German filmmaker Wim Wenders visits Satyajit Ray’s house in Kolkata

Kolkata, Feb 20 (PTI) German filmmaker Wim Wenders, known for classics such as “Paris, Texas”, “Wings of Desire” and "Perfect Days", visited the residence of the late cinema icon Satyajit Ray here during his trip to the West Bengal capital.

Wenders is on his maiden trip to the country as part of the five-city ‘King of the Road - India Tour’ that will see the screening of 18 of his films.

He spent time in Kolkata after arriving in the city earlier this week before moving to Delhi where he will hold a masterclass.

Film Heritage Foundation director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur on Wednesday shared photos from Wenders' visit to Ray's house.

The photos feature Ray’s son Sandip Ray and veteran actress Madhabi Mukherjee, who starred in the Indian stalwart's three films -- "Mahanagar" (1963), "Charulata" (1964) and "Kapurush" (1965).

"It’s Ray all around spent the afternoon with Wim at Satyajit Ray’s house… Sandip Ray found a letter which Wim wrote to him always amazed how in one life time Satyajit Ray did so much and then we met our “Charulata” Madhabi Mukherjee..." Dungarpur wrote.

Earlier this month, Wenders shared his deep admiration for Ray's works at a masterclass in Mumbai.

“I started to watch movies at the Cinemathèque because it was the cheapest cinema... So, first I saw one film, then two films a day, and finally, I saw everything they had, and it was the entire world cinema. I saw a huge dose of Indian films with subtitles. Later on, I realised Satyajit Ray was one of the great filmmakers of his generation, and he was still alive,” Wenders said.

Wenders said he met Ray at the 1973 Berlin Film Festival, where the latter’s movie, “Ashani Sanket” (‘Distant Thunder’), was screened.

The 79-year-old director, who has garnered acclaim for his films such as “Paris, Texas” and “Wings of Desire”, said he literally “looked up to” Ray.

“I met him, and I was amazed at how tall he was, he's one of the few filmmakers I had to look up to,” Wenders said, adding that he had a long talk with Ray.

"He was very kind and gentle, looking down at me, and answering all my questions. My heart was beating, but I was amazed that he answered all my questions. He was such a gentleman. I saw his film, it was playing the next day, and when he won the film, I was very proud that I had spoken to him," he said.

The King of the Road tour is organised by the Goethe Institut, Goethe Zentrum, Film Heritage Foundation and Wim Wenders Foundation. PTI