Satyajit Ray’s ‘Aparajito’ to be screened at 73rd Berlinale retrospective

Satyajit Ray classic spearheading its retrospective section and it is ‘Aparajito’, the second film in ‘The Apu Trilogy’ will be screened at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival.

According to the Times of India, besides ‘Aparajito, the rest of the four Asian films that will be screened in the retrospective are ‘Bag of Rice’ by Mohammad-Ali Talebi, ‘Cruel Story of Youth’ by Nagisa Ōshima, ‘Manila in the Claws of Light’ by Lino Brocka and ‘Typhoon Club’ by Shinji Sōmai.

The 1956 film is basically about Apu growing up and growing away from his mother. The highlight of the film is the mother-son relationship and the underlying conflict. The characterization of Apu and his mother is indeed a treat. When Ray started making ‘Pather Panchali’, he had no plans of following it up with a sequel. The critical and commercial success of the film prompted him to start making Aparajito. Unlike his previous venture, where he stayed faithful to the novel, Ray took some bold artistic decisions here, such as portraying the relationship between Apu and his mother in a very different manner from the book.

The film went on to win 11 international awards, including the Golden Lion and Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival, becoming the first ever film to win both. The critical acclaim ‘Aparajito’ received had encouraged Ray to make another sequel ‘Apur Sansar’ (1959), which was equally well received, and thus concluded one of the most critically acclaimed movie trilogies of all time. The Berlin International Film Festival will be back this February. The prestigious film fest also known as Berlinale to the world cinema will kick start from February 16 and will run till February 26.