‘Ray’ review: Web series on Satyajit Ray’s fiction retains the sting in the tales

Satyajit Ray’s fiction is both boon and burden for potential adaptors. The stories that Ray wrote alongside directing films are characterised by economy, memorable characters, humour tinged with darkness and denouements that resemble a quick and precise jab of the knife. Sometimes covering only a few pages, the fiction belongs to a specific place and time (Bengal between the 1960s and the 1990s). It is spare enough for future filmmakers to add new layers and meaning, but also detailed enough to discourage deviation or adventure.

Brave, then, is the contemporary writer and filmmaker who believes that they can take the master’s fiction in new directions. Ray, created by Sayantan Mukherjee for Netflix and comprising four films, predictably throws up mixed results. One retelling is outstanding. Another plays out like a remix. The remaining two come close to capturing the general drift of their source material.

Ray opts for halaal over jhatka, the incision that gradually drains out the blood to the single slash of the knife. This approach is best expressed by Abhishek Chaubey’s Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa, based on Barin Bhowmik’s Ailment.

Chaubey fruitfully celebrated the teasing romance of Urdu poetry and music in his 2014 movie Dedh Ishqiya. Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa, written…

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