Aparajito: New controversy surfaces over Anik Dutta’s epic film on Satyajit Ray

Earlier, controversies over logo design and the actor selection process also took place

Jeetu Kamal in Aparajito

Anik Dutta’s Aparajito has been one of the biggest hits in the Bengali film industry in 2022. Featuring Jeetu Kamal in the lead as Aparajito Ray – a character based on Satyajit Ray – the film delves into the filmmaker’s journey of making Pather Panchali. Despite its success, controversies followed the film. On Saturday, a new debate surfaced on the internet. This came after the film and the makers dealt with controversies over its logo design and depiction of casting other actors. However, this time the cause is a particular scene in the movie.

In one sequence in the film, the central character Aparajito Ray is dreaming of Rabindranath Tagore and himself together. Since the character is based on Satyajit Ray, it can be safely assumed that the director hints at the meeting between Ray and Tagore. However, he modelled the scene with a still photograph, which had gone viral on social media a few years back. But contrary to popular claims, the child in that picture was not Satyajit Ray. He has been identified as Abhijit Chanda, son of Rani and Amal Chanda. This was pointed out on social media and the debate started.

Meanwhile, different opinions also surfaced after this. One netizen said that the director wanted to show that the scene was false.

Diverse opinions have been expressed on Facebook. Someone regretted this mistake in their favourite picture. Some others wondered how the director could have slipped on such a petty issue. Meanwhile, Aparajito was dropped on Zee5v and the film aslo had its television premiere on Zee Bangla.

Share