I wouldn't mind taking a rest for three or four months, but I have to keep on making films for the sake of my crew, who just wait for the next film because they're not on a fixed salary.
Satyajit RayI don't understand these national awards, because half of those who sit in judgement over Indian films do not... possess the competence to evaluate a film correctly.
Satyajit RayIf the theme is simple, you can include a hundred details that create the illusion of actuality better.
Satyajit RayWell the Bombay film wasn't always like how it is now. It did have a local industry. There were realistic films made on local scenes. But it gradually changed over the years.
Satyajit RayParticularly in the final stages I always find that I'm rushed. It's dangerous when you're rushed in the editing stage, most of my early films are flawed in the cutting
Satyajit RayMy cameraman and I devised a method, which we started using from my second film, which applies mainly to day scenes shot in the studio, where we used bounced light instead of direct light. We agreed with this thing of four or five shadows following the actors is dreadful.
Satyajit RayCinemaโs characteristic forte is its ability to capture and communicate the intimacies of the human mind.
Satyajit RayMost of the top actors and actresses may be working in ten or twelve films at the same time, so they will give one director two hours and maybe shoot in Bombay in the morning and Madras in the evening. It happens.
Satyajit RayI've made seventeen or eighteen films now, only two of which have been original screenplays, all the others have been based on short stories or novels, and I find the long short story ideal for adaptation.
Satyajit RaySometimes a director is making three films. Perhaps he is shooting a film in Madras and a film in Bombay and he can't leave Madras as some shooting has to be done, so he directs by telephone. The shooting takes place. On schedule.
Satyajit RayI had developed this habit of writing scenarios as a hobby. I would find out which stories had been sold to be made into films and I would write my own treatment and then compare it.
Satyajit RayThe conception of background music is changing. You use less and less of it these days.
Satyajit RayYou cannot go beyond a certain limit in your expenditure if you want to bring back money from your local market, which is very small after Pakistan.
Satyajit RayIt was only after Pather Panchali had some success at home that I decided to do a second part. But I didn't want to do the same kind of film again, so I made a musical.
Satyajit RayMy films play only in Bengal, and my audience is the educated middle class in the cities and small towns. They also play in Bombay, Madras and Delhi where there is a Bengali population.
Satyajit RayThe only solutions that are ever worth anything are the solutions that people find themselves.
Satyajit RayAt the age when Bengali youth almost inevitably writes poetry, I was listening to European classical music.
Satyajit RayBicycle Thief is a triumphant discovery of the fundamentals of cinema, and De Sica has openly acknowledged his debt to Chaplin.
Satyajit Ray