Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray born to on May 2, 1921 a well known film director of India, has earned international recognition for his talent in film- making and direction. Best known for his ‘Pather Panchali, ‘Aparajto’, ‘Charulata’ and ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’, he has won awards at international film festivals in Venice, Cannes and Berlin. Ray used to compose music for his own films. He was also a story
writer, illustrator and book designer. Oxford University conferred on him an honorary Doctorate degree, an honour which very few people have received. In the present essay, taken from his book Our Films, Their Films, he examines the nature of our films and points out their defects. He is extremely critical of the quality of our film – making, direction as well as content..
Objective Question
1. In this lesson, the author compares Indian films with films.
(a) Korean
(b) Japanese
(c) Western
(d) Pakistani
Answer – C
2. The cinema ……… in various measures the function of poetry, music, painting, drama; architecture and a host of other arts, major and minor.
(a) combines
(b) destroys
(c) deletes
(d) rescues
Answer – A
3. Often by a queer process of reasoning ……… was equated with action and action with melodrama.
(a) movement
(b) producing
(c) acting
(d) direction
Answer – A
4. What our cinema need above everything else is a style, an idiom, a sort of ……… of cinema which would be uniquely and recognisably Indian.
(a) finance
(b) studio
(c) committee
(d) iconography
Answer – D
5. The raw material of cinema is……… itself.
(a) studio
(b) camera
(c) hall
(d) life
Answer – D
6. Who is the author of “What is wrong with Indian Films’?
(a) Satyajit Ray
(b) Mahadevi Verma
(c) Vidyapati
(d) Puran Singh
Answer – A
7. In which of the following international film festival Satyajit Ray received award ?
(a) Venice
(b) Cannes
(c) Berlin
(d) All of these
Answer – D
8. Ray used to compose ….. for his own films.
(a) Script
(b) Music
(c) Songs
(d) None of these
Answer – B
9. Which of the following film was produced by Satyajit Ray ?
(a) Pather Panchali
(b) Satranj Ke Khiladi
(c) Charulata
(d) All of these
Answer – D
10. Which of following university conferred on Satyajit Ray an honorary doctorate degree, an honour which very few people have received ?
(a) Cambridge
(b) California
(c) Oxford
(d) Peris
Answer – C
11. According to the author, which of the following commands the respect accorded to any other form of creative expression ?
(a) Music
(b) Literature
(c) Cinema
(d) Sports
Answer – C
12. In which year the first short film was produced in India ?
(a) 1907 A.D.
(b) 1919 A.D.
(c) 1925 A.D.
(d) 1947 A.D.
Answer – A
13. In Which year the first feature film of India was performed ?
(a) 1913 A.D.
(b) 1925 A.D.
(c) 1935 A.D.
(d) 1947 A.D.
Answer – A
14. According to the author, why are Indian films not shown abroad?
(a) India offers potential market for her own products
(b) Because Indian films are weak in quality
(c) Due to language problem
(d) None of these
Answer – A
15. What does the word ‘mysterious’ mean?
(a) Secret
(b) Impossible to Understand
(c) Hidden facts
(d) None of these
Answer – B
Subjective Question
1. Have average American films been a bad model? Give one reason.
Ans. Yes, the average American films have been a bad model because their life does not match to our life.
2. Have you seen any film recently?
Ans. Yes, I have seen one Indian film recently. Indian film has its own story. It is traditional. It teaches us a moral lesson. It goads a man on the path of progrese.
3. Mention one thing/feature which the Indian cinema needs..
Ans. According to Satyajit Ray, the Indian cinema needs a style, an idiom, which would be uniquely and recognisably Indian. It does not need the blind imitation of the American cinema.
4. What does the cinema combine?
Ans. The cinema is a form of creative expression. It combines in various measures the functions of poetry, music, painting, drama, architecutre and other art forms. It also combines the logic of science.
5. Which is the most potent and versatile art form?
Ans. There are various forms of art but the cinema is the most potent and versatile art form. The cinema is a potent art form because it has a large audience. It is a versatile art form because it has the qualities of several art forms.
6. Do Indian film-makers possess the primary tools of film-making?
Ans. Yes, Indian film-makers possess the primary tools of film making. The complaint of the technicians about the lack of modern mechanical devices is not justified. The available tools should be used intelligently.
7. What does Satyajit Ray say about the lack of maturity, in Indian films?
Ans. Satyajit Ray says that the lack of maturity in Indian films can be attributed to several factors. The producers blame the masses for the bad quality of Indian films. The technicians blame the tools and the directors blame the existing conditions for the lack of maturity in Indian films.
8.“Films are the mirrors of society.” Discuss.
Ans. The films mirrored the patriarchal system followed by the society. The late sixties and the 70s saw the emergence of parallel cinema along with films on teenage romance and those portraying the angry young man, the image of the youth of the time. So films are mirrors of society.
9. Where should the truly Indian film look for its material?
Ans. The truly Indian film should not imitate the American cinema. It should look for its material in the basic aspects of Indian life. It should depict habits. speech, dresses and manners of the common people of India. It must aim at a drastic simplification of style and content.
10. Write the name of any film which you like most with its salient features.
Or. Tell the name of any field do you like.
Ans. I am not a cinema fan but I seldom miss a good film. On Sunday last I went to see an old picture ‘Aashiqui’. The story was interesting and instructive. It gives woman their fair deal. The romances were clean, musical and bereft of any vulgarity. The film brought those audience back to the theatres, who had resigned themselves in front of the television.
11. What is the most dominant influence on Indian films?
Ans. The most dominant influence on Indian films is the technique of film production in Hollywood. Every phase of the American cinema has been reflected in Indian films. Stories based on the successful films of Hollywood have been written for Indian films.
12. Give a short account of the educative value of the cinema.
Ans. In the present era cinema has the most potent art form. It should be looked upon as a form of creative expression. It commands the respect given to any other form of educative expression. It combines the function of poetry, music, painting, drama and architecture.
13. Should cinema be looked upon as a form of creative expression? Give reasons.
Ans. Today the cinema combines the functions of poetry, music, painting, drarna and architecture. It also displays the features of other forms of art. Like the other forms of art, it is a powerful tool for creative expression. The producers and directors try to present their visions of life through their films.
14. What aspects of American films do our films imitiate ? Is it justified in our context?
Ans. we producers and directors of our films have been imitating the different aspects of Hollywood films for a long time. They imitate the stories and ideas of successful American films. They use the jazz music in the films which are based on Indian stories. It is not justified in our context.
15. Do you think Indian films have certain basic -weaknesses? Illustrate your answer, citing examples from the films you have seen.
Ans. A large number of films are produced in India every year but they have certain basic weaknesses. I watched a film ‘Ashiqui’
day. There are several causes of the lack of maturity of Indian films. They do not give a coherent dramatic pattern to a story. They depict melodrama. Their stories are often unrealistic,
16. “What our cinema needs above everything else is a style, an idiom, a sort of iconography of cinema, which would be uniquely and recognisably Indian.” How far this applies to Indian cinema today? Discuss.
Ans. It completely applies that our films lack the practical touch of life. They show films to be artificial. We have all Equipments and tools but we don’t use them properly. We need to broaden our views and make cinemas on global issues.