Subversions: Essays on Life and Literature

PADMA SHRI and Sahitya Akademi awardee, novelist Shashi Deshpande has, for over four long decades, contributed amply and richly to public debates on the role of the writer and writing in India, and diverse contemporary social, literary and political issues. She is the author of 11 novels and her work has been translated into various Indian and European languages. Not one to shy away from raising critical and dissenting notes in public discourse, Deshpande’s essays are a reminder that she is foremost a reader and a listener, actively and compassionately engaged in dialogue with others. This compilation of essays is a peek into that fascinating dialogue.

IN an attempt to make the readers witness, appreciate, criticise and analyse the cinema of Satyajit Ray, the tallest Indian figure in world cinema, Bhaskar Chattopadhyay revisits each one of Ray’s 39 feature films, shorts and documentaries to investigate their cinematic and social context. He also speaks to a number of the master’s collaborators as well as other directors and critics to truly understand the work of Ray, who had a rare mastery of the art of motion pictures. Packed with delightful anecdotes and fresh insights, and rare photographs from his films and sets, The Cinema of Satyajit Ray is an essential book for every cinephile’s library.