Scarlett Johansson starrer Asteroid City ‘stole’ this scene from Satyajit Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri featuring Sharmila Tagore

Renowned Hollywood filmmaker Wes Anderson has revealed he ‘stole’ a scene from Satyajit Ray’s 1971 classic Aranyer Din Ratri for his 2023 film Asteroid City. Anderson recently presented Ray’s classic at Cannes after spearheading its restoration. The Cannes screening was attended by Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal, who were part of the original cast of Ray’s film.

Anderson, who has time and again admitted to being a fan of Ray has always stated how his cinema inspired him.

While speaking to THR India on the sidelines of Cannes, Anderson admitted that he copied a scene in Asteroid City from Ray’s classic Aranyer Din Ratri.

When asked about the memory game scene from Asteroid City, Wes admitted it was ‘copied’ from Aranyer Din Ratri. “Yes, well, stole it. The way that scene was done…it’s the most beautifully…First of all, that concept of the scene is very odd because it’s a game. But we learn about these characters so much while they play these games, and they’re saying these things,” he explained.

Anderson also mentioned trhat how he loved the way the film was shot and how it revealed so much of the characters.

“Then the way it's photographed. I mean, the cast is obviously a special cast. But the way it’s photographed is very striking. And the moment when we choose to start going from face to face, there’s more emotion in this scene than you would think there’s any reason to be. My family and I began to play this game after I saw the movie.”

About Aranyer Din Ratri and Asteroid City

Satyajit Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri starred Soumitra Chatterjee, Subhendu Chatterjee, Rabi Ghosh, Pahari Sanyal, Simi Garewal and Sharmila Tagore in lead roles. A famous scene shows the camera pan to different characters sitting in a circle as they play a memory game in the forest. The scene remains iconic till date and has been copied by several filmmakers time and again, giving a hat tip to Ray each time with their version.

Anderson recreated the scene in his film Asteroid City, which stars Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Grace Edwards and others.

At its 2025 Cannes screening, the film received a standing ovation. Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal were also present at the special occasion.