The Odds Against Us

- Satyajit
Ray

Satyajit Ray
A glimpse through the achievements of the world
famous film- maker.

Satyajit Ray (1921 1992)

Satyajit Ray is an Indian film-maker who is

considered as one of the greatest film-maker
of the 20th century.
He was also a fiction writer, publisher, music
composer, graphic designer also a film critic.

Achivements

His first film Pather Panchali (1955) has won

eleven international prizes including the Best
Human Document at the 1956 Cannes.
Ray has received many major awards
throughout his Glorious Career including the
Bharat Ratna in the year 1992.

 The stamps in the memory of the legendary

film-maker.

 Satyajit Ray with his Oscar

Our Films, Their Films

(1966)
An Anthology Of Film Criticism by Satyajit Ray.

An
Anthology
OUR FILMS,

THEIR FILMS is a
collection of
writing by
Satyajit Ray.
It is mainly

aimed at the
differences of the
indigenous films
and the western
films.

The Odds Against Us

An extract from the Anthology Our Films, Their Films

Introduction
The

writer, Satyajit Ray, makes a note at the

beginning that the job of a director (or film-maker, as
he has described) is a tough one, which is not
publicized but the people have a vague awareness.
Then the writer takes us to the western block-busters.
They mostly consist of Battles or Wars, Mass Destructions (like earth-quakes, conflagrations, etcetera),
Orgies.
Also gives us a few movies as example such as :
Spartacus and War and Peace.
There are also made sets of huge sizes just for sake of
films.

Scenes of Mass Destruction

Earth-quakes

Conflagrations

Battles and Wars

Spartacus
(1960)
A film which
shows the
struggle of a
slave who rebels
against the
empire for his
freedom.
It is famous for
its huge
investments in
every manner.

War and
Peace
(1956)
This film depicts
the story of two
royal households
and describes
their relations
amidst the war
set at the early
19th century.

Sets for films

Some huge sets

The problems that we face..

Though the Hollywood has no deficit of men, money

and material; the case is completely different in the

case of the films made here.
Since we do not have these sufficient money,
market and the technical know how; we stick to the
intimate films though we have the interest in such
films.
The first was movie that was made by Satyajit Ray
had the tag of two years in the making but he
humorously reveals that it was mainly due to lack
of funds.
Every place has its own set of problems.

The writer begins as .

The Story is the main property of a film and

the director has to carefully select a proper

one, based on a few considerations :
(a) his affinity to the story.
(b) his belief that the story would make a
good film.
(c) consider the public view.

Story
The main property of the film.

The writer describes the

risks.
One cannot take a risk to work at the level of

Alain Resnais, a fashion aesthete.

Avant-gardism cannot be a risk to be
afforded at a place like this.
One should not be content with a minority
public.
One should have a strong hold on the budget.
One has to be very careful while dealing with
the intimate scenes.
One has to be careful and operate at a narrow
field and should avoid any political conflict.

Alain Resnais
(1922 2014)
A French filmmaker who is
famous for his
inventive and
innovative ideas
in film-making.
He is a recipient
of many awards.

The ultra-Victorian moral

conventions.
It is the dead weight of these conventions that

limits even the great directors to take refuge

in the tricks and devices.
The writer says that he would discard a story
rather than diluting a few scenes which would
spoil the ambience.

Writer's take on a Political

theme.
The writer discusses the possibility of making

a film on political theme and gives us a few

movies which have been a huge hit based on
the political theme such as ADVISE and
CONSENT, Dr. Strangelove and A Judgment
at Nuremberg.
The writer also says that any attempt to show
the injustice through a film would mostly be
taken in a negative sense.

Advise and
Consent
(1962)
An American
film with the
president as its
central role and
the work he has
done to save his
portfolio.
The drama
revolves around
the senate.

Dr.
Strangelove
(1964)
The story of a
man in the midst
of a war and the
turn of events
caused by him.

A Judgement
at Nuremberg
(1961)
The story of a
judge and his
Judgment which
has a great
influence on the
ongoing war and
its impact on
History.

Casting
The fi rst step in the process of Interpretation.

Casting
Everyone loves to play a lead role but what

about the roles which are minor like those of

common men, women, children, farmers,
shopkeepers, prostitutes and else.
Few of the roles are Pre-cast, so we need not
bother about searching for actors of such
roles.

Problems in casting...
We can find few actors, instantly with the

agents who have them already as extras.

But if we want new faces, we have to do a lot
of hard work.
We would even have to be ready to do things
we dislike.
The writer provides his experiences at the
brothel and the parties that he has visited.
There aren't sufficient number of professional
actors.

Writer's luck
The writer finds himself very lucky to have

finding actors like Chunibala Devi and Chhabi

Biswas.
The writer has found that Chunibala Devi was
a perfect person for the role of the old woman
in the movie Pather Panchali.
Ray has written many stories like Jalsa ghar,
Devi and Kanchenjunga on keeping Chhabi
Biswas in mind.

Chunibala
Devi
(1872-1955)
She is an Indian
actress, well
known for her
role as indira ( an
old aunt in Pather
Panchali).
She has got
praise the world
over for her role.

Chhabi Biswas
(1900 - 1962)
He is well known
for his roles in
the movies
directed by
Satyajit Ray.
He used to play
the
quintessential
aristocratic
patriarch.

The Business of Shooting.

The hardships that the film-making crew faces at the
time of shooting.

The problems faced while

shooting
The studios were completely outdated which

can be clearly understood through the

crevices and tatters.
The writer humorously adds family of
rodents which used to inhabit the very studio
where he used to shoot for.
The floor was pitted, the camera wasnt
proper.
The voltage drop when it was the dusk.

The writer ends it on a positive

note.
In spite of all these obstacles, the writer says

that it is within us , whether to make a film

well or bad.
This bareness of means is what makes us to
be economical and inventive, instead of going
for movies which are completely based on
technology and the action sequences.
And there is some excitement in creating
these masterpieces from nothing but
shoddiness and privation.
Yes. The writer is indeed happy through filmmaking.

Thank you.