[cyberhippie]

Watched these over the last few days, enjoyed them all immensly, I have a question for the film buffs though, was I imagining it or does Ray use hijra, to play women in the Apu Trilogy??

[Somerset]

CH, I'm waiting for our resident Ray expert for the answer, but I never noticed anyone in those films that looks like s/he might be hijra. The leads were female, but I guess you are referring to actors with smaller parts.

[WonderWomanUSA]

It's probably 30 years since I last saw any of these films, but I don't recall any hijras in them.

[jyotirmoy]

Dear CH bhai.
Ray never used Hijars or for that matter I can't recall any director using Hijras.
When Ray decided to make Pather Panchali,  the first of the Apu trilogy he neither had any experience of film making apart from helping out Renoir when he came to make a film " River " a film  on the river Ganga nor any money. In those days Ray was to be found at the coffee house located in the College street with his friends Bansi Chandragupta and Subrata(the best camera man ever born in Bengal, the success of Ray's master piece Charulata was due to excellent photography by Subrata) Like Ray Bansi & Subrta had no experience either. Subrata in fact had never handled a movie camera, he was a still photographer by hobby.
He pawned his wife Bijoya's jwellery to raise some funds. Then began the search for a child actor to play the role of Apu. Weeks went by but no suitable boy could be found. Then one day Bijoya spotted a neighbourhood boy named Subeer and pointed out to Ray. He absolutely fitted the bill. Finding Durga wasn't a big problem though.
Subrata's wife Karuna was chosen to play the role of Apu & Durga's mother Sarbojoya. Do note that no professional actor was used to make this film.
What followed next was the harrowing time of the first timers trying to make a film with no funding. Using the meagre sum obtained by pawning Ray shot a few scenes and then they moved door to door begging producers for funds. none came forward. Then one of Ray's relatives who had some connection with the then chief minister of Bengal Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray came up with a suggestion. Dr. Ray was thinking of some propaganda to promote his policies on rural development. The few scenes that Satyajit had shot was shown to him as if those were made to highlight rural development. Seeing these Dr. Ray released some money and the shooting of this epic film commenced. There was another Zamindar from north Kolkata who donated some money but I won't name him.
Now was the time to search for an old lady to play the role of Chunibala, the granny. Indira Thakuran was an acctress of the days when no respectable family allowed their women to act. Chunibala was a rebel and the first woman except prostitutes to act on the stage. Such is the state of our country that this exceptional lady was leading a life of abject poverty in a hole in the wall place in a slum in Kolkata. Bijoya's cousing Reba devi suggested searching for Chunibala. Subroto located her, she was more than eighty years old but she readily agreed to do the role.
A village near Kolkata was chosen and the shooting began. The scene to be shot was that of a rainy day. Ray won't have any of those artificial arrangement with showers... so it was an endless wait for rains to come and then one day the clouds gathered and the rains came.......

Oh my God I had been rambling and rambling so I will stop now only to say that what happened ultimately was a history made by a bunch of first timers and just when this film was released Satyajit & Bijoya's only son Sandip was born who when grew up took on the banner of his father and is making great films. you should watch his award wining film " Nishi japan ".......

[cyberhippie]

Apu's mother's employer after she leave Varanasi, in the film Aparajito, was the lady? In question and one of the Ladies at the wedding party of his best friends sister in Apu World.

Next time you watch the films, look carefully look at these characters, of course perhaps I'm just doing the ladies an injustice LOL

Deepa Mehta, has Hijra character called Gulab (surprisingly) in the film water, which I noticed uses a o lot of visual stuff copied from Pather Panchali. no idea if that was a genuine Hijra of course.

[Somerset]

Thank you for the background information! The conditions under which this beautiful film were made make it even more wonderful.