Patol Babu, Film Star
Summary
‘Patol Babu, Film Star’ by Satyajit Ray, is the story of an unassuming, humble, and modestman. He is a 52 year old man who gets an offer to play an insignificant role of a pedestrian in
a film. He gets really very excited about his role. However, when he reaches the shooting
scene for enacting his role, he is disappointed to know the insignificance and shortness of his
scene. He is given the role of a pedestrian who is to bump into the hero and just exclaim
‘Oh!’ He is disappointed and does not want to play such a small role.
However, he is passionate about acting and stage. He remembers his mentor, Gogon
Pakrashi’s words. He had told him many years ago that he must never refuse any role,
however small it might be. As an artist his aim should always be to make the most of the
opportunity, and squeeze the last drop of meaning out of his lines. Remembering his Guru’s
words, Patol Babu resolves to give his best to the small role offered to him. He rehearses it
many times, infusing different shades of emotions into the word ‘oh’. When the scene is shot,
everyone appreciates his acting. He leaves the shooting scene greatly satisfied for a role well
done, without even taking his payment. He felt money was insignificant in comparison to
satisfaction.
Character Sketch of Patol Babu
Patol Babu was a meticulous man with a lot of perseverance. He never lost faith in reality and
overtook all challenges in life and faced all difficulties. He was gifted with the art of acting.
He was offered a part in a movie and he took it up. He was meticulous because he calculated
the number of steps he needed to take before crashing into the hero of the movie. Similarly,
he practiced variation in the single syllable word with different tones. He was also a self
concerned man because he asked his wife for ginger tea the day before the movie was to be
shot so that his voice will be loud and clear on the day of the movie. He respected his
mentor and followed his advice. He was a grateful man and resolved to give his best to the
small role offered to him. Although in need of money, he held that personal satisfaction was
more important than monetary benefits and left the shooting scene without taking his
payment.
Character of Gogon Pakrashi
Gogon Pakrashi was Patol Babu’s mentor and Guru. Patol Babu admired him a lot. Mr.
Pakrashi was a great actor, without a sign of vanity; a saintly person. He had a lot of influence
on Patol Babu’s outlook on life. He had instilled in him strong moral and ethical values. He
had given him priceless piece of advice years ago that he must never refuse any role,
however small it might be. As an artist his aim should always be to make the most of the
opportunity, and squeeze the last drop of meaning out of his lines and deliver it to the
audience for their edification.
Character of Patol Babu’s wife.
Patol Babu’s wife speaks about two sentences in the story and they indicate she was a
practical lady. She did not appreciate her husband’s dreams about his acting career. After he
broke the news about the role he was going to play in a movie, her attitude was dominating
when she rebuked him for counting his chickens before they are hatched. She appeared to
be quite critical of Patol Babu’s idealistic and dreamy attitude towards life. She believed
these flaws in his personality did not let him become successful in life.
Character Sketch of Naresh Dutt
Naresh Dutt was Nishkanto Gosh’s youngest brother-in-law. He was in the film business,
production department. He was a strapping young man about thirty. He came to Patol
Babu’s house to offer him a role in a movie they were shooting. He was not punctual
because he reached Patol Babu’s home quite late. He was not forthcoming; he did not
describe the role honestly to Patol Babu and kept him in the dark.
Character Sketch of Baren Mullik
Baren Mullick was the director of the movie in which Patol Babu was playing the role of a
pedestrian. He was quite much in demand those days as he had had three hits in a row. He
ensured all aspects of a scene were in order before shooting it. He always seemed in hurry to
shoot as much as he could. However, He was patient enough to explain the scene to Patol
Babu.
He was quite open to creative and innovative ideas. When Patol Babu, a nonentity made a
suggestion about the scene, he being a renowned director immediately accepted it without
being pompous.
Comprehension Questions
1. From whom did Patol Babu get the offer to act in a film?
Patol Babu got the offer to act in a film from Nishikanto Ghosh, his neighbour.
2. What kind of role was being offered by the film production company?
The film production company was looking for a person to do the role of an absent-
minded pedestrian in his fifties who clashes with the hero of the film while the latter is
hurriedly crossing a road.
3. Why did Nishikanto Babu suggest Patol Babu’s name for a role in a film?
The production company where Nishikanto Babu worked, was looking for a man who
was in his fifties, short and bald-headed .Since Patol Babu fitted the description and
had acting experience years ago, Nishikanto Babu suggested Patol Babu’s name.
4. How did Patol Babu react? Why?
Patol Babu was greatly excited to hear about the offer. He felt that his long-forgotten
dreams were coming true and that this small role would mark his rise and fame and
fortune as an actor. Due to this over excitement, he mixed up his purchase in the
vegetable market.
5. What do you know about Patol Babu’s days as a stage performer?
Patol Babu was a well known stage actor at one time. He could not think of anything
but acting. He was a known actor in jatras, amateur theatricals and in plays put up by
the club in his neighborhood. On countless occasions his name had appeared on
handbills. People used to buy tickets to see Patol Babu.
6. What was Patol Babu’s real name?
Patol Babu’s real name was Sitalakanto Ray.
7. Why did Patol Babu abandon his factory job in Kanchrapara and settle down in
Calcutta?
Patol babu was offered a clerical post with Hudson and Kimberly in Calcutta. He was
also lucky to find a flat there. So, he gave up his factory job and came to Calcutta with
his wife.
8. How did Patol Babu lose his first job in Calcutta?
Patol Babu lost his job in the Calcutta company because the company began
retrenchment due to World War and the heavy loss that Britain suffered in the war.
Patol Babu had been working there for nine years.
9. Describe Patol Babu’s physical appearance.
Patol Babu was a fifty two year old Bengali man. He was a short and bald headed.
10. What was Patol Babu’s passion and why did he have to take a long break from this?
Patol Babu’s passion was acting. Although he had been a stage actor for several years
back in his days in Kanchrapara, he had always cherished the dream to become a
professional actor. Unfortunately, circumstances had not been in his favor. At first he
resigned his railway job in the village to join Hudson and Kimberley in Calcutta. He was
about to start an acting club but he lost his nine years’ old job due to retrenchment in
his office.
11. Was Patol’s wife very excited about his getting a chance in a film? Give reasons.
Patol’s wife wasn’t much excited about him getting a chance to act in a movie. She
was skeptical about him rising to a star in his acting career. She felt that Patol Babu
had the habit of counting his chickens before they were hatched and that is why he
never became successful.
12. How was Patol Babu asked to dress for his role?
Patol Babu was asked to dress himself in an old fashioned woolen jacket of nut-brown
color with buttons reaching up to the neck.
13. Why was Patol Babu very curious to know about his role in the movie?
Patol Babu was a meticulous/punctual/perfectionist man and actor. For him his role
was more important than his opportunity. He was curious to know what his role was
because he could prepare for the shooting.
14. What was Patol Babu’s reaction when he got to know his speaking part in the film?
Patol Babu was assigned a monosyllabic ‘Oh!’ as his speaking part in the film. The
once-renowned actor’s immediate reaction was anger and then disappointment. He
could not think of doing a short scene with the shortest of a speaking part. Overcome
by disappointment, he thought of silently going away from the shooting location.
15. How did Patol feel when he was misnamed Atul Babu by Naresh Dutt?
For Patol Babu his name was much more than just a name. His name was once a well
known name associated with acting and drama in Kanchrapara. When Naresh Dutt, the
only one Patol Babu knew on the shooting location, the one who had visited him at his
residence a day before and offered him his role, the one who was supposed to know
him unmistakably as Patol Babu, called him Atul Babu, Patol felt a bit of awkwardness.
16. When and why did Patol feel that the film unit was pulling his legs?
While waiting for his shots, Patol Babu began to suspect Naresh Dutt and the entire
film set. He saw that none of them seemed to have taken any notice of him For some
time he thought that he had been brought to the location to be fooled with just an
“Oh!” that too, to be uttered in a single shot, to be called grandpa and asked to wait
at the side for hours for his turn.
17. Why did Sosanko, script in charge, say that Patol was the luckiest of actors?
Sosanko said that Patol Babu was the luckiest of all the actors to be shot that day
because Patol Babu’s was the only scene that had any dialogue. There had been over
hundred actors in that film who played their roles without any dialogue. Most actors
had played their roles without having to walk or show their faces.
18. What inspiring quote of Gogon Pakrashi motivated Patol? Who was Mr. Pakrashi?
How did his words help Patol Babu in enacting his role?
Mr. Gogon Pakrashi was Patol Babu’s mentor and guru back in those days when Patol
was in Kancharapara. Pakrashi believed that the actor’s success is in squeezing the
maximum out of the role he plays – however short or insignificant that is. Mr.
Pakrashi’s words gave him the inspiration to reconcile with the short role he was to do
in the film.
Gogon Pakrashi, a great actor and Patol Babu’s mentor had once told him,
“Remember, Patol, however small a part you are offered, never consider it beneath
your dignity to accept it. As an artist your aim should be to make the most out of your
opportunity and squeeze the last drop of meaning out of your lines. A play involves
the work of many and it is the combined effort of many that makes a success of the
play.”
19. How does Patol Babu reconcile/compromise with the dialogue given to him?
Patol Babu’s dialogue in the scene was nothing but an, “Oh!” When he was told of this,
Patol felt belittled and his legs being pulled. But later, remembering the words of his
guru Gogon Pakrashi who advised him to accept any small role, however insignificant
it is, Patol accepted the role and practiced and got ready to do his role with great
precision/accuracy.
20. How do we know that Patol Babu was a meticulous man?
Patol Babu’s success in acting was that he was a meticulous man. He was a
perfectionist in every field of his life, especially in acting. He went to any extent to
make his role perfect. His role of the pedestrian clashing with the hero in Baren
Mullick’s film is a perfect example for this. While doing his scene, Patol Babu didn’t see
the hero Chanchal Kumar, but another man playing his role against him in the film.
21. Why did Mr. Mullick turn down Patol Babu’s request for a rehearsal?
Director Baren Mullick refused Patol Babu a rehearsal because he wanted Patol’s scene
to be shot before clouds gathered in the sky and obstructed a smooth shooting.
22. What were the special touches that Patol Babu gave to his role to make it more
authentic?
The meticulous Patol Babu rehearsed his small role over and over again. He mixed a
variety of expressions and effects to his dialogue and made that sound as best as
possible. Besides, it was Patol Babu himself who suggested that he carry a newspaper
while he walked by the road and collided with the lead actor.
23. What were the two things that were added to Patol Babu’s role?
Patol Babu, being an unknown drama artist suggested to Baren Mullick, the veteran
director that he should be holding a newspaper while playing his role. Surprisingly,
director Baren Mullick accepted the suggestion. He also ordered for a moustache be
given to Patol Babu.
24. What was the greatest reward that Patol Babu received for his role in the film?
Patol Babu did an amazing job and received praises from Chanchal Kumar who praised
his amazing timing that nearly passed him out. Barren Mullick, the director exclaimed
his performance jolly good and went on to say that Patol was quite an actor! He felt
very pleased with his performance and a total satisfaction swept over him.
25. Why did Patol Babu go away without taking any payment for his role?
Patol Babu was very pleased with his performance. But he felt that the film crew would
never appreciate how hard he had laboured for that one shot. They were mechanical in
getting people to do roles, paid them and forgot about them. They would not pay him
much and that could never compensate for the great effort he had put in to do his
role. Although he needed the money, it would not be a befitting remuneration for such
a perfect and dedicated work.
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
Q1 Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow.
(a) What if he were to go there now? What harm would there be? Why waste a Sunday
morning in the company of these useless people and made to look foolish on top of
that?
i. Who is the speaker of the above lines and where was he?
Patol Babu was the speaker of the above lines. He was at the site of the film
shooting.
ii. Where did he think of going?
The narrator thought of going to Karali babu’s house to listen to songs sung in
praise of Goddess Kali.
iii. Whom does he refer to as ‘useless people’? Why?
He refers to the members of the film crew as ‘useless people’.
Patol Babu was excited to be given a chance to play a role in the film. He was very
disappointed and annoyed when he realised he had to play a very short role and
utter just the word ‘oh’ as dialogue.
iv Find the antonym of ‘benefit’
harm
(b) Patol Babu had given up hope and was about to go for his bath when there was a knock
on the front door.
i. Who was Patol Babu waiting for? Why was he waiting for that person?
Patol Babu was waiting for Naresh Dutt, who was in the production department of
a film making company. He was to give Patol Babu details about his role in the
film.
ii. For how long had Patol Babu been waiting for the visitor?
Patol Babu had been waiting since morning and the time then was 12:30 pm.
iii. What information did the visitor give Patol Babu?
The visitor told Patol Patol Babu very briefly to come to a particular place where
the shooting was to take place at 8:30 next morning wearing a jacket. He told him
that the role was of a pedestrian.
iv. Give the antonym of ‘hope’.
despair
(c) ‘‘Counting your chickens again before they’re hatched, are you? No wonder you
could never make a go of it.’’
i. Who is the speaker of the above lines?
Patol Babu’s wife is the speaker of the above lines.
ii. When does the speaker say the above lines?
Patol Babu informed his wife that he had been offered a small role in a film and
God willing that would mark his rise to fame and fortune.
iii. What does the speaker refer to as ‘it’?
Patol Babu’s wife believes that he could not be successful in his acting
career after so many years.
iv. Give the meaning of the expression- ‘Counting your chickens before they’re
hatched’.
Depending on something happening before it has happened.
(d) “Is that so? Well, I suggest you go and wait in the shade there. We have a few things to
attend to before we get going.”
i. Who said the above lines and to whom?
Naresh Dutt said the above lines to Patol Babu.
ii. When does the speaker say ‘Is that so?’
Patol Babu arrives on time for the film shooting. He tells Naresh Dutt that he had
never been late in all the years that he worked at a company to which Naresh Dutt
replies - ‘Is that so?’
iii. Where had the person being spoken to come and why?
Patol Babu had come to a place near Faraday House for acting a small role in a
film.
iv. Give the meaning of the phrase- ‘to get going’.
To start doing something
Q2 Answer the following questions in about 30 to 40 words.
a) Why was Patol Babu very curious to know about his role in the movie?
Patol Babu was a meticulous/punctual/perfectionist man and actor. For him his
role was more important than his opportunity. He was curious to know what his
role was because he could prepare for the shooting.
b) How did Patol Babu lose his first job in Calcutta?
Patol Babu lost his job in Calcutta because the company began retrenchment due
to World War and the heavy loss that Britain suffered in the war. Patol Babu had
been working there for nine years.
c) Why did Nishikanto Babu suggest Patol Babu’s name for a role in a film?
The production company where Nishikanto Babu worked was looking for a man
who was in his fifties, short and bald-headed. Since Patol Babu fitted the
description and had acting experience years ago, Nishikanto Babu suggested Patol
Babu’s name.
d) Why did Sosanko say that Patol was the luckiest of actors?
Sosanko said that Patol Babu was the luckiest of all the actors to be a part of the
great Baren Mullick’s film. Patol Babu’s was the only scene that had any dialogue.
There had been over actors in that film who played their roles without any
dialogue, without having to walk or show their faces.
Q3 Answer the following questions in about 100-120 words.
a) Why did Patol Babu go away without taking any payment for his role?
Patol Babu was very pleased with his performance. But he felt that the film crew
would never appreciate how hard he had laboured for that one shot. They were
mechanical in getting people to do roles, paid them and forgot about them. They
would not pay him much and that could never compensate for the great effort he
had put in to do his role. Although he needed the money, it would not be a
befitting remuneration for such a perfect and dedicated work.
b) Which inspiring quote of Gogon Pakrashi motivated Patol?
Patol Babu was unhappy with the role he was given. He felt that the crew
members were making a mockery of him.
Gogon Pakrashi, a great actor and Patol Babu’s mentor had once told him,
“Remember, Patol, however small a part you are offered, never consider it
beneath your dignity to accept it. As an artist your aim should be to make the
most out of your opportunity and squeeze the last drop of meaning out of your
lines. A play involves the work of many and it is the combined effort of many that
makes a success of the play.”
c) What did Patol Babu do after losing his job with ‘Hudson and Kimberley’?
Patol Babu struggled to make a living after losing his job with ‘Hudson and
Kimberley’. He opened a variety store but had to shut it after five years. He gave
up his job with a Bengali firm in disgust due to the high handedness of the boss.
He worked as an insurance salesman for ten years. He tried various means to earn
a livelihood but without success. He had been going regularly to an establishment
dealing with scrap iron where a cousin of his had promised him a job.
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