Revisiting Apu Through Ray’s Scripts

🖊️Jayeeta Das

Satyajit Ray continues to be the popular opium of the Bengalees at the IKBF’26. No wonder a publication house’s stall stands apart not by size but by purpose, making Ray’s Apu Trilogy the focus of this year. 

The representative explains that the stall does not sell only stories but the journey from page to screen. Alongside Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s original novels, the books contain Ray’s actual screenplays with shooting details, camera instructions and scene construction. Seventy years after the trilogy’s release, no Bengali publisher had attempted this combination before.

Sales have surprised even the publishers. A long-held belief that readers avoid screenplays has been challenged. Visitors who know 'Hirak Rajar Deshe' only as a film, discover that its rhymed script is a literary form in itself. 

The stall also responds to changing reading habits. While many young readers now use PDFs and social media platforms like Bookstagram, the publisher argues that holding a physical book creates a different intimacy. They said pop culture existed in every generation, but classic cinema and literature still offer grounding. For many visitors the books feel like rediscovering the old in a new form.

A self-described Ray 'fanboy' points to the technical descriptions of long shots and close-ups as a masterclass in filmmaking. Another student sees the stall as a way of reconnecting with Bengali roots, while also appreciating its modern design, fonts and artwork. For them, nostalgia mixes with academic curiosity.

The conversations also return repeatedly to one argument: without cinema, much of this literature might not have reached mass audiences. They believe Bibhutibhushan’s work became widely known because of Ray’s films. Complex prose found new life on screen, just as global franchises like James Bond or Frankenstein were revived through cinema.

Looking ahead, the publisher plans to remain Satyajit-centric. Two new projects are underway: a book mapping the real and imagined journeys of Feluda and Professor Shonku and another on Sonar Kella, proposed for inauguration in Jaisalmer with the Ray family and the Rajasthan government.

By combining screenplay, novel, history and design, the 365 Din Prokashon stall turns a book fair visit into a lesson on how culture travels across generations. For many visitors taking photos for social media, the first encounter with these books becomes an entry point into reading, reminding them that behind every film stands a written text and a tradition worth carrying forward.