Chennai: South Madras Cultural Association (SMCA) Durga Puja is bringing Satyajit Ray’s cineworld to life this year. A team of about 30 volunteers, mostly women, have painted nearly 85 stills from the Oscar award-winning filmmaker’s movies on canvas to adorn the pandal that has come up at Mantra Gardens, Nandanam Extension, Kotturpuram for ‘pujo’ that starts Friday.“Right from the main entry gate there will be glimpses of Ray’s film stills in various forms. There will also be a 3D wall featuring the famous train sequence of Apu & Durga from his first film, Pather Panchali (1955),” SMCA’s executive committee member Priyanka Saha told TOI.“The concept is by our members Saikat Mitra, Sandip Dey (secretary), Bhaskar Sain, Satyaki Mukherjee and Prodyot Bowmick (president). Last year, our theme was rural Bengal. We got Chhou dancers here, and seeing the success, we got very motivated, so we decided to adopt Ray as a theme this year. Besides, many among us are good at painting, so we thought why not? Everything at the pandal is handmade,” said Saha, who has been associated with this puja for more than eight years now.There will be a corner dedicated to Ray’s 1980 political satire, ‘Hirak Rajar Deshe’, too, with clay statues that have been made by Kishori Mohan Pal, who has come down from Kolkata, and set up shop in T Nagar to make idols this pujo season.“Evenings will see cultural performances by kids based on Ray’s stories and film music. Our member Sayantani is helming the musical ‘Maharaja Tomare Selam’, and I am directing a skit on Prof Shonku (fictional Bengali scientist & adventurer created by Ray in 1965),” Saha said.
