#BookReview ; Travails With The Alien by Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray was a master of science fiction writing. Through his Professor Shonku stories and other fiction and non-fiction pieces, he explored the genre from various angles. In the 1960s, Ray wrote a screenplay for what would have been the first-of-its-kind sci-fi film to be made in India. It was called The Alien and was based on his own short story "Bonkubabur Bandhu". On being prompted by Arthur C. Clarke, who found the screenplay promising, Ray sent the script to Columbia Pictures in Hollywood, who agreed to back it, and Peter Sellers was approached to play a prominent role. Then started the "Ordeals of the Alien" as Ray calls it, as even after a series of trips to the US, UK and France, the film was never made, and more shockingly, some fifteen years later, Ray watched Steven Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the Third Kind and later E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, and realized these bore uncanny resemblances to his script The Alien, including the way the ET was designed! A slice of hitherto undocumented cinema history, Travails with the Alien includes Ray's detailed essay on the project with the full script of The Alien, as well as the original short story on which the screenplay was based. These, presented alongside correspondence between Ray and Peter Sellers, Arthur C. Clarke, Marlon Brando, Hollywood producers who showed interest, and a fascinating essay by the young student at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism who broke the Spielberg story, make this book a rare and compelling read on science fiction, cinema and the art of adaptation.

Travails With The Alien is a sci-fi story written by Satyajit Ray in 1960s as a screenplay but it was never made into a movie even though it was considered promising but was never made into a movie, it has been published by Harper Collins India. The author is one of the greatest film-makers of all times. His first film Pather Panchali (1955) won an award at the Cannes Film Festival. The only Indian to receive the Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1992. He was also a prolific writer of fiction, non-fiction, and a designer, calligrapher, editor and music director.

The Alien was a unique screenplay & had the potential to be a blockbuster but unfortunately never got to be made into a movie, some years later Ray noticed some interesting similarity of some sci-fi movies with his screenplay especially E.T. : The Extra Terrestrial & Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The book is basically divided into four segments & covers not just the screenplay mentioned above but also other essays & letters. This book has been written in a unique way which will surely not allow you to keep it down. Get it here,

Satyajit Ray has always been considered a great film maker of all time, his vision to come up with diverse stories still astonishes everyone & this book just proves even more about his brilliance. The art work in this book will blow you away, so will the writing. The way it has been written is flawless & something I’ve never encountered. The cover & title couldn’t be better. It is surely one of those books which should be treasured by readers.

Thank you Writersmelon & Harper Collins India for the review copy.