Kolkata: Audiences hailed Sikkim - a hidden masterpiece by legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray that was banned four decades ago - when it had its first public screening on Wednesday at the 16th Kolkata Film Festival.
"It is really a masterpiece by Satyajit Ray. I have seen all his movies. Today, I watched the documentary 'Sikkim' too. I think today I have completed a circle. But I felt really bad that the movie was banned for so many years for useless reasons. I have watched nothing bad in the film. It's a fantastic movie," said film buff Rama Ray after watching the movie.
Made by Satyajit Ray in 1971, the documentary was banned by the external affairs ministry in 1975 when the Himalayan kingdom became a part of India. It was commissioned by the last Chogyal (king) of Sikkim, Palden Thondup Namgyal, and his American-born queen Hope Cooke. It was soon banned by the government and remained in the cans after that.
"It's a beautiful movie by a legendary director. I have seen nothing offensive in the film and I don't know why this film was banned for so many years. It is a treasure for all the movie lovers and filmmakers," said Debolina Das, a college student.
"Satyajit Ray has done a marvelous job in this movie. I have waited long to see this movie. I just loved the movie. I plan to see it again," said 55-year-old Kaushik Das, an avid film-goer.
The shooting of the documentary Sikkim with legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray was a lifetime experience, feels cinematographer Soumendu Roy.
"Shooting 'Sikkim' with Satyjit Ray was a lifetime experience. I had earlier worked with Ray but for Sikkim we had to work with very minimal equipment and human resources," Roy told.
"During the shooting, we always had to stay alert. The experience helped me later while shooting other films," Roy said after the first public screening of the documentary.
The documentary is about the natural beauty of Sikkim and the innocence and simplicity of its people. It is about the way of living of its people.
The opening sequence evokes the beauty of the land, beginning with a shot of a parallel rope way with two carriages advancing towards each other. Ray himself has done the commentary in the film, which also tells the viewers a brief history of Sikkim.
The 77-year-old veteran cinematographer walked down the memory lane when asked about the most memorable experience during the shooting of Sikkim.
"I still remember a scene when we had to shoot in an area which was full of bushes and jungles. The locals told us that the place was full of leeches. We were so engulfed in the shooting that we didn't take any protective measures," Roy said.
"But after we came back from the shooting, we found that leeches were sticking to most of our body parts. We lost a lot of blood for shooting this film," he giggled.
The hour-long screening of the movie at Nandan auditorium gave a clear picture of the socio-economic and socio-religious culture of Sikkim in the early 1970s.
The documentary also has a sequence of a gala feast and cultural programme at King's Palace, which was attended by the king and other dignitaries. The general public was also seen attending the feast.
But within minutes of the first public screening of Sikkim, its remaining shows during the event were suspended following a direction by a Sikkim court.
An order of the district judge court of Gangtok has forced the festival authorities here to suspend the scheduled screening of the documentary.
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