imported>Titodutta: /* Revival */clean up (#satyajit100 #সত্যজিৎ১০০ ), typo(s) fixed: ’s → 's

2021-05-02T05:30:25Z

Revival: clean up (#satyajit100 #সত্যজিৎ১০০ ), typo(s) fixed: ’s → 's

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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Sikkim
| image =
| caption = Sikkim (1971)
| director = [[Satyajit Ray]]
| producer = The [[Chogyal]] of Sikkim [[Palden Thondup Namgyal]]
| writer = [[Satyajit Ray]]
| cinematography = [[Soumendu Roy]]
| narrator = Satyajit Ray
| starring =
| editing = [[Dulal Dutta]]
| music = Satyajit Ray
| distributor =
| released =
| color_process = Black and white
| runtime = 60 min
| language = English
| country = India
| budget =
}}

'''''Sikkim''''' is a 1971 Indian [[Documentary film|documentary]] about the nation of [[Sikkim]], directed by [[Satyajit Ray]]. The documentary was commissioned by the [[Chogyal]] (King) of Sikkim at a time when he felt the [[sovereignty]] of Sikkim was under threat from both [[China]] and [[India]]. Ray's documentary is about the sovereignty of Sikkim.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ray|first=Satyajit |authorlink=Satyajit Ray|editor=Bert Cardullo|title=Satyajit Ray: interviews Conversations with Filmmakers Series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQYs4X5d9WAC&q=%22Sikkim%22+Satyajit+Ray+documentary&pg=PR32|year=2007|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|isbn=978-1-57806-937-8|page=xxxii}}</ref> The film was banned by the government of India, when Sikkim merged with India in 1975. In 2000, the copyright of the film was transferred to the Art and Culture Trust of Sikkim. The ban was finally lifted by the [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry of External Affairs]] (MEA) in September 2010.<ref name="te">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100920/jsp/calcutta/story_12954311.jsp|title=US print key to Sikkim release|date=20 September 2010|work=The Telegraph}}</ref><ref name="ind">{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/After-29-years--Ray-s-Sikkim-film-sees-light-of-day/682051|title=After 29 years, Ray's Sikkim film sees light of day|date=16 Sep 2010|work=Indian Express}}</ref><ref name="bbc">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11345987|title=Ban on Satyajit Ray film lifted|date=17 September 2010|publisher=BBC News, Calcutta}}</ref> In November 2010 the director of the Kolkata film festival stated that upon screening the documentary for the first time, he received an injunction from the court of Sikkim again banning the film.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Banerjee|first=Soumyadipta|date=2010-11-13|title=Ban on Satyajit Ray film reimposed|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-ban-on-satyajit-ray-film-reimposed-1465993|access-date=2020-07-17|website=DNA India|language=en}}</ref>

==Production==
Satyajit had planned several documentaries about with people in their setting in focus, like musicians of [[Rajasthan]], dancers in [[Ellora]], but eventually ended up making only one. Ray's cousin who lived in [[Darjeeling]], had appeared in film, ''[[Kanchenjungha]]'' (1962) also shot in Darjeeling, was acquainted with [[Chogyal]] of Sikkim [[Palden Thondup Namgyal]] and his American wife [[Hope Cooke]], the couple commissioned the film and his cousin convinced Ray to take on the project.<ref>{{cite book|last= Robinson|first=Andrew|title=Satyajit Ray: the inner eye|url=https://archive.org/details/satyajitrayinner00robi_0|url-access= registration|quote= Sikkim documentary -inpublisher:icon.|year=1989|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-06946-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/satyajitrayinner00robi_0/page/275 275]|chapter=26 Documentaries}}</ref>

==Overview==
No critics have seen the film, but Ray described it in the following way: "While they're reaching this point, I cut to a shot of a piece of telegraph wire. It's raining and there are two drops of rain approaching on a downward curve. It's a very poetic seven minutes. And the end is also very lively, very optimistic, with children, happy, laughing, smoking, singing. The whole thing builds up into a paean of praise for the place." The documentary was screened for public viewing for the first time in 39 years at the 16th Kolkata Film Festival. [[Mathures Paul]] of ''[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]]'' wrote in his review, "Sandwiched between Pratidwandi, Seemabaddha and Asani Sanket, Sikkim is beautiful, more an essay from a respected travel journal from Ray’s era accompanied by detailed photographs that graced magazines like Life".<ref>{{cite web|title=Lost in hibernation|url=http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=348293&catid=47|publisher=The Statesman|access-date=14 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130000712/http://thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=348293&catid=47|archive-date=30 November 2010|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Censorship==

{{Empty section|date=December 2018}}

==Revival==
Except a screening for the Chogyal family, the film never got formally released. For many years, the film was considered to be lost and it was thought that the only surviving record of the film is a scene-by-scene written reconstruction of the film by the remaining film team members. However, in January 2003 it was reported that a good quality print has been kept by the [[British Film Institute]].<ref>[http://www.screenindia.com/old/archive/archive_fullstory.php?content_id=2576 Screen India archives]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> When the Kolkata-based Satyajit Ray Society traced a print with the Chogyal's family it was found to be damaged beyond repair, finally, a print that had made its way to London was traced and restored by the [[Academy Film Archive]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|title=Preserved Projects|url=http://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=&filmmaker=satyajit+ray&category=All&collection=All|website=Academy Film Archive}}</ref> A restored version was shown in 2008 during a "Ray Retrospective" at the [[Nantes Three Continents Film Festival]] in France.

After the government overturned the ban, the restored copy reached the [[Gangtok]]-based Art and Culture Trust of Sikkim in September 2010, which has earlier received the prints and right for the film in 2000.<ref name="ind"/>

Amidst a lot of controversies, this was finally screened at a film festival at Kolkata in Nandan in Nov 2010.
People waited hours and sat on the movie hall floors to watch the single screening of this movie. This was again removed after a single show, as a Sikkim court ordered a stay on the screening of this documentary.

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.satyajitray.org/films/sikkim.htm Satayajitray.org page]
* {{IMDb title|0067754|Sikkim}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081121002227/http://satyajitrayworld.com/aboutray/sikkimrestoration.aspx Article on the restoration of the film at Satyajit Ray World]

{{Satyajit Ray}}

[[Category:Films directed by Satyajit Ray]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:1971 films]]
[[Category:History of Sikkim]]
[[Category:Documentary films about politics]]
[[Category:Films shot in Sikkim]]
[[Category:Northeast Indian films]]

Sikkim (film) - Revision history

imported>Titodutta: /* Revival */clean up (#satyajit100 #সত্যজিৎ১০০ ), typo(s) fixed: ’s → 's