It was a rare exhibition featuring artworks on the Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s films, including feature films and documentaries.

‘Inner Light’, a painting exhibition by artist Ramita Bhaduri was presented by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) recently. 

“I have 42 paintings on all the films made by the great Satyajit Ray. These paintings are my own interpretation of his films. Although, one will not find any similarity with any of the scenes in the films, these paintings have the true essence of his cinema,” Ramita told Metrolife.

According to the artist, she was asked to make a series on Ray during the 50th celebration of his work at Nandan, a West Bengal Government Film Centre. Talking about the response of people to her exhibition, she said, “Although people have appreciated my artwork but no one bought any of them as they are not ready to shell the actual price for them.” 

Ramita has no formal training in art, although she has a master’s degree in education from Calcutta University. Her parents recognised her talent at an early stage and encouraged her to continue with her first love – art. 

A versatile artist, Ramita’s forte lies in paintings with oil on canvas as well as carving sculptures on chalk. She started working with chalk as a schoolgirl, but, it was only around 1991 that she decided to convert her passion into a serious art form with an exhibition of her chalk sculptures at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata. Till date, she has crafted and exhibited a collection of around 500 chalk statues, each telling a story of its own. 

The multi-talented artist has also recorded albums of Rabindra Sangeet and Sachin Dev Burman’s rare Bengali songs. The National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi is also collaborating with her to preserve her fragile work.