'Can't Imagine Pather Panchali Without Durga'

'After Pather Panchali, she became a housewife. She hated the spotlight. That was so strange and yet so admirable.'

When Uma Dasgupta, Satyajit Ray's Durga from Pather Panchali, passed away on November 18, the director's son Sandip Ray spoke on how the master creator selected Uma without any audition.

"She came to our Lake Avenue house with somebody whom my father knew. My father talked to her for a little while and she was cast. It's as simple as that," Sandip recalls to Subhash K Jha.

"No audition, nothing at all.

"My father treated both Uma and Subir Banerjee (who played Apu) as adults, you know. No chocolates, he never used to do that. He never pampered even his adults, no matter how big a star."

Sandip, unfortunately, is not in touch with Subir.

"It's very unfortunate. We had lost contact with Uma also. There were many occasions like anniversary celebrations. We always contacted her but she was very aloof. She didn't come most of the time. She was never interested in acting. After Pather Panchali, she became a housewife. She hated the spotlight. That was so strange and yet so admirable. She was impeccable as Durga, absolutely out of this world. What a presence!

"The strangest part is that she was not a professional actress. She only starred in one film but was so striking with her work. It takes a lot of guts with that kind of adulation to spurn all offers. It must have been very difficult. That height of excellence in her first film would have been impossible to match.

"I have faint memories; I was about two years old. After that, she didn't keep in touch. She became a recluse. She was very shy. We cannot imagine Pather Panchali without Durga."

Sandip agrees Pather Panchali is timeless.

"It just doesn't age. There is a certain universal resonance about it. My father was so satisfied with her (Uma's) work. He didn't tell her anything, just gave her basic instructions. And she did her job. An absolute natural. And there were no retakes at all."