after seeing 'Pather Panchali'", noted Akira Kurosawa. Satyajit Ray's three films about the boyhood, adolescence and manhood of Apu, Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956) and The World of Apu (1959) - collectively known as The Apu Trilogy - are established classics of world cinema. The Trilogy was the chief reason for Satyajit Ray's receiving an Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 1992, just before his death. This book by Ray's biographer and world authority Andrew Robinson is the first full study of the Trilogy. Robinson - who came to know the director well during the last decade of his career - covers the literary and cultural background to the films, their production, their music composed by Ravi Shankar, their aesthetic value, and their complex critical reception in the East and the West, from 1955 up to the present day. Extensively and beautifully illustrated and a pleasure to read, The Apu Trilogy will appeal to anyone captivated by the unique world created by Satyajit Ray.

Satyajit Ray, one of the greatest auteurs of twentieth century cinema, was a Bengali motion-picture director, writer, and illustrator who set a new standard for Indian cinema with his Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) (1955), Aparajito (The Unvanquished) (1956), and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) (1959). His work was admired for its humanism, versatility, attention to detail, and skilled use of music. He was also widely praised for his critical and intellectual writings, which mirror his filmmaking in their precision and wide-ranging grasp of history, culture, and aesthetics. Spanning forty years of Ray's career, these essays, for the first time collected in one volume, present the filmmaker's reflections on the art and craft of the cinematic medium and include his thoughts on sentimentalism, mass culture, silent films, the influence of the French New Wave, and the experience of being a successful director. Ray speaks on the difficulty of adapting literary works to screen, the nature of the modern film festival, and the phenomenal contributions of Jean-Luc Godard and the Indian actor, director, producer, and singer Uttam Kumar. The collection also features an excerpt from Ray's diaries and reproduces his sketches of famous film personalities, such as Sergei Eisenstein, Charlie Chaplin, and Akira Kurosawa, in addition to film posters, photographs by and of the artist, film stills, and a filmography. Altogether, the volume relays the full extent of Ray's engagement with film and offers extensive access to the thought of one of the twentieth-century's leading Indian intellectuals.

Satyajit Ray is acknowledged as one of the world's finest film-makers. His films changed the way the world looked at Indian cinema. But Ray was not only a film-maker. He was also a bestselling writer of novels and short stories, and possibly the only Indian film-maker who wrote prolifically on cinema. This book brings together, for the first time in one volume, some of his most cerebral writings on film. With the economy and precision that marked his films, Ray writes on the art and craft of cinema, pens an ode to silent cinema, discusses the problems in adapting literary works to film, pays tributes to contemporaries like Godard and Uttam Kumar, and even gives us a peek into his experiences at film festivals, both as a jury member and as a contestant. Published in association with the Society for the Preservation of Satyajit Ray Films, and including fascinating photographs by and of the master, Deep Focus not only reveals Ray's engagement with cinema but also provides an invaluable insight into the mind of a genius.

One of India's Finest Actors Talks His Most Iconic Roles Soumitra Chatterjee became internationally famous with his debut in Satyajit Ray's Apur Sansar. In an era when Uttam Kumar ruled the minds and hearts of Bengali film audiences, Chatterjee carved a niche for himself, emerging as one of the finest actors, not only in India, but also in the world. Beyond Apu - 20 Favourite Film Roles of Soumitra Chatterjee looks at the cinematic life of this thespian through twenty of the most iconic characters he has essayed. Handpicked by the star himself, and brimming over with vintage anecdotes, this is a fascinating read on the art and craft of a master at work. Including insightful essays on his theatre and other artistic achievements, this book not only introduces the reader to an icon of Indian cinema but also offers a unique insight into the mind of a genius.