Gulzar on working with Satyajit Ray: Had brainstormed on songs together

As Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne reboot gears up for release, Gulzar on working with Satyajit Ray for Bengali gem's Hindi adaptation

Exactly 50 years after it left the audience spellbound with its fantasy world, Satyajit Ray's classic Goopy Gyne Baagha Byne has been reimagined in an animated version as Goopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya. The film is directed by Shilpa Ranade. Interestingly, the Bengali gem was to be remade in Hindi in the early '70s and would have marked the collaboration of two cinematic geniuses, Ray and Gulzar.

A still from the film

In a chat with mid-day, the celebrated writer-director recounted, "We [Ray and him] had worked extensively on the film. Together, we had brainstormed on the songs as well."

However, Ray dropped the idea as he felt that the film would lose its charm in translation. Gulzar rued that he did not get the opportunity to work alongside Ray in his almost six-decade career.

Satyajit Ray

"After the Hindi adaptation was shelved, I had again reached out to him to work on his Hindi film, Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977). [But] he had committed the film to someone else. I was unlucky that I did not get the chance to work with him. I remember his deep baritone and clarity of thought."

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