The Golden Fortress

Tipu Purkayastha is a human resource director by day, father of two young children by evening, and an exhausted movie-watcher by night

(Sonar Kella). One of Ray's little-known yet unforgettable sojourns into the populist pulp of children's fables and detective fiction, The Golden Fortress spins a yarn about young boy embarking on an adventure into the desert wilds of Western Rajasthan in search of visions, peacocks, camels, and a fortress of gold. A pair of thieves soon halts his travels, though, and it's up to the fearless detective Feluda to rescue him. As Feluda, the great actor Soumitra Chatterjee seems a long way from his role as Apu, but he and Ray are both at the top of their games, breezily creating a crowd-pleasing adventure that was acclaimed by Variety as on par with the best of Hollywood. Rajasthan proves the film's other star attraction, its vibrant colors and otherworldly landscapes adding more drama than any special effect.

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