“I was not involved at all; I was not consulted and I was not shown the final products” - Sandeep Ray reacts to underwhelming reviews of Satyajit Ray anthology on Netflix

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The reviews for Ray, the 4-story anthology from Netflix adapting four of  the mighty Satyajit Ray’s stories, are out. Most of the reviewers, including yours truly, find the anthology to be disappointing.

When contacted Satyajit Ray’s son Sandip Ray asking how deep his involvement with l this project went, the gracious affable  Sandip, also a filmmaker of some renown, shocked with his reply. “My involvement with this project is nil. I mean, they (Netflix) did ask l my permission to use my father’s story, which I gave without hesitation. But after that, I was not consulted at all. The scripts for the stories were not sent to me for my approval. And no, I was not shown the final products.”

When I gently suggested that Sandip needed to exercise more creative control over his father’s intellectual property, he replied, “Yes, you are right. From your response and you say the reviews are underwhelming, I feel I should have insisted on being more participative. Now, it’s too late I guess. But let me tell you, I didn’t like the promo at all.”

Will Sandip watch the  anthology? “Now I am scared to watch it. On the other hand, I am also curious to see what has been done with my father’s stories.”

In the meanwhile l, Sandip Ray is planning something major on his father to commemorate Satyajit Ray's centenary.

"I am waiting for the Covid- 19 crisis to  recede before I start something. But I'm definitely doing something on my father," promises Sandip.