Satyajit Ray’s ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ to be screened at Cannes 2025

KOLKATA: After ‘Pratidwandi’ was screened in 2022, another classic by Satyajit Ray is headed to the Cannes Film Festival this year. This time, it’s ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’, which will be shown in the Cannes Classics section. The 1970 Bengali film, starring Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Subhendu Chatterjee, Rabi Ghosh, Kaberi Bose, Simi Garewal, Samit Bhanja and Aparna Sen, still enjoys a loyal fanbase among film lovers. Tagore, who played the cool and intellectual Aparna in the film, will attend the special screening at the French Riviera.

Interestingly, like ‘Pratidwandi’, ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ is also based on a story by veteran Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay. The film was even nominated for the Golden Bear at the 20th Berlin International Film Festival. The film, which has now been restored in 4K, was produced by Purnima Dutta. She was initially planning to attend Cannes but decided to stay back due to the current Indo-Pak tensions. “After ‘Pratidwandi’, this is our second Ray film to be screened at Cannes. I really wanted to go, but with everything going on, I feel like I should stay in the country. We come from an older generation, and we feel things a little differently. But we are thrilled about this. Hopefully, next time ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’ will make it to Cannes too,” she said.

Meanwhile, Film Heritage Foundation’s Shivendra Singh Dungarpur will join Tagore at the screening. This year’s Cannes Classics lineup also includes a pre-opening screening of Charlie Chaplin’s ‘The Gold Rush’ to mark 100 years since it was made, a 25th-anniversary screening of ‘Amores Perros’ by Alejandro G Inarritu with the director present, and a 50th-anniversary screening of ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. Quentin Tarantino will be the guest of honour at Cannes Classics this year, with a special tribute to George Sherman, known for his low-budget westerns.