Boshonto Family

Media, arts and public life


The character Apu (Apu Nahasapeemapetilon) of the Simpsons is said to be named as a homage to the Apu trilogy...Ray, along with Madhabi Mukherjee, was the first Indian film personality to feature in a foreign stamp (Dominica)...

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In early 1980, Ray was openly criticized by an Indian M.P., Nargis Dutt...A former film heorine in mainstream Hindi films, Nargis accused Ray of exporting poverty, and demanded he make films to represent "Modern India"...This was of course contrary to the common acquisition against him in West Bengal, which was that he was not "committed" to the cause of the downtrodden...The marxist commentators thought he glorified poverty in Pather Panchali and Asani Sanket through, respectively, its lyricism and beautiful colors. They also accused him of providing no solution (marxist or otherwise), and being unable to overcome his bourgeoisie background. During the naxalite movements on 1970s, this came close to causing physical harm to his son, Sandip, though not himself. In a related public debate during the 60's, Ray and the overtly political Mrinal Sen got mired in a brawl. Mrinal Sen accused him for casting a matinee idol like Uttam Kumar (which he considered a compromise), while Ray shot back by saying that Sen only attacks "easy targets" (the Bengali middleclass).

Ray, for a director of his stature, was accessible to a degree that has astonished many visitors and both of his biographers. He always opened his door and had time for anybody. In fact weekends would see totally unacquainted people coming and chatting with him and expressing their admiration. Ray however was averse to public speeches and interviews and took part in very few of those. His private life was also uncomplicated and never under media scrutiny. In his last version of his biography of Ray, however, Robinson has made a reference to his alleged affair with Madhabi Mukherjee in 1960s (Robinson calls Mukherjee Ray's "unrequited love"). Overall, he remained a cultural icon for the Bengalis, the release of each of his films widely expected and extensively discussed. When he died in 1992, the city of Calcutta came to a virtual standstill, as hundreds of thousands of people gathered around his house to pay him their last respect.

source: wikipedia.com

Feluda

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The CharactersFeluda is a private detective whose character is strongly based on famous fictional sleuths like Sherlock Holmes (in the story Feluda in London, he actually pays a visit to Baker Street to pay tribute to his 'guru')...Most of his stories end in a gathering of all the relevant characters and from among them Feluda dramatically picks out one person and reveals that that person is the culprit...His real name is Pradosh Chandra Mitterand is always accompanied in his exploits by his assistant Topshe (his cousin - Tapesh Ranjan Mitter), and Lalmohan Ganguly, usually described as Lalmohan Babu (who writes with the pseudonym of Jatayu), a bumbling writer of pulp crime fiction...Tapesh or Topshe, based on Sherlock Holmes' Watson, is the quintissential accomplice...He faithfully records each adventure thoroughly and is unstinted in his praise of Feluda's powers...Though Feluda often teases and makes fun of his young companion (in the way older brothers and cousins do), he is extremely fond of Topshe and is very protective of him...Lalmohan babu is a popular writer of Bengali crime thrillers (whose main character is always the six-and-a-half foot tall superman Prakhar Rudra)...Though all his novels seem to have become huge hits, he often tends to make extremely silly mistakes such as describing igloos as ilgoos (In Baksho Rahasya or A mysterious case)and confuse hippos with walruses - a tendency that Feluda often tries to correct (with a lot of teasing in between)...He serves as a perfect foil to the group and in Ray's own words provides "dollops of humour".

Sidhu Jyatha is an aged character...He is a bibliophile and has an extensive base of general knowledge and current events...He is a close friend of Feluda's father, as they were neighbours in their ancestral village... Feluda calls him uncle...He is said to have a photographic memory and is a readymade source of information when Feluda is in need of some... His vast knowledge comes from his collection of varied kinds of newspaper clippings which he has accumulated over the years...

Maganlal Meghraj, a character that appears in several of Feluda's stories...He is one of the challenging bad guys Feluda had to deal with quite a few times...Utpal Dutt immortalized this character in one Feluda movie Joi Baba Felunath, which Satyajit Ray directed...



source: wikipedia.com

Fictions Satyajit Ray wrote thirty-five Feluda stories, most of which were extremely popular among Bengali children as well as adults.

Some of the stories were published in hard-cover editions, while some stories were published as a collection with other new stories. Some stories also appeared in the short story collections of Ray, which characteristically used to contain 12 short stories, including a few featuring Feluda.

Every year a new Feluda adventure appeared in the special Autumn edition or Durgapuja edition of the Bengali periodical - Desh.

Lately, a series of Feluda collections have also been published,containing several stories in a single title.

Following is a list of hard cover edition books with some details:

• Badshahi Angti (The Emperor's Ring), Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1969. Sandesh, 1966
  
• Gangtokey Gandagol (Trouble in Gangtok). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1971. Desh, Autumn Special, 1970
  
• Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1971. Desh, Autumn Special, 1971.
  
• Bakso Rahashya (A Mysterious Case). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1973. Desh, Autumn Special, 1972
  
• Kailashey Kelenkari (A Killer in Kailash). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1974. Desh, Autumn Special, 1973
  
• Royal Bengal Rahashya (The Royal Bengal Mystery) Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1975. Desh, Autumn Special, 1974
  
• Joi Baba Felunath (The Mystery of the Elephant God). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1976. Desh, Autumn Special 1975
  
• Feluda and Co. Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1976. Containing : Bombaiyer Bombete (The Buccaneers of Bombay) (Desh, Autumn Special 1976), Gosainpur Sargaram (The Mystery of the Walking Dead) (Sandesh, Autumn Special 1976)
  
• Gorosthaney Sabdhan (Trouble in the Graveyard). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1979. Desh, Autumn Special, 1977
  
• Chhinnamastar Abhishap (The Curse of the Goddess). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1981. Desh, Autumn Special 1978
  
  
  
  

*continued*

• Hatyapuri (The House of Death). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1981. Desh, Autumn Special 1979
  
• Jato Kando Kathmandutey (The Criminals of Kathmandu). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1982. Desh, Autumn Special, 1980
  
• Tintorettor Jishu (Tintoretto's Jesus). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1983 Desh, Autumn Special 1982
  
• Feluda One Feluda Two. Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1985. Containing : Ebar Kando Kedarnathey (Crime in Kedarnath) (Sandesh, 1981), Napoleon er Chithhi (Napoleon's Letter) (Desh, Autumn Special 1984)
  
• Darjeeling Jamjamat (Danger in Darjeeling). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1987. Desh, Autumn Special 1986
  
• Double Feluda. Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1989. Containing : Apsara Theatre er Mamla (The Case of the Apsara Theatre) (Sandesh, Autumn Special 1987), Bhuswarga Bhayankar (Peril in Paradise) (Desh, Autumn Special 1987)
  
• Nayan Rahashya (The Mystery of Nayan). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1991. Desh, Autumn Special 1990
  
• Feluda Plus Feluda. Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1992. Containing : Golapi Mukta Rahashya, (The Mystery of the Pink Pearl) (Sandesh, Autumn Special 1989), London ey Feluda (Feluda in London) (Desh, Autumn Special 1989)
  
• Baksa Rahashya (A Mysterious Case). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1994 (with an audio cassette of a dramatization)
• Robertson er Ruby (Robertson's Ruby). Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1994, Desh, Autumn Special 1992
  
  

some Feluda Cartoons: