The Ray Less Traveled

Virtual

The inaugural episode of the Chicago Dialogues series sheds fresh light on some of the lesser known contours in the work and genius of the auteur, Satyajit Ray. For instance, the film-makers who left a deep impact on him, the subtle political undertones in his films, the eternal present-ness of the Calcutta Trilogy, the selective use of leitmotifs, and the uniqueness of his music.

The series of Chicago Dialogues was hosted by UChicago Center in Delhi in association with Prohor.in.

The webinar was livestreamed on Facebook @UChicagodelhi/@prohor.in and YouTube. 

Speakers’ profiles:

Barun Chanda: Actor, Author, Advertising Professional

There’ve been three enduring passions in Barun Chanda’s life: advertising, acting and writing. With a Master’s degree in English from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, his career in advertising over three decades, won him numerous accolades as a Creative Director. Chosen by Satyajit Ray to play the protagonist in the film Seemabaddha, Barun’s won a special President’s Award for acting. After a decades-long hiatus, he returned to the screen, distinguishing himself in films such as Lootera, Roy, Chotushkone, Mishar Rahashya, Bela Sheshe and Chorabali. The third passion in Barun’s life has been writing. He has published four highly acclaimed novels in Bengali, and one in English.

Dr. Rochona Majumdar: Associate Professor, South Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago

Rochona Majumdar is a historian of modern India with a focus on Bengal. Her writings span histories of gender and sexuality, Indian cinema especially art cinema and film music, and modern Indian intellectual history.  Majumdar also writes on postcolonial history and theory. She is the author of Marriage and Modernity: Family Values in Colonial Bengal (Duke University Press, 2009), Writing Postcolonial History (Bloomsbury, 2010).  Her Current book project Art Cinema: Film and India's Possible Futures is forthcoming from Columbia University Press in 2021.  To read her detailed bio, please click here.

Avik Chanda: Bestselling Author, Columnist, Entrepreneur

Avik Chanda is a bestselling author, columnist, business advisor, and entrepreneur. His book, From Command To Empathy: Using EQ in the Age of Disruption (HarperCollins, 2017), was featured in Amazon India’s Best Reads under Business, Strategy and Management. His latest book, Dara Shukoh: The Man Who Would Be King (HarperCollins, 2019), was on the National Non-Fiction Top 10 Bestsellers List for 10 consecutive weeks, garnered huge critical success, and has been released as an audiobook by Audible. Avik is the Founder and CEO of NUVAH ELINT LLP, a NASSCOM 10,000 incubated startup, and is also a visiting faculty at IIT-Delhi and XLRI.