A collection of essays on films written by Satyajit Ray between 1948 and 1973. Among these 25 essays, 11 are on various aspects of Indian films (especially the Bengali ones) and the rest are about non-Indian films. He discusses the various weaknesses of Indian films, the problems an Indian especially a Bengali director faces while making a film, and their possible solutions. Some anecdotes about his coming to films leaving graphic designing and about some of his own films are interesting. There are two essays concerning Akira Kurosawa and his films, one concerning John Ford's films, one essay on Charlie Chaplin's autobiography, and yet another on the biography of Hitchcock by Truffaut. One essay is a sort of short survey of non-Indian films. One gets few glimpses into shots which ultimately go into making a complete film from a quite new perspective, a director's or should we say the film-author's perspective. The shot about flying of pigeons in "Aparajito" was actuated through bursting bombs! Certainly one starts viewing films with a fresh and critical turn of mind.
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