Sukumar Ray (film)

Sukumar Ray
Title card of the film
Directed by	Satyajit Ray
Produced by	Government of West Bengal
Screenplay by	Satyajit Ray
Based on	Life and works of Sukumar Ray
Starring	Utpal Dutt Soumitra Chatterjee Tapen Chatterjee Santosh Dutta
Narrated by	Soumitra Chatterjee
Music by	Satyajit Ray
Cinematography	Barun Raha
Edited by	Dulal Dutta
Production company	Indrapuri Studio
Release date	1987 (1987)
Running time	30 minutes
Country	India
Language	Bengali

Sukumar Ray is a 1987 Bengali short documentary film made by Satyajit Ray on his father, Sukumar Ray. It was released during the birth centenary year of Sukumar Ray, who was born on 30 October 1887. The thirty minutes documentary features the life and some of the works by Sukumar Ray in the form of paintings, photographs and readings. This is the last documentary made by Satyajit Ray as a tribute to his father, before he died in 1992. The documentary used Sukumar Ray's photographs and paintings than video recording as the film was considerably a new medium in India when Sukumar Ray died in 1923.

Sukumar Ray was a Bengali humorous poet, story writer and playwright who mainly wrote for children. Born in Bengali family on 30 October 1887 to Bidhumukhi and Upendrakishore Ray, Ray is a second children of six and illustrator of literary nonsense and nonsense rhyme in Bengali literature. Graduated with Honours degree in Physics and Chemistry from the Presidency College, Kolkata, Ray got training in photography and printing technology in England at the School of Photo-Engraving and Lithography, London. He formed the "Nonsense Club" and the "Monday Club", the members of which included some of the young artists, writers, scholars and critics of that time. Ray was also associated with Brahmo Samaj and wrote a poem called "Atiter Katha" for young readers. His works such as the collection of poems Abol Tabol (Gibberish), novella HaJaBaRaLa (The Absurdity), short story collection Pagla Dashu (Crazy Dashu) and play Chalachitta Chanchari are considered nonsense masterpieces. Father of film-maker Satyajit Ray, Sukumar Ray died of severe infectious fever, Leishmaniasis on 10 September 1923.

With Soumitra Chatterjee as a narrator, the documentary begins by showcasing some of the drawings by Sukumar Ray, drawn for the children books Abol Tabol, HaJaBaRaLa and a short story, Heshoram Hushiarer Diary (The Diary of Heshoram: The Clever). Explaining the lineage of Ray family starting from Hari Krishna Roy Chowdhury and Upendrakishore Ray, the documentary describes initial days of Sukumar Ray, his formation of the "Nonsense Group" in the college and publication of handwritten humorous magazine, "Thirty Two and a Half Fries".