#shatranj ke khilari

[aloneandforsakenbyfateandbyman]

Shabana Azmi in The Chess Players (1977)

[puffinet]

The Chess Players/Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977, Satyajit Ray).

[masalafilmsrevival]

Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977)

[bollywoodirect]

Remembering #SatyajitRay: The Legend of Indian Cinema on His 32nd Death Anniversary - April 23, 1992.

Satyajit Ray, one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, completely redefined 20th-century cinema.

Here is Satyajit Ray shooting 'Shatranj Ke Khilari' in front of the Bara Imambara in Lucknow, 1977.

What are your favourite Satyajit Ray films?

Photo courtesy- DAG

[falsenote]

The Chess Players (1977)

[enigma-the-mysterious]

Remember when Bollywood period movies had layered Muslim characters and actually portrayed them as people (whether good or bad) and not these one-dimensional joyless evil props that seems to have become a trend recently?

[kinodiario]

Los jugadores de ajedrez / Shatranj ke khilari - Satyajit Ray [1977] India

[foreignflicks]

Trailer: Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players) (1977) Language: Hindi/Urdu/English Subtitles: English

Director: Satyajit Ray Producer: Suresh Jindal Writer: Satyajit Ray, Shama Zaidi, Javed Siddiqi Screenplay: Satyajit Ray Cast: Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Shabana Azmi, Richard Attenborough, Farida Jalal, Amjad Khan, Victor Banerjee, Farooq Shaikh Narration: Amitabh Bachchan Music: Satyajit Ray Cinematography: Soumendu Roy Editor: Dulal Dutta Distributor: Shemaroo

Description: Shatranj Ke Khilari is a 1977 Indian film written and directed by Satyajit Ray, based on Munshi Premchand's short story of the same name. Amjad Khan plays the role of Wajid Ali Shah, King of Awadh, and Richard Attenborough plays the role of General James Outram. The film also features the actors Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Shabana Azmi, David Abraham, and Tom Alter, as well as Amitabh Bachchan as the narrator. The film is set in 1856 on the eve of the Indian rebellion of 1857. The British are about to annex the Indian State of Awadh. The daily life of two wealthy men who are devoted to chess is presented against the background of scheming officials of the British East India Company, the history of its relations with the Indian ruler of Awadh, and the ruler's devotion both to his religious practice and the pursuit of pleasure.

[forgottencityiram]

[vincekris]

Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players), 1977. Dir. Satyajit Ray.

[womeninthewindow]

Shatranj ke khilari (Satyajit Ray, 1977)

[rachelmygod]

Shatranj ke khilari (Satyajit Ray, 1977)

[somerabbitholes]

Fav movies on history?

in no particular order:

shatranj ke khilari (dir. satyajit ray)

1917 (dir. sam mendes)

the schindler's list (dir. steven spielberg)

the imitation game (dir. morten tyldum)

chittagong (dir. bedabrata pain)

dunkirk (dir. christopher nolan)

darkest hour (dir. joe wright)

also i'm kind of putting off watching sardar udham because i feel like i'll have to clear my schedule for being shook and mourning/hating colonial rule, but from what i've heard i think it'll be a movie i like.

[masalafilmsrevival]

Hello! I'm writing a final Essay about Indian parallel cinema or new Indian cinema and I kinda got lost, there are so many movies and themes to explore! since the deadline is pushing me, I don't have much time to explore it deeply, i've watched Charulata and Apu's trilogy but couldn't move forward from there. (all of them mind-blowingly amazing btw) Could you please please please give me some direction on which way should i keep looking/researching or any of your favorite themes that are recurring in 50's-70's Indian "new wave" films ? anything would be really helpful. Thank you in advance, hope you have an amazing day!!

oh my god, i did not see this until now as i typically only see notifications for this blog when i'm on desktop, i'm so sorry!! i really hope this isnt too late to respond. okay so i'm no expert but just some thoughts:

so obviously its a film movement that originated in bengal, a lot of parallel cinema is bengali indian OR bangladeshi, i'm not sure if theres a specific reason you're focusing on indian parallel cinema for your essay but thats something to keep into consideration especially because it spans past the 70s well into the 80s and somewhat 90s so after the independence of bangladesh. and that does impact and put context to the narrative of many films

the themes that are recurring tend to be class consciousness and disillusionment, religious and racial discrimination, casteism, more frank portrayals of the topic of sex, marxist thought, the burden of patriarchal society and expectation, to some extent borderline nihilism in my opinion, essentially the polar opposite of bollywoods pristine glamorized and polished portrayal of life and society that borders on science fiction from how removed from reality it is. in spite of it often.

if you want an outline of some filmmakers, actors, and films that can give you a decent idea of the movement, off the top of my head:

films i can think of that will give you a decent understanding of the tone and themes of the movement at least:

mirch masala

a river called titas and cloud capped star

donkey in a brahmin village

the apu trilogy and charulata as you said as well as devi and shatranj ke khilari. (the coward is also one of my personal favorites but not a necessary watch)

mammo, mandi, and bhumika

dont cry for salim the lame, the strange fate of arvind desai

arth

rat trap

maya darpan

duvidha, nazar, uski roti

quintessential filmmakers to at least get a decently rounded understanding (in my opinion):

saeed akhtar mirza

mani kaul

satyajit ray

ritwik ghatak

shyam benegal

mrinal sen

actors whose work or work during the period of early parallel cinema to look to:

smita patil (!) (probably the most important to look into if youre interested in this movement)

shabana azmi (early work)

madhabi mukherjee

soumitra chatterjee

 naseeruddin shah (early work)

om puri (early work)

all of this is really just what came to mind immediately, i had planned on writing up a comprehensive summary of parallel cinema and what i considered essential viewing and themes and i will do that eventually, but i wanted to answer this as quickly as possible so i could easily be leaving out an insane amount of things. also i primarily used the english translations for these films unless i couldnt remember them. if youre in the usa (and maybe outside of it as well im not sure) MANY of these works or works made by these directors are on youtube or archive.org. i hope this is of some help and eventually i will post more comprehensive detail + scans of books i have about this. hope this helps someone and you have a good day!

[bollywoodirect]

Remembering Saeed Jaffrey, one of the most beloved actors of British-Indian cinema and television, on his 8th death anniversary (15/11/15).

Saeed Jaffrey, born on 8 January 1929 and passing on 15 November 2015, was a distinguished British-Indian actor with a versatile career spanning over six decades in film, radio, stage, and television. He featured in more than 150 movies across British, American, and Indian cinema. During the 1980s and 1990s, Jaffrey was renowned as Britain's most prominent Asian actor, with key roles in the movie "My Beautiful Laundrette" (1985), and TV series like "The Jewel in the Crown" (1984), "Tandoori Nights" (1985–1987), and "Little Napoleons" (1994). He played a pivotal role in connecting filmmakers James Ivory and Ismail Merchant, and appeared in several of their Merchant Ivory Productions films, including "The Guru" (1969) and "The Deceivers" (1988).

Jaffrey made a significant impact in Indian cinema with his role in Satyajit Ray's "Shatranj Ke Khilari" (1977), earning the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award in 1978. His performance as Lallan Miyan in "Chashme Buddoor" (1981) endeared him to Indian audiences. He also gained acclaim for his roles in Raj Kapoor's "Ram Teri Ganga Maili" (1985) and "Henna" (1991), which brought him Filmfare nominations.

Jaffrey was the first Asian to be nominated for British and Canadian film awards. In 1995, he was honored with an OBE for his contributions to drama, a first for an Asian actor. His memoirs, "Saeed: An Actor's Journey," were published in 1998. Jaffrey's life ended in London after a brain haemorrhage in 2015, and he was posthumously awarded the Padma Shri in January 2016.

[nunyabizness]

Can't believe I skipped this movie all this time. What a classic by Satyajit Ray.

Shatranj Ke Khilari