Satyajit Ray's 97th birth anniversary: Srijit Mukerji to adapt auteur's 12 stories into web series

On the 97th birth anniversary of one of India’s finest filmmakers Satyajit Ray, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures has announced that it will produce a web series based on the short stories written by the auteur.

The 12-part web series will be titled X-Ray — Selected Satyajit Shorts, reported Bombay Times . It will be produced by Viacom’s digital content brand Tipping Point in collaboration with National Award-winning director Srijit Mukherji.

Speaking about the development, Mukherji said to Bombay Times, “One aspect of Satyajit Ray, which probably gets overshadowed by his cinematic genius, is his remarkable treasure trove of short stories, which an entire generation grew up on. These stories appeared in groups of 12, across years, and covered diverse genres like horror, drama, satire etc. It is an honour to get an opportunity to adapt 12 such stories for the web series.”

The Bengali filmmaker gained fame not just in India but across the world. His Apu trilogy, comprising Pather Panchali, Aparajito, and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu), has been the recipient of multiple international awards. He also earned praise from Japanese director Akira Kurosawa who said , “Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.” Ray also created some much-loved characters in his writings like the detective Feluda and Professor Shonku.