Sharmila Tagore Recalls Intense Aranyer Din Ratri Shoot: Chowkidar Room and Scorching Heat
Aranyer Din Ratri, Satyajit Ray’s iconic 1970 film, recently made a splash at the Cannes Film Festival after a meticulous six-year restoration. The film, starring a stellar cast including Soumitra Chatterjee, Subhendu Chatterjee, Samit Bhanja, Rabi Ghosh, Sharmila Tagore, Kaberi Bose, Simi Garewal, and Aparna Sen, was screened in the Cannes Classic section, bringing back a flood of memories for the actors involved.
Among those present at the event, hosted by renowned filmmaker Wes Anderson, were Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter India, Tagore shared fascinating anecdotes about the film’s production, particularly the challenging conditions they faced.
A Scheduling Juggle and Respect for Ray
Tagore was already committed to another film, Rajesh Khanna’s Aaradhna, when Ray approached her for Aranyer Din Ratri. Despite the scheduling conflict, Tagore couldn’t refuse Ray, whom she deeply respected.
“I always treated him with a little bit of awe, respect, like you did to your father,” she confessed.
Tagore managed to negotiate her way out of Aaradhna and join Ray’s project, highlighting the profound impact the filmmaker had on her.
Harsh Conditions and the Chowkidar’s Room
The shoot for Aranyer Din Ratri was anything but comfortable. The actors and crew were spread across various locations due to a lack of accommodation.
“When we were shooting for Aranyer Din Ratri, we were staying in different places because there was paucity of space,” Tagore recalled. “Simi (Garewal) and Kaberi (Bose) stayed in a sort of next-door village in a plush forest bungalow. Satyajit Ray with Soumitra Chatterjee and other crew members stayed in another place. And Samit Bhanja, Subhendu Chatterjee, Rabi Ghosh and I stayed in another place.
“I had the chowkidar’s room and I had a water cooler. In dry weather, it worked very well. These guys were in a shed with tin roof. So they would all joke about themselves and say ‘I am Rabi roast, Subhendu would say I am sauteed Subhendu’ because it used to be so hot. You cannot imagine how hot it was. We could only work from 5:30 AM to 9:00 AM and then again from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Rest of the time, we just bonded and became good friends. It was really a tough location.”
The Reason for May: Ray’s Artistic Vision
Tagore shed light on Ray’s decision to shoot in May. He wanted the trees to be bare, a specific look achievable only during that time before the monsoon rains.
“He wanted that time because the trees were leafless. He wanted a particular look and it was only possible in May because then the rains came soon after and before that it was all leafy and lush,” she explained.
The film, a Bengali-language adventure drama based on Sunil Gangopadhyay’s novel of the same name, was primarily shot in the Palamu region of Jharkhand, known for its scorching summer temperatures.
