Happy birthday Martin Scorsese

Let’s examine Martin Scorsese’s relationship with Indian movies over the years as we commemorate his 80th birthday on November 17th.
Martin Scorsese reportedly intended to pair Shah Rukh Khan and Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie Xtreme City, but for some reason the production never materialised. It was even intended for screenwriter Paul Schrader to participate.

Paul claimed that SRK was the one who declined to participate in a 2013 interview with Open The Magazine. “I just had the impression that he would never feel at ease acting in a foreign film that wasn’t under his direction. You are aware that SRK has complete control over all he does? So he wouldn’t have that control if he did something similar on a global scale. He stated, “I suppose in the end he wasn’t that comfortable not being in total charge.

Martin Scorsese has frequently expressed his respect for Satyajit Ray and the significant influence the filmmaker’s work has had on him. “The Apu trilogy — Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956), and Apur Sansar (1959) — was a milestone for those of us here in the West,” he remarked. In a conversation with The Indian Express, Scorsese further explained, “In the very little history of cinema, Satyajit Ray is one of the names that we all need to know and whose films we all need to see. And to return, which I do rather frequently.The director of Goodfellas stated of the Honorary Academy Award winner, “I find that whenever I need to be reinvigorated or re-inspired, I go back to his works,” in an interview with the Smithsonian Centre for Education and Museum Studies. Additionally, it is thought that Satyajit Ray’s name was proposed by none other than Martin Scorsese for the Academy Honorary Award he got in 1992.

The World Cinema Foundation, an organisation founded by the Academy Award–winning filmmaker with the mission of preserving underappreciated films from throughout the globe, has over the years demonstrated a strong interest in preventing the extinction of Indian masterpieces. One of these is the Uday Shankar-helmed 1948 movie Kalpana. In addition, Scorsese recently assisted in the restoration of Kummatty, a film by renowned Malayalam director G. Aravindan, by posting images from the movie on his Instagram profile and praising it as “a must-see, especially because it has been mostly unavailable outside of India until now.”In addition, Martin Scorsese played a major role in the restoration of Satyajit Ray’s 1977 movie Satranj Ke Khiladi, which was based on the short story by Munshi Premchand. Shatranj ke Khiladi is included with Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane and Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt in a list of 50 movies Martin Scorsese wants you to see that was published by Indiewire. “Very few directors have been daring enough to even attempt to portray history in the making,” the director says of the movie. This movie, which explores a moment of astounding transformation in Indian history, is told from a comedic perspective that is characteristic of Ray’s work.

The director of recent films like Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Irishman has appreciated Anurag Kashyap’s creations. Anurag Kashyap, who has acknowledged that Scorsese has had a significant effect on his films throughout his career, detailed how the American director had seen his work and sent an email that read, “I truly loved Dev D and Gangs of Wasseypur and thought them interesting and motivating.”Scorsese saw Masaan, Neeraj Ghaywan’s feature film debut, and responded through email with these words: “I finally had a chance to watch Masaan, and I wanted to thank you for such an impactful first feature. It is exquisitely crafted, delicately weaved, and ultimately quite affecting. I appreciate you giving that to me. Best wishes, Marty.” Vicky Kaushal made his acting debut with Masaan, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard category at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

With his upcoming movie Killers of the Flower Moon, director Martin Scorsese will make a comeback. This movie is an adaptation of David Grann’s book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. The movie, which also stars Jesse Plemons and Lily Gladstone, will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May of 2023.