Sukumar Ray

1987, India. Documentary, 30 min, Color

Summary

The film presents the life and work of the writer Sukumar Ray, Satyajit Ray’s father. Ray made this film as a tribute to celebrate the centenary of his birth. The film comprises still photographs and readings from Sukumar Ray’s writings.

Comments

Sukumar Ray (1887-1923), the eldest son of Upendra Kishore and Satyajit Ray’s father, studied printing technology in England and joined the family business. He was an eminent poet, writer and illustrator of nonsense literature in the tradition of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear.

Sukumar Ray fell ill the year Satyajit Ray was born with a dreaded tropical disease of the time – Kala-azar. He regularly contributed poems, stories and illustrations to ‘Sandesh’, a children’s magazine in Bengali which Satyajit Ray’s grandfather had started publishing and printing.

Credits

Producer:Govt. of West Bengal
Screenplay & Direction:Satyajit Ray
Narration:Soumitra Chatterjee
Cinematography:Barun Raha
Editing:Dulal Dutta
Art Direction:Ashoke Bose
Sound:Sujit Sarkar
Music:Satyajit Ray

Cast

Soumitra Chatterjee, Utpal Dutt, Santosh Dutt, Tapen Chatterjee
Sukumar Ray and wife
Sukumar Ray and wife ©Ray Family
Sketch by Sukumar Ray © Ray Family
Sketch by Sukumar Ray © Ray Family
Sketch by Sukumar Ray © Ray Family