Page 176 - The Apu Trilogy_ Satyajit Ray and the Making of an Epic

Apu in the East and West 163

Dutt: Well, people in West Bengal do. And that is what
he portrays in these films. It is not a correct image

of India.
Interviewer: Do people in West Bengal do such a thing?
Dutt: I don’t know. But when I go abroad, foreigners
ask me embarrassing questions like ‘Do you have
schools in India?’ ‘Do you have cars in India?’ I
feel so ashamed, my eyes are lowered before them.
If a foreigner asks me, ‘What kind of houses do
you live in?’, I feel like answering: ‘We live on
treetops.’ Why do you think fi lms like Pather
Panchali become so popular abroad?
Interviewer: You tell me.
Dutt: Because people there want to see India in an
abject condition. That is the image they have of

our country and a film that confirms that image
seems to them authentic.
Interviewer: But why should a renowned director like Ray do
such a thing?

Dutt: To win awards. His films are not commercially
successful. They only win awards.

Interviewer: What do you expect Ray to do?
Dutt: What I want is that if Mr Ray projects Indian
poverty abroad, he should also show ‘Modern
India’.
Interviewer: But if the theme and plot of Pather Panchali are
complete within the realm of a poor village, how

can he deliberately fit ‘Modern India’ in it?
Dutt: But Mr Ray can make separate films on ‘Modern

India’.
Interviewer: What is ‘Modern India’?
Dutt: Dams ...

Interviewer: Can you give me one example of a film that por-
trays ‘Modern India’?
Dutt: Well ... I can’t give you an example off hand ...

9/16/2010 9:09:30 PM
Robinson_Ch09.indd 163
Robinson_Ch09.indd 163 9/16/2010 9:09:30 PM