Lost Neon Sign Advertisement from Pather Panchali (1955)

tyty
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Lost Neon Sign Advertisement from Pather Panchali (1955) Jan 15, 2024 17:38:08 GMT awesomereesee likes this

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Post by tyty on Jan 15, 2024 17:38:08 GMT

Hey guys,

I was recently reading the wikipedia page for Pather Panchali, the 1955 Indian-Bengali realism classic directed by Satyajit Ray. Under the release and reception tab, it says that to advertise the movie they made a big neon sign of Durga and Apu (the two main children of the film) playing. It says they placed the sign in a crowded area, but the book the reference comes from (Satyajit Ray - The Inner Eye) specifies that it was on top of 'K.C.Das', which is the most famous sweet seller in Calcutta. However, I cannot find a picture of this sign at all. This book appears to be the only one making the claim, but it is apparently a biography of Ray, so I want to believe it is accurate. Does anyone have any leads to a possible picture of this sign (or any advertising of the film for that matter)?

crumbelivable
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Lost Neon Sign Advertisement from Pather Panchali (1955) Feb 10, 2024 2:45:59 GMT awesomereesee likes this

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Post by crumbelivable on Feb 10, 2024 2:45:59 GMT

Jan 15, 2024 17:38:08 GMT tyty said:

Hey guys,

I was recently reading the wikipedia page for Pather Panchali, the 1955 Indian-Bengali realism classic directed by Satyajit Ray. Under the release and reception tab, it says that to advertise the movie they made a big neon sign of Durga and Apu (the two main children of the film) playing. It says they placed the sign in a crowded area, but the book the reference comes from (Satyajit Ray - The Inner Eye) specifies that it was on top of 'K.C.Das', which is the most famous sweet seller in Calcutta. However, I cannot find a picture of this sign at all. This book appears to be the only one making the claim, but it is apparently a biography of Ray, so I want to believe it is accurate. Does anyone have any leads to a possible picture of this sign (or any advertising of the film for that matter)?

I'd like to read more about this. Do you have any supplemental links?

"oooh, you're a- a freaked out child in the woods..."

tyty
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Posts: 4

Lost Neon Sign Advertisement from Pather Panchali (1955) Mar 28, 2024 14:35:59 GMT

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Post by tyty on Mar 28, 2024 14:35:59 GMT

Feb 10, 2024 2:45:59 GMT crumbelivable said:

Jan 15, 2024 17:38:08 GMT tyty said:

Hey guys,

I was recently reading the wikipedia page for Pather Panchali, the 1955 Indian-Bengali realism classic directed by Satyajit Ray. Under the release and reception tab, it says that to advertise the movie they made a big neon sign of Durga and Apu (the two main children of the film) playing. It says they placed the sign in a crowded area, but the book the reference comes from (Satyajit Ray - The Inner Eye) specifies that it was on top of 'K.C.Das', which is the most famous sweet seller in Calcutta. However, I cannot find a picture of this sign at all. This book appears to be the only one making the claim, but it is apparently a biography of Ray, so I want to believe it is accurate. Does anyone have any leads to a possible picture of this sign (or any advertising of the film for that matter)?

I'd like to read more about this. Do you have any supplemental links?

Hey, so sorry to ignore you. This thread kind of died on arrival and I stopped checking LOL. The only links I have is from Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pather_Panchali#Release_and_reception

and also the source of the Wikipedia article

archive.org/details/satyajitrayinner00robi_0/page/n503/mode/2up

The book is constantly unavailable for some reason, but the entire quote is as follows:

"Satyajit decided to design some large advertisements, and have them printed and pasted up entirely on credit. They made a big impact. He also designed a neon sign showing Apu and Durga running together, which was mounted above K. C. Das, the most famous sweet-seller in Calcutta."

So, it turns out there are other advertisements (in addition to the neon sign) that are missing. These are the only two sources I think that mention this, and it isn't in much more depth than what I have already said

. Would love if extra information could be found!

Last Edit: Mar 28, 2024 14:51:41 GMT by tyty

tyty New Member Posts: 4	Lost Neon Sign Advertisement from Pather Panchali (1955) Mar 28, 2024 14:50:52 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by tyty on Mar 28, 2024 14:50:52 GMT I actually found the author of the book and just emailed him. Will update if he responds of anything noteworthy.

tyty
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Posts: 4

Lost Neon Sign Advertisement from Pather Panchali (1955) Mar 29, 2024 17:39:39 GMT

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Post by tyty on Mar 29, 2024 17:39:39 GMT

Mar 28, 2024 14:50:52 GMT tyty said:

I actually found the author of the book and just emailed him. Will update if he responds of anything noteworthy.

The author of the book responded saying that he never saw the neon sign, but Ray himself approved that part of the book to mention the neon sign. It would obviously not be the first time someone had embellished something, but the author (and Ray, clearly) believe that the neon sign existed. He said the next step would be to reach out to Ray's son. However, I cannot find any contact info on the guy (Sandip Ray). Since he is an actor (that I believe still performs), it shouldn't be that hard to find some method of contact.

BTW the posters are not missing, and are actually in another one of the author's book. It appears just the neon sign is missing.

Last Edit: Mar 29, 2024 17:43:05 GMT by tyty

crumbelivable
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Lost Neon Sign Advertisement from Pather Panchali (1955) Mar 29, 2024 21:06:27 GMT

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Post by crumbelivable on Mar 29, 2024 21:06:27 GMT

Mar 29, 2024 17:39:39 GMT tyty said:

Mar 28, 2024 14:50:52 GMT tyty said:

I actually found the author of the book and just emailed him. Will update if he responds of anything noteworthy.

The author of the book responded saying that he never saw the neon sign, but Ray himself approved that part of the book to mention the neon sign. It would obviously not be the first time someone had embellished something, but the author (and Ray, clearly) believe that the neon sign existed. He said the next step would be to reach out to Ray's son. However, I cannot find any contact info on the guy (Sandip Ray). Since he is an actor (that I believe still performs), it shouldn't be that hard to find some method of contact.

BTW the posters are not missing, and are actually in another one of the author's book. It appears just the neon sign is missing.

Glad to hear there's at least some potential evidence of it out there. I hope your search goes well from here.

"oooh, you're a- a freaked out child in the woods..."

Lost Neon Sign Advertisement from Pather Panchali (1955)

Post by tyty on Jan 15, 2024 17:38:08 GMT

Post by crumbelivable on Feb 10, 2024 2:45:59 GMT

Post by tyty on Mar 28, 2024 14:35:59 GMT

Post by tyty on Mar 28, 2024 14:50:52 GMT

Post by tyty on Mar 29, 2024 17:39:39 GMT

Post by crumbelivable on Mar 29, 2024 21:06:27 GMT

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