Satyajit Ray’s Agantuk will be shown in Toronto: Satyajit Ray’s last film, Agantuk or The Stranger, will show at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)’s event less than a month after the festival presented a retrospective of the renowned Indian director’s oeuvre.
Agantuk will show as a part of the Cinematheque segment during the 11-day festival’s 2022 edition, which starts on September 8. The screening will also serve as the global debut of a 4K or high-definition digital restoration of the original 1991 film.
The National Film Development Corporation of India and the National Film Archive of India have donated this version to TIFF.
The movie Agantuk is significant to Ray’s body of work and one with which he pretty pleased. According to Jessica Smith, Manager, TIFF Cinematheque, via email, “We hope it will appeal to viewers less acquainted with Ray’s body of work and also be a delight for the many TIFF audiences that came out to appreciate the previous series.”
Four of the ten films in the current showcase, Satyajit Ray: His Contemporaries and Legacy, which show in August, directed by Ray. The 1964 film “Charulata” served as its opening track.
According to Smith, it “timed to honor India’s 75th anniversary of Independence,” and this restoration not offered for that movie series.
The TIFF Cinematheque portion of the festival will present five masterpieces, including Agantuk.
TIFF referred to Agantuk as a “remarkably intimate last film.”
“Satyajit Ray’s last picture has recognized as his most philosophical, cerebral, and intimate work. Therefore, Ray fans would likely assume that the protagonist is Ray, expressing his thoughts when he expresses his opinions.
Ray, who made his acting debut in 1955’s Pather Panchali, died in Kolkata in 1992. A little over a month after presented with an Honorary Academy Award.
