Satyajit Ray’s unique creation ‘Ashani Sanket’ holds a special place in his body of work.
After achieving recognition as a filmmaker through his adaptation of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s ‘Pather Panchali’, Satyajit Ray came across the author’s novel Ashani Sanket.
He first developed a screenplay from it and began working on the film around 1972. At the time, Soumitra Chatterjee was selected for the role of Gangacharan Chakraborty. However, for the role of Ananga Bou, Ray was searching for a simple yet captivating rural woman.
Ray searched extensively but remained unsatisfied with his options. Eventually, after seeing a black and white photograph taken by renowned photographer Nimai Ghosh, he reportedly exclaimed, “Eureka! Eureka!” The photograph was of Bangladeshi actress Babita.
Babita later recounted the story on several occasions. The account also appears in the book ‘Bismaye Babita’, authored by Sajjad Hossain.
According to Babita, she was shooting at the FDC one day when Nimai Ghosh photographed her extensively. She was told he was an Indian photographer, and she continued her work without much thought.
However, Sajjad Hossain notes in his book that Ray did not select her based on those particular photographs. Instead, Nimai Ghosh is said to have seen Babita at the residence of Razzak, where he took several pictures of her without makeup during a shoot. These images reportedly impressed Ray.
A few days later, the producer of Ashani Sanket sent a letter to Babita’s home in Gendaria. It read, “Can you come to India sometime? Satyajit Ray wants to see you to act in his film.” At first, she thought it might be a prank. Her doubts were cleared when a landline call followed days later.
The call, received by her sister, actress Suchanda, came from the Indian High Commission, questioning why Ray’s letter had not been taken seriously.
She soon travelled to India, with arrangements made by the film’s producer. On the first day, she visited Ray wearing heavy makeup. He then instructed her to come to Indrapuri Studio the following day without makeup, wearing only vermilion on her forehead, a teep and a conch shell in her hand.
The next day marked a turning point. Ray found the actress he had been searching for and Babita was cast as Ananga Bou.
Ashani Sanket went on to win the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1973. Till this day, the film, and Babita’s portrayal of Ananga Bou, remains in the memories of cinema enthusiasts.
