Benegal's documentary on Ray is disappointing overall. Ray seems to be in a cocoon, uninterested in the film, the questions, anything beyond the world his films inhabited while they were being made. He comes across as an ordinary person who made some good films, who was a meticulous observer of reality but hardly an enthusiast who would interact with the mysteries of the world. There is not one moment when he goes beyond just answering a question, not one moment when he comes forward and shows initiative, excitement. He leans back and behaves as if it is Benegal's film, why-should-i-bother-about-it? Ray reflects no 'love' for cinema in general. His gestures and mannerisms are abhorrent and his matter-of-fact responses, much like his films, reveal his allergies more than his compassion for anything at all. Like Ray's cinema, Benegal too has failed to extract any warmth out of the man. The handshake has no intent in it, it only offers a reptilian, cold-blooded, untouchability.
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