Pikoo

Pikoo is a 1980 Bengali short film directed by Satyajit Ray for a French television channel, France 3.[1] The film is based on a short story named Pikoor Diary (Pikoo's Diary), written by Ray for one of his books, Pikoor Diary O Onyanyo (Pikoo's Diary and Other Stories).[2] The film showcases a day in the life of a six-year-old child, Pikoo, in the backdrop of his mother's extramarital affair.[3]

Pikoo
Title card of the film
Directed bySatyajit Ray
Produced byHenri Fraise for France 3
Written bySatyajit Ray
Screenplay bySatyajit Ray
Story bySatyajit Ray
Based onPikur Diary
by Satyajit Ray
StarringArjun Guha Thakurta,
Aparna Sen,
Soven Lahiri,
Promod Ganguli,
Victor Banerjee
Music bySatyajit Ray
CinematographySoumendu Roy
Edited byDulal Dutta
Release date
  • 1980 (1980)
Running time
26 Minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageBengali

Satyajit Ray was approached by the freelance producer Henri Fraise to make a film. Ray said in his biography that, when Henri Fraise approached him to make a film, he briefed Ray by saying "[...] you can place your camera at your window and shoot the house next-door—we will accept that."[4] In an interview in Cineaste, Ray stated that Pikoo is "a very complex film".[5]

The film's script was included in the book, Original English Film Scripts Satyajit Ray, put together by Ray's son Sandip Ray and Aditinath Sarkar, an ex-CEO of Ray Society.[6] The book also includes original scripts from Ray's other films.[7]

Plot

Ranjan (Soven Lahiri) suspects his wife Seema (Aparna Sen) is having an affair. Their son, six years old Pikoo (Arjun Guha Thakurta), is enjoying his holiday at home. While playing, he gets annoyed by the loud barking of the neighbour's dog. Not knowing what to do, he shouts "Hush!" and is delighted when it works. Pikoo receives a telephone call from Hitesh (Victor Banerjee) who wants to inquire about Seema. Pikoo passes the phone to Seema. Seema mentions to Hitesh that something has happened but doesn't reveal that her husband had come to know about their relationship. Hitesh asks Seema if he should come as Pikoo is at home. Still, Seema asks him to come. Pikoo shares a friendly bond with his 80-year-old bedridden grandfather, Loknath (Promod Ganguli). Pikoo secretly tells Loknath about the fights between his parents, their conversation and requests Loknath not to share this little secret with anyone.

Hitesh comes over, uninvited, and brings Pikoo a gift: a drawing book and a set of sketch-pens. Pikoo readily draws pictures and shows them to Seema and Hitesh. Seema suggests that Pikoo go to the garden and draw flowers to match the colours of his sketch pens. Excited by the idea, Pikoo runs to the garden. Once Pikoo is gone, Seema informs Hitesh about Loknath's second heart-attack and also that Ranjan has started suspecting that she has a boyfriend. Pikoo roams around the garden and draws various flowers but wonders when he sees a white lily in the pond. Puzzled with not having a white-coloured sketch pen, he shouts from the garden and informs Seema about not having a white-coloured sketch pen to draw it. Seema was having sex with Hitesh and did not respond to Pikoo.

Pikoo then uses black-coloured sketch pen to draw the flower but a rain drop spoils his drawing and he runs inside the house. He overhears Seema and Hitesh having a fight. Now knowing how to silence others, he readily shouts "Hush!" again to see that it has worked this time as well. He runs to Loknath, his grandfather, to show him his drawings but realizes that Loknath has died in his bed. Not knowing what to do next, Pikoo runs away and sits in the balcony to watch his ruined drawing and starts crying. The film ends when Seema opens her bedroom door and notices Pikoo sitting outside, then avoids him and makes no eye-contact.

Credits

Cast

  • Arjun Guha Thakurta as Pikoo
  • Aparna Sen as Seema, Pikoo's mother
  • Soven Lahiri as Ranjan, Pikoo's father
  • Promod Ganguli as Loknath, Pikoo's grandfather
  • Victor Banerjee as Hitesh, Seema's boyfriend

Crew

  • Sound designer: Sujit Sarkar, Partha Bose, Gobinda Naskar
  • Production designer: Bhanu Ghosh, Saibal Gupta
  • Recording: Susanta Bannerji
  • Art Direction: Ashoke Bose
  • Sound: Robin Sen Gupta

Restoration

After the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Satyajit Ray an honorary Academy Award in 1992 for his lifetime achievements,[8] the Academy Film Archive, part of the Academy Foundation which mainly works with the objectives as "preservation, restoration, documentation, exhibition and study of motion pictures", took an initiative to restore and preserve Ray's films.[9] Josef Lindner was appointed as a preservation officer and as of October 2010 the Academy has successfully restored 19 titles. However, the Academy has yet to restore Pikoo, as the information about the film could not be retrieved.[10]

References
  1. "Pikoo@satyajitray.org". Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  2. "Literary Creations by Satyajit Ray". Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  3. "Pikoo@satyajitray.ucsc". Archived from the original on 8 August 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  4. Robinson, Andrew. "Chapter 23: Two (1964) Pikoo (1980)". Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye. I. B. Tauris; Revised and Updated edition. p. 253. ISBN 1860649653.
  5. "Ray on Ray". Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  6. Nag, Ashoke (9 April 2011). "Satyajit Ray: Saluting the auteur". The Economic Times. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  7. Ray, Satyajit (2011). Original English Film Scripts Satyajit Ray. DC Publishers. p. 216. ISBN 8180280012.
  8. "The 64th Academy Awards (1992)". oscars.org. 30 March 1992. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  9. "About the Academy Film Archive". oscars.org. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  10. "Saving a legacy". Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
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