Mumbai, May 2 (IANS): To mark the beginning of a year-long celebration of Satyajit Ray's birth centenary year, Government of India has released a short film that pays tribute to the legend. Titled "A Ray Of Genius", the film was launched on Ray's birth anniversary on Saturday.

The short film has been created by director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, who is known for his 2016 release "Pink", along with editor Arghya Kamal Mitra. The auteur's filmmaker son Sandip Ray extended support to the duo in their effort, besides a society that preserves Satyajit Ray's archives.

"When we were approached to make a tribute film for Satyajit Ray, the big challenge was that we were in Mumbai, while most of the source material was in Kolkata, and all of India was in lockdown. However, since we were beginning the countdown to his centenary, we have created what is a 'guru pranaam' in very challenging circumstances," director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury told indulgexpress.com.

The film is an initiative of department of Development of Museums and Cultural Spaces (DMCS), Ministry of Culture.

A highlight of the short film are photographs from Ray's sets clicked by renowned late photographer Nemai Ghosh who was an associate of the filmmaker for over 20 years.