Today is Satyajit Ray's 100th birth anniversary
Satyajit Ray's 100th birth anniversary is being commemorated today. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took to Twitter and paid tribute to the legendary director. "Tribute to Satyajit Ray, legendary filmmaker, writer, composer, lyricist, illustrator, on his birth centenary. He is not only the pride of Bengal but also India and the whole world. He is an inspiration to people around the globe,'' Mamata Banerjee wrote on Twitter. It's a crucial day for West Bengal as the state awaits the Assembly election results. Many of Satyajit Ray's admirers have been tweeting iconic lines from his films.
Mamata Banerjee began her tribute with one of the famous lines of Satyajit Ray's musicals - Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne' - Maharaja Tomare Selam (Salute to the King).
Paying its homage to Satyajit Ray, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will organise a year-long centenary celebrations. As part of the celebrations, several departments of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting like Directorate of Film Festivals, Films Division, NFDC, NFAI, and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata are planning a series of activities.
Commemmorating the birth centenary of Satyajit Ray, the Ministry of Culture, posted a montage of clippings from the filmmaker's most memorable films including the Apu Trilogy.
In a poignant tribute, the US Consulate in Kolkata wrote on the microblogging site, "...As we struggle through this pandemic, now might be the perfect time to re-watch Ray's poetic films."
The Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata will be unveiling a statue of Ray on his birth centenary. A compendium of Satyajit Ray's works for children that can be given to schools is also being developed.