Kanchenjungha, the first film Satyajit Ray made wholly in colour, has just turned 50. Well known to Ray connoisseurs now, when it released it was not a commercial success.
Set in Darjeeling and with an ensemble cast, the story involves an aristocratic Bengali family and focuses on different groups of characters rather than one or two protagonists. It also avoids a linear storyline. Ray himself told one interviewer that “It was a good 10 to 15 years ahead of its time.”
Alokananda Roy, the actor who played Monisha — a coy young girl, was a Ray discovery whose film debut was in Kanchenjungha. (The next film she acted in, 26 years later, was Buddhadev Dasgupta’s Phera in 1988.) Today, Roy is a familiar face in TV soap operas, and she was on the jury for the 52nd National Film awards this year.
Now 68, her eyes sparkle as she recalls the 26 days of the Kanchenjungha shoot.
How did Satyajit Ray decide on you for the role of Monisha?
Manik-da, or Ray, called my father to seek permission to cast me as Monisha. However, he maintained silence on how he got our residence phone number and would smile as if to say, “It’s a mystery.” Later, one of my uncles revealed that it was he who had given Ray the number, requesting anonymity for fear of my father.
How old were you?
I started the film when I was 17 and had my 18th birthday while I was shooting in Darjeeling.
The crew celebrated my birthday and Manik-da got a birthday cake for me.
How did you prepare for the role?
I played a young girl, Monisha, from an aristocratic family of Kolkata, who was being pushed into a marriage with a man of her father’s choice. I could very much relate to the character since I came from a similar family background. Like Monisha, I too was studying English (Honours) at Presidency College, and the presence of a revered father was something
I was used to. My father, like Indranath in Kanchenjunga, was extremely class-conscious and would have never allowed me to interact with a man of a “lesser” class. So I knew who Monisha was.
You had no training as an actor.
Manik-da ensured that I had no problem facing the camera. For the first two days, he would call me on the sets and ask me to get “acclimatised”. He never gave me the script in advance, to memorise the lines, because that would kill the spontaneity. All I had to do was to copy Ray, as he would enact the shot himself to make me understand what was desired of me in front of the camera.
The cast included Chabi Biswas, Karuna Banerjee, Pahari Sanyal, Anubha Gupta, Anil Chatterjee. Were you intimidated?
I came from a very conservative household and was not acquainted with film. There were no film magazines so I hardly knew about the veterans and what they meant to the world of film — barring Karuna Banerjee, about whom I was aware owing to her association with IPTA [the Indian People’s Theatre Association]. This I think was a blessing, as I took everything that was happening in my life as a lark and loved the experience.
Are there any anecdotes from the set that you remember and still laugh over?
Yes, there are plenty. On my first day of shooting I felt a little indignant when the cameraman complained to Ray that his frame was adorned with the shadow of the mole on my nose. I was really embarrassed. However, Ray intervened in a heavy tone, saying that nothing was wrong and everything was perfect.
Did you become a “star” after the film released?
The film wasn’t a commercial success and there was not much craze about it. However, I went to watch the film in the theatre with my college-mates, who made me feel like a star. But one bus conductor of the double-decker 8B bus recognised me and refused to take money from me.
What were you paid for acting in the film?
One of the several conditions that my father put to Ray was that I would not be paid. After the release, however, Manik-da compensated me well, in kind. He gifted me an expensive silk sari and Western music discs.
