The tourism ministry will prioritise the
Rs. 50 crore Satyajit Ray Trail project, to develop the sites of his famous films shot in West Bengal as tourist attractions, an official said Wednesday.
Under the project, the West Bengal government has proposed to recreate the scenes of some
films shot at different locations with brief descriptions of the script and narration of some important events during the film shooting.
Illumination of the shooting spots, landscaping, a tourist interpretation centre and building accommodation facilities are also part of the proposed project.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray rose to international fame for his epoch-making movie, Pather Panchali. “The movie was partly shot at Boral, about 5 km from southern Kolkata. Many of the locations of his famous films, before and after Pather Panchali, were in the red soil terrain of Birbhum district. Many locations were around Shantiniketan at Bolpur. Boral, however, has now become a victim of urbanisation and most of the sites related to Ray have vanished,” said a government official.
Recreating sets
The state government is in the process of identifying exact locations where Ray shot his films with the help of one of his erstwhile crew members, Ramesh Sen, and also in consultation with Sandip Ray, the son of the legendary film maker.
“Primarily, it appears that the locations are spread over a vast stretch of Birbhum, and partly in neighbouring Burdwan district. Apart from the filming locations, Shantiniketan is already a major draw for both foreign and domestic tourists, and authorities may start the trail from Shantiniketan,” the official added.