I copy Satyajit Ray: Shoojit Sircar

KOLKATA: Describing Satyajit Ray's masterpiece "Pather Panchali" as the Bible of his life, Bollywood director Shoojit Sircar has conceded he copies the works of the maestro.

"Actually I copy him. You won't notice what I am copying but I know what I am copying. I do it in whatever film I do. It is the Bible of my life," Sircar said at a function here today to mark 60 years of the release of 'Pather Panchali'.

The maker of hits like "Madras Cafe", "Vicky Donor" and the latest "Piku" said the first part of "The Apu Trilogy" has had a big impact on his life.

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"Pather Panchali" depicted the childhood of Apu (Subir Banerjee) and his elder sister Durga (Uma Dasgupta) and the harsh village life of their poor family.

Interestingly, the first two times he went to watch the film in his younger days he either slept or fled away in between.

"I am basically a sportsperson and did not belong to the field of cinema or literature. So when my father first took me to watch the film I fell asleep during the screening. That was my first introduction to 'Pather Panchali'," the director said.

Later, in school, when he again went to watch the film he left in between along with his friends.

"It started off as a really boring film for me," Sircar said recalling that after he started doing theatre he again went to watch it at a film festival in Delhi.

"I was left numb. It began as a new chapter in my life. I can call it pre-'Pather Panchali' and post-'Pather Panchali' phase. Now I am in post- 'Pather Panchali' phase of my life," he said.