Yuka Okuda, a Rabindrasangeet performer, delivers a talk on Ray’s ‘Charulata’.

All seats look taken in a mediumsized Tokyo theatre on an Aug evening in the Japanese summer. The audience listens rapt to a woman sitting on stage, framed by the movie screen behind her. Clearly, it’s not just another screening, but then, neither can the topic be called usual for this part of the world. For the woman on stage is discussing Rabindrasangeet, and the context is ‘Charulata’, maestro and auteur Satyajit Ray’s 1964 masterpiece, one of the seven films that were shown last year in Japan as part of a retrospective of his works.

The lineup — featuring ‘Jalsaghar’ (1958), ‘Mahanagar’ (1963), ‘Charulata’ (1964), ‘Kapurush’, ‘Mahapurush’ (both 1965), ‘Nayak’ (1966), and ‘Jai Baba Felunath (1979) — earning their first theatrical release in Japan, spans a two-decade arc of some of Ray’s most memorable films. The films were also made available on VOD and home video with Japanese subtitles. The demand has grown to the point that these films are set for a Blu-ray release in March.

To Sandip Ray, filmmaker and Ray’s son, however, none of this is surprising. After all, it was the Japanese film great Akira Kurosawa who’d said, “Not to have seen the cinema of Satyajit Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.”

Sitting in his Lake Temple Road residence in Kolkata, he recalled the role of a Japanese distributor, Toho-Towa Co. Ltd, founded in 1928 by film pioneer Nagamasa Kawakita, and said Kawakita’s wife, Kashiko Kawakita, was a Ray admirer.

“She was very close to our family and a die-hard Satyajit follower right from the start,” he said. When Ray first visited Japan, it was Kashiko who arranged a meeting between Ray and Kurosawa in 1966. “I think till the 80s, they distributed all of Baba’s films in Japan. The films must have done good business. Otherwise, why would she ask about new films every year?” said Sandip Ray.

The seven restored titles began their theatrical run on July 25 at Le Cinema Bunkamura in Tokyo. The retrospective was to run for three weeks, but a further week was added due to the demand. “The films were not only screened in Tokyo, but in cities like Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, etc, covering 15-20 cinemas nationwide,” said Varsha Bansal, who helmed the restorations of the Ray classics produced by her grandfather, R D Bansal.

The screenings were paired with discussions and talks. If film researcher and producer Eri Morinaga spoke after ‘Mahanagar’, Asian cinema researcher Tamaki Matsuoka delivered a talk following a screening of ‘Jalsaghar’. Yuka Okuda, a Rabindrasangeet performer and Bengali language instructor, led a session after a ‘Charulata’ screening. “I offered some reflections on the impact of the Rabindrasangeet in the film... Some in the audience said they wanted to watch the film again. It made us realize all the more that Ray’s cinema is a deeply layered and magnificent creation,” Okuda told TOI.

A Tokyo theatre that took part in the retrospective

I have quite a few favourite places when it comes to holidays, but Japan tops the list, followed by England. My first solo trip was to Japan. I went to Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. I didn’t know the language, but the trip turned out to be incredible. It’s a very safe country for solo female travellers, and I never felt unsafe or uncomfortable.

I met wonderful people, stayed in guest houses and hotels, and ate interesting food. People were helpful when I felt lost. It’s a country that’s super punctual, so if a train is late, they would apologize for the delay and give a valid reason. I met an Indian guy in Kyoto and we became good friends. He got me a thermos full of chai and a dabba of parathas.

I find the energy of London to be reminiscent of Mumbai. You can roam around alone, and I would go jogging to Hyde Park. In India, I love Kashmir and it is the wonderland of India. I remember waking up to a snow-clad vista in Gulmarg. I have never seen a more beautiful place.

I always have an itinerary in place when I’m travelling. I love eating, skiing, walking… it’s best to see a city on foot – just wear comfy shoes and clothes, and walk. That’s how I explored Paris.

A week ago, Chandan Roy Sanyal, who was at the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of his film, Island City, was informed that filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta wanted to make a Bengali film with him titled Tope. “We did a Skype chat. I absolutely loved the narration. It's about a 35-year-old postman in a small village in Bengal, Purulia. It's a great script, something very different from what I do in Mumbai and working with Buddhadeb sir too is a big incentive,“ says Chandan.

His favourite Dasgupta film is Tahader Katha, which bagged his idol, Mithun Chakraborty, a National Award. Tope kicks off on October 7 with a 20-day schedule. “I am reading up on Indian news services and the postmen in particular as a part of my prep,“ says Chandan. It took him back to the letters he wrote to his uncle in Bahrain as a child. “All of us from the family would write in the same letter,“ he adds. Adding on his role as a postman, he says, “I loved Rajesh Khanna's role as a postman in Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein; the uniform, bicycle, bagful of letters, cap and all.“

Chandan has directed a short film after the critically acclaimed Hiroshima, titled 35 mm. It's a 25 minute film with five minutes of dialogue. “It's a love story between a director and an actress. We are into post-production now,“ he smiles.

Why do we see so little of you?
This is something that is not in my hand, but it also in my hand in a way because you get I offered a few scripts and you choose fewer because you want to do a certain kind of cinema and do it right. I believe there's a long way to go and rather than spending my time doing something I won't enjoy doing or people won't enjoy watching, I should spend my time doing something worthwhile.

You have an Honours degree in Mathematics. How did acting happen?
Acting happened by chance. I come from a lower middle class family from Delhi and my growing up years was a little difficult. Then I came across literature, read up on existentialism and then ventured into theatre. Theatre had a balming effect on me. It became my catharsis and inspiration to acting. Acting gave me happiness.

Your parents didn't approve of you becoming an actor. Have they made peace with it now?
My parents disapproved of it but when they started seeing me on screen, they sort of understood it. But they still don't get it that you don't have to step out everyday and go to work because if my mother calls and I'm at home, she's like 'what are you doing at home'.

You are playing the antagonist in Jazbaa. How was it working with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan?
When Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam released, I was in school and watched it so many times. It gave me so much happiness. When I see myself standing in front of her and she comes up to me and says, 'Hello Chandan, I saw you in Kaminey and you were amazing,' it's such a joy. In fact there was a scene where I had to strangle her and when I told her that it was such an irony that I am with the world's most beautiful woman and I need to strangle her, she started laughing.

You turned filmmaker with Hiroshima. How was the experience?
It makes you grow as a human being and as an actor. What you realise is that so much goes on behind the camera. From the writing to casting to execution to sound, and I did it all and I came up with that 6 minute film.

You have done a lot of dark, off beat roles. Ever plan to do something mainstream?
I would love to do mainstream but the kind of fabric one needs to be in those films, it has to fit me well. I don't want to make a fool of myself because the audience these days are very intelligent. They'll look at me and say, 'bik gaya yeh.' For me Kaminey and D-Day were commercial, but there was also something artistic about them. I'm trying to find the middle line.

One actress you would love to work with...
Waheeda Rehman because I am a sucker for old world charm. During the day I am always listening to 50s Hindi music from Shankar Jaikishen to Raj Kapoor, so I am always in that zone and she's the only one left from that era.