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The pair travel to the kingdom of Shundi, where though all the citizens are mute, they live harmoniously together, Hindus and Muslims. They become talented musicians who are able to hold their listeners in awe (literally, their music renders people motionless).They are given a pair of magic slippers with which they can travel anywhere they want to go to.They can get food and clothes whenever needed by doing what would now be described as a high five.Instead they ask for and receive the following boons:

In a telling choice the young musicians ask for neither wealth nor status. After the ghost dance, the King of the ghosts, happy with the duo, grants them three wishes, only available to them as a pair. Their singing and drumming in the forest attracts dancing ghosts in a wondrous scene which seems almost hallucinatory in its special effects, and is the part of the film which has attracted enormous critical attention particularly among the adult population. Both met in a jungle, initially hostile to each other, but when faced with danger in the form of a prowling tiger, the two discover common cause and thereafter become inseperable. Bagha was also turned out of his village because of his appalling Dhol playing. Goopy was banished from his village by the irate king whom he was trying to impress with his singing. Bagha on the other hand loved playing the Dhol, a popular percussion instrument used for folk festivals, but he was an atrocious player! Each was the resident of a village with a whimsical name – Amlaki in the case of Goopy and Haritoki in the case of Bagha. Goopy was the impoverished son of a village grocer with a passionate love for singing, even though he was tone-deaf and could not sing in tune.

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The film is based on the adventures of the lovable duo, Goopy (whose full name, Gopinath Kyne is briefly introduced before his identity is firmly associated with the short-form Goopy) and Bagha. Monali first presented the basic story line of the film, which was also Ray’s first musical.

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The movie has all the ingredients which would appeal to children – fantasy, humour, adventure, the triumph of good over evil, even a chance encounter with ghosts which results in the lovable duo who are the unlikely heroes of this story acquiring magical powers, with the bumbling young underdogs finally finding their feet, and thus a happy ending for all. It proved to be a major critical and commercial success, running for eight and a half months, which was unheard of for Bengali movies. The film was Ray’s first childrens’ film and was released in 1969. Monali began by giving a brief background to the film, which is based on a short story authored by Satyajit Ray’s illustrious grandfather, Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury.

Monali made a very vivid and interesting presentation with her verbal commentary being supplemented by scenes from the film. A presentation on the popular childrens’ film “Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’ by Satyajit Ray, was made by Monali Chatterjee at the Bookclub session on Sunday 13 th March.