The reviews for Ray, the anthology from Netflix adapting four of the mighty Satyajit Ray's stories are out. Most reviewers find Ray to be disappointing.
When Subhash K Jha contacted Satyajit Ray's son Sandip Ray asking how deep his involvement with this project went, the gracious affable Sandip, also a film-maker of some renown, said, "My involvement with this project is nil."
"I mean, they (Netflix) did ask my permission to use my father's story, which I gave without hesitation. But after that, I was not consulted at all.
"The scripts for the stories were not sent to me for my approval. And no, I was not shown the final products."
When Subhash gently suggested that Sandip needed to exercise more creative control over his father's intellectual property, he replied, "Yes, you are right. From your response and you say the reviews are underwhelming, I feel I should have insisted on being more participative. Now it's too late, I guess. But let me tell you, I didn't like the promo at all."
Will Sandip watch the anthology? "Now I am scared to watch it. On the other hand, I am also curious to see what has been done with my father's stories."
In the meanwhile, Sandip is planning something major on his father to commemorate Satyajit Ray's centenary.
"I am waiting for the Covid crisis to recede before I start something. But I'm definitely doing something on my father," promises Sandip.
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
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