Between Enchantment and Criticism Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne and the Folklore of Modernity – Bhaskar Sarkar (Santa Barbara)
Ray’s 1969 musical, which became one of his biggest hits, was based on a short story written by his grandfather for the magazine Sandesh, which he had founded in 1913 to improve the quality of literature for children in Bengal. In his adaptation, Ray transforms this enchanting story of two untalented musicians into a musical. He emphasizes the folkloric idioms of the original and conjures up a special Bengali world that remains open to the rest of the world.
Bhaskar Sarkar is Professor of Film and Media Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara.
Film: GOOPY GYNE BAGHA BYNE (Goopy sings and Bagha plays), India 1969, 114 min.