In 1964, renowned filmmaker Satyajit Ray was asked to create a short film for ‘ESSO World Theater’, a cultural showcase presented on television and funded by the American oil company Esso. Asked to write and direct the film in English, Ray opted instead to make a film without words. The result is a poignant fable of friendship and rivalry. As he did for many of his films, Ray composed the music for the film, including the haunting tune played on the flute.

After Satyajit Ray was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1992, the Academy embarked on an ambitious endeavor to preserve the works of the Bengali filmmaker. “Two,” also known as “Parable of Two,” is part of the Academy’s Satyajit Ray Collection (http://www.oscars.org/film-archive/co…), which includes 18 feature films directed by Ray and preserved by the Archive.

Though Ray worked exclusively on 35mm, “Two” may have been filmed on 16mm, as it was created specifically for television. After an exhaustive search for elements relating to the film, three 16mm prints were found. From the 16mm print with the least wear and tear, courtesy of the Austrian Film Museum, a preservation negative was struck. “Two” was then digitally scanned and picture clean up and restoration were performed to eliminate scratches. The 16mm film’s poor audio was also restored. The film is now preserved and available to screen theatrically on 16mm or as a digital cinema package (DCP). Now, audiences everywhere can see this obscure gem, preserved by the Academy Film Archive, from master filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

Being conceived and raised in the metropolitan city of Gurgaon, far from the place where I grew up, my folks did their best to ensure that I stay associated with my Bengali roots. The reason they somewhat prevailing with regards to doing as such, is a result of the movies by Satyajit Beam.

When I rediscovered Beam much further down the road, I went over “Two”, a short highly contrasting film without any exchanges, discharged in 1965. The film is a fight. A skirmish of the psyches between a youngster from a special foundation, who hasn’t encountered how cruel life can be, and a tyke from the ghettos, who opposes the brutalities incurred by neediness.

As somebody who has delighted in watching Beam’s movies as a child for the excellent music and youngsters inviting storylines, “”Two”” made me understand that his motion pictures are significantly more than that. This is a film which ridicules the hopeful idea of children being just honest, questions whether realism can be the sole way to bliss, and whether granulating neediness fundamentally implies that life is not worth living. Pressures in a general public cracked by class and rank are investigated through a collaboration between two kids.

In less than 15 minutes, this film is a window into exactly how unequal Indian culture is. Do watch it and make it an indicate switch off your cell phones at the same time. You won’t think twice about it!