Satyajit Ray’s ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ to be screened at TIFF 2025

The restored version of Satyajit Ray's "Aranyer Din Ratri", which debuted at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in May, will have its North American premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was also showcased at Italy's Il Cinema Ritrovato in June.

The festival's official X account posted, "#TIFF50 North American Premiere of the 4K restoration: Days and Nights in the Forest, directed by Satyajit Ray."

Based on Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay's novel of the same name, the film tells the story of a group of city men from Calcutta — portrayed by Soumitra Chatterjee, Subhendu Chatterjee, Samit Bhanja, and Rabi Ghosh — who set off for a weekend escape in the wilderness. The cast also featured Sharmila Tagore, Kaberi Bose, and Simi Garewal.

Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal, the only surviving cast members, attended the Cannes screening of the restored classic, along with filmmaker Wes Anderson and Purnima Dutta, head of Piyali Films and producer of Aranyer Din Ratri.

Originally nominated for Best Film at the 20th Berlin International Film Festival in 1970, the film later inspired a sequel, "Abar Aranye", directed by Goutam Ghose and released in 2003, which revisited the four friends and their families as they returned to the wilderness.

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The Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to run from September 4 to 14.