When Satyajit Ray spoke about his ambitious sci-fi film project that would never be made
Satyajit Ray had plans to make The Alien, a bilingual project. The Bengali film was to be named Avatar. Ray gave an interview on The Alien to Aschorjo, a Bengali sci-fi magazine, in two parts in 1967. The first part came out in May and the second in September. Adrish Bardhan, editor of the magazine, conducted the interview.
PART 1
Adrish Bardhan: For which character in the film did you choose Peter Sellers? Which country is Sellers from?
Satyajit Ray: I chose Peter Sellers for a Marwari character in my film. He is an Englishman who stayed in Calcutta for a full year during the War (World War II).
Adrish: Will he speak Bengali in your film?
Satyajit: Sellers won’t have to speak Bengali in my film. He will speak in English to an American. However, he has a strong desire to speak Bengali. He made me an earnest request (to allow him to speak Bengali). I gave him my word that I would arrange an opportunity for him to speak Bengali.
Adrish: Will Marlon Brando play the American?
Satyajit: It is a remote possibility because he is not suitable for the story of my film. Besides, I was told in London that Brando is temperamental. He is not an easy actor to work with.
Adrish: But Brando is keen on working with you.
Satyajit: That’s true. I got an opportunity to meet him when he suddenly came to Calcutta. He loves my films, so much so that he seeks out each of my films and sees it.
Adrish: Don’t you think that Brando has a strong appeal to lay viewers?
Satyajit: That’s right indeed. But I have Steve McQueen in mind. He is an extraordinary actor. He has acquired a reputation in the last four or five years. That apart, he is admirably fit for my character. Those who have seen The Great Escape will never forget him. He reminds one of the Humphrey Bogart of Casablanca.
Adrish: Steve McQueen is a busy actor. What will you do if he does not have time?
Satyajit: In that case, I’d like to take Paul Newman on.
Adrish: Do you have plans to go to Hollywood?
Satyajit: Yes, I shall go in the month of May.
Adrish: Have you decided on the title of your film?
Satyajit: The name of the English film is The Alien. The Bengali edition of the film will probably be named Avatar.
Adrish: How is Arthur C Clarke associated with you in this project?
Satyajit: In all probability, he will not be associated with this project because the story has already been written without his contribution. I am free in this respect, but he will work with me when the story comes out in the form of a novel.
Adrish: But Avatar is being written in Bengali...
Satyajit: Yes. But, based on this story, Arthur C Clarke will write a novel which will be distributed around the world from London. Clarke and I will be credited as co-authors.
Adrish: Then this is going to be the first 70mm movie made in India and the first Indian sci-fi film at that.
Satyajit: Yes. The cameraman, the make-up man and the spaceship will come from abroad.
Adrish: That means a lot of money.
Satyajit: My partner Mike Wilson is financing the film. He has made four to five films in Ceylon, making 500 per cent profits from each of his films. He has told me not to worry about money which will come from America. I feel I will be happy working with them. I haven’t got such a set-up ever (to make a film) before.
Adrish: When will you start working on the film?
Satyajit: Mike wants the work to begin in the month of September. In that case, it will be possible to release the film sometime next year (1968). I wanted to begin the sci-fi film after finishing Asani Sanket (The Distant Thunder) and Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha) because the way I make films will have changed after I had made this film. Mike Wilson too thinks as much. But ultimately it was decided that work on the film would begin in January next year. Otherwise we may face some problems. Asani Sanket will have been shot by that time.
Adrish: What about Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne?
Satyajit: I’ll shoot it in October next year.
Adrish: Is Mike Wilson an American?
Satyajit: He was born in England. He joined the Merchant Navy and visited many countries. He stayed in Canada for a long time.
PART 2
This part of the interview was conducted after Satyajit Ray had returned from the US.
Adrish: Have you finalized all the formalities for making the sci-fi film?
Satyajit: More or less. But I have to go to America once more along with the technicians.
Adrish: When will you start shooting the film?
Satyajit: Work will begin in October next year. We need three to four months for preparations before we start working.
Adrish: Have you roped in Steve McQueen?
Satyajit: No. He is not available for the next two years. So, I have decided to take a rising actor. He has begun to build up a reputation in Hollywood. I will get the news (of whether I will get him for my film) in seven days. It will be a good break for him.
Adrish: Who are the technicians who will work on this film?
Satyajit: I’ll have to take my cameraman Subrata Mitra and art director Bansi Chandragupta along to Hollywood before the shooting begins.
Adrish: Will you shoot the film with a 70mm camera?
Satyajit: No, the film will be shot with a small 35mm camera. There are two advantages. First, we won’t have the trouble of moving a big camera from one place to another. Secondly, there are not many theatres for screening 70mm films in the world. We’ll shoot the film in 35mm from which we can easily get 70mm prints. That’s what everybody does.
Adrish: Is there a possibility that you will engage the services of a foreign cameraman.
Satyajit: I have received such an offer. Haskell Wexler, a top cameraman in Hollywood, wrote to me saying that he wanted to work for my film, and that he won’t take any money for his services.
Adrish: Who produces your film?
Satyajit: Columbia Pictures. They are also the world distributors for my film. Mike Wilson and I have launched a company for making the film. This is the first time that such an arrangement has been made in Asia (for making a film).
(Translated from the Bengali by Arup K De.)
(Excerpted with permission of Harper Collins Publications from Travails with the Alien: The Film That Was Never Made and Other Adventures with Science Fiction by Satyajit Ray.)