Wes Anderson Spearheaded Restoration project ‘Aranye Din Ratri’ at Cannes Classics

Undoubtedly one of the finest visionaries of Indian Cinema who pioneered the way films progressed and will be received in future, never wearing away from the daring content in his films, Satyajit Ray is truly India’s Gem. This year, the Cannes Film Festival will be screening or revamping one of Ray’s prolific works, ‘Aranye Din Ratri’, thanks to Wes Anderson’s efforts into restoring the classic. 

With extraordinarily meticulous efforts from the team that comprises Wes Anderson from the Film Foundation founded by another ace director Martin Scorscese, Film Heritage Foundation, Janus Films and the Criterion Collection funded by Golden Globe Foundation. The team worked in harsh situations and factors including the 2020 Pandemic, through which Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, director of Film Heritage Foundation travelled from Mumbai to Kolkata to obtain the original campaign and sound negatives, preserved with love by Producer Purnima Dutta. 

“The restoration of ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ has been an incredible journey from Kolkata to Cannes that has taken almost six years,” Dungarpur told Variety, as he recalls his risky travel despite strict travel restrictions and receiving consent from the producers to restore and ship to L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna. 

“Anything signed by Satyajit Ray must be cherished and preserved; but the nearly-forgotten (Aranye Din Ratri) ‘Days and Nights in the Forest’ is a special/particular gem,” says Wes Anderson who also shared the features and the sheer depth of story written by Satyajit Ray in the 1970s that discussed about class and caste distinctions that found its way slipping to gender discriminations and the contrast between urban and rural movement. 

In his very own fashion, Satyajit Ray has carved each of his characters into complexities and broken down the movie into a masterpiece, a piece of art that is so profound even for today’s world. Wes Anderson also recalls and resonates with the figures, sharing, “Selfish men and their hopes and cruelties and spectacular lack of wisdom. Women who see through them. The great Soumitra Chatterjee: lost but searching. The great Sharmila Tagore: mysterious, cerebral, mesmerizing. From the master, another masterpiece.”

The restoration process took 6 years at a specialised facility L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy. With an closed eyes of Mr. Dungarpur who maintained the authenticity and fidelity of Ray’s visuals. Sandip Ray, the son of Satyajit Ray who was also involved with the restoration process and in reviewing its core features. 

‘Aranye Din Ratri’ features a talented ensemble cast including Sharmila Tagore, Kaberi Bose, Simi Garewal, Soumitra Chatterjee, Shubhendu Chatterjee, Rabi Ghosh, Samit Bhanja, Pahari Sanyal, and Aparna Sen.