Om Puri, Smita Patil and Satyajit Ray’s iconic jamming on ‘Sadgati’ spells cinematic brilliance

In the video, the director can be seen smoking a pipe as the two actors bring their character alive sonically. One of the clips also shows Smita Patil crying while placing the pallu of her saree on her mouth.

Mumbai: An old video of the cinema legends, Om Puri, Smita Patil and Satyajit Ray has surfaced on the Internet. The video shows the late actors dubbing for ‘Sadgati’ helmed by the late Indian auteur.

In the video, the director can be seen smoking a pipe as the two actors bring their character alive sonically. One of the clips also shows Smita Patil crying while placing the pallu of her saree on her mouth.

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‘Sadgati’ was based on a short story of the same name by Munshi Premchand. Satyajit Ray called this drama of a poor Dalit “a deeply angry film, not the anger of an exploding bomb but of a bow stretched taut and quivering”.

The film marked India’s state sponsored broadcaster Doordarshan’s first colour outing. All three artists, who rest in their heavenly abodes, have left a deep mark on India’s cinematic history.

Smita Patil primarily worked in Hindi and Marathi films. She is regarded as one of the finest and greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, and was known for her unconventional portrayal of strong and independent women. She appeared in over 80 films, in a career that spanned over a decade and was the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Maharashtra State Film Award and a Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour.

Om Puri, who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Urdu, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, English, Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, and Marathi films, independent and art films and also starred in several international cinema, is widely regarded as one of the finest actors in world cinema. He won two National Film Awards for Best Actor, and India’s fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri in 1990. In 2004, he was made an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

Satyajit Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries, and shorts. His first film, ‘Pather Panchali’ won eleven international prizes, including the inaugural Best Human Document award at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. This film, along with ‘Aparajito’ and ‘Apur Sansar’ form ‘The Apu Trilogy’.

He received many major awards in his career, including a record thirty-seven Indian National Film Awards which includes Dadasaheb Phalke Award, a Golden Lion, a Golden Bear, two Silver Bears, many additional awards at international film festivals and ceremonies, and an Academy Honorary Award in 1992. In the same year, the Government of India honoured him with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.