My adventures with Satyajit Ray

"'Sir, I would like you to make a film in Hindi because I am in the Hindi film industry, or in English, or if not, then in Bengali.’ When Suresh Jindal said these words to Satyajit Ray in 1974, he was a rookie producer with a single film albeit the sleeper hit of the year, Rajnigandha to his credit. Ray was an icon, among the greatest film-makers in the world. Yet, Ray responded: Actually I have been thinking of doing a film in Hindi’ thus paving the way for a remarkable adventure. Shatranj Ke Khilari is Satyajit Ray’s only full-length feature film in Hindi/Urdu and his most expensive film. A period piece set in nineteenth-century Lucknow, capital of the state of Awadh, it employed lavish set designs and stars of both Hindi and Hollywood cinema. In this book, Jindal recollects the mesmerizing story of how Ray came to direct the film despite his unequivocal declaration that he would never write or direct a film that was not in Bengali. Jindal excavates and illuminates not just Ray’s directorial vision but also the depth of his humanity, which those who were close to him had the privilege to experience"--