56-year-old Indian film dominates US: Satyajit Ray's 'Aranyer Din Ratri' re-released in 4K; Hollywood critics slammed Afreen for film that portrayed a masculine ego

In the US, the 1970 Bengali film 'Aranyer Din Ratri' has been re-released in a digital avatar. Veteran filmmaker Satyajit Ray's film is being re-screened in a new 4K format at the famous art-house Cinema Forum in Manhattan for two weeks. 'Aranyer Din Ratri' has been re-released in the US The Film Foundation, the Film Heritage Foundation and Janus Films, an organisation that preserves old films, have re-released it in the US. It was screened at the New York Film Festival last year and is now open to the general audience. The story of male power and gender ego of four friends in Calcutta is as relevant today as it was in the 1970s. The film tells the story of Asim, Sanjay, Hari and Shekhar, an educated, English-speaking unmarried young man from the upper castes of Kolkata (then Calcutta), who go on a journey to the forests of Palamu in Jharkhand, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Here they encounter the tribal society and villages in the Santhal area. They reach the government guest house without a booking, bribe the watchman and grab the room and laugh and say in English, 'Thank God for corruption.' "This film is the answer to why Satyajit Ray is called the magical painter of world cinema," said Hollywood film critic J Jayalalithaa. "The film is not just a story of a journey, it is a portrayal of the middle class of Bengal, who are imprisoned in the lap of their own privileges," Hoberman says. Its new version will help today's generation understand why Satyajit Ray is called the magical painter of world cinema." 'Aranyer Dinratri' was nominated for the 'Golden Bear' at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1970. The film was shot in the forests of Jharkhand, which Ray created with his magical vision, which Ray made to look like a 'charming magical jungle'. Back on screen with a new sparkle, even today with the magic of the re-release, the question has also come back in a way – has Indian cinema so far honestly portrayed its 'comfortable' middle-class, patriarchal stereotypes and attitude towards tribal communities on screen as sincerely as Ray's film? The way young viewers are seen discussing the film's politics and gender differences outside the shows in New York, Los Angeles and other cities shows that this trip to the 1970s is not just a picnic of four friends, but also a necessary return to our social memory. The magic of this classic film, which came back with a new sparkle, is still alive even after 56 years.