Ray Trailer: Netflix anthology film based on the maverick filmmaker Satyajit Ray's short stories

Netflix on Tuesday dropped the trailer of its next venture Ray. The compilation will have four engaging stories inspired by legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Manoj Bajpayee, Ali Fazal, Harshvarrdhan Kapoor and Kay Menon will bear every story dependent on 'sense of self, retribution, jealousy and double-crossing'. The film is slated to stream on Netflix from June 25.

The trailer begins with a voice-over stating that mankind is no less than God as it too gives birth and creates another human. We are then introduced to Ipsit Nair (Fazal), a man who is said to have the memory of a computer. Next up is Harshvardhan’s Bollywood superstar who encounters a God woman and is amazed at her popularity. Manoj Bajpayee, fresh from the success of The Family Man 2, plays Musafir Ali, a ghazal singer, who is on a journey to seek his lost fame. And finally, we get a glimpse of Kay Kay Menon’s character, who, despite a stable job, wants to create art as a makeup artist.

Every one of the four characters' lives goes for a throw, and the tales will portray their travel and furthermore investigate the weaknesses and various shades of the characters. The four stories named Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa, Forget Me Not, Bahrupiya and Spotlight guarantee a drawing in and exciting ride for the crowd. Towards the end, the voice-over cautions that at whatever point a man trusts himself to be God, he has a significant defeat.

Ray has been helmed by Abhishek Chaubey, Srijit Mukherji and Vasan Bala. It also stars Gajraj Rao, Shweta Basu Prasad, Anindita Bose, Bidita Bag, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Radhika Madan, Chandan Roy Sanyal and Akansha Ranjan Kapoor.

Director Abhishek Chaubey, who worked with Manoj Bajpayee and Gajraj Rao in Ray, shared his excitement about the collaboration. He said in a statement, “I am drawn to stories that twist with whimsy and humour. Hardly anyone crafts those better than Satyajit Ray, and a chance to tell this story is a great opportunity for me. With Manoj Bajpayee and Gajraj Rao playing off each other on screen, Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa, I hope is as much of a joy to watch as it was to make. Super stoked about the show and can’t wait for people to watch it!”

Filmmaker Srijit Mukherjee, who has two shorts to his credit — Forget me Not with Ali Fazal and Bahrupiya with Kay Kay Menon, added, “Satyajit Ray has been a big inspiration in my life. After faithfully bringing two stories of Ray to life in Feluda Pherot, it is an honour and very fulfilling to reinterpret two more stories of Ray in a decidedly darker space. I also got the opportunity to work with a brilliant cast, including actors like Kay Kay Menon, Ali Fazal and Sweta Basu Prasad across two stories. I’m excited to see how viewers will react to these imperfect and somewhat broken characters.”

Vasan Bala, on his part, shared that Spotlight has been inspired by the prolific and illuminating works of Ray. He added that it was an opportunity for him to collaborate with wonderful talent. “It’s a pulpy, quirky, music filled tale of some very interesting characters. Harshvarrdhan Kapoor, Radhika Madan, Akanksha Ranjan Kapoor and Chandan Roy Sanyal are in crackling form. Can’t wait for the audience to watch and react to it,” he said.