The main of this project was to create films (both animation and live action), graphic novels, sculptures, art installations, as well as literature through poems and short stories to negotiate the spaces of human desire, that have the potential to elevate as well as reduce the human spirit based of  “The Philosopher’s Stone”.

Definition: The Philosopher's Stone was a legendary alchemical substance with magical properties. This stone could be used to create the Elixir of Life, which made the drinker immortal, as well as transform any metal into pure gold.

The Bengali term, Jokher Dhon roughly translates to Troll’s Gold, the kind of wealth that can be all consuming and destroy the person who chases it. The above conversation is from Ray’s film about a humble middle class Bengali bank clerk named Paresh Dutta who is caught in the rain while returning from office one evening. As he takes shelter in a park, where he stumbles upon a small shiny pebble. He picks it up and brings it home without giving much thought to it — but it soon turns out that the pebble is nothing but the mythical Philosopher’s Stone, which can magically turn any base metal that comes into contact with it into pure gold. Paresh Dutta’s fortune takes a sudden and drastic turn for the better and he becomes a rich man. The poor clerk decides to throw the magical stone away, out of sheer fear of the wrath of God, but changes his mind when he accidentally finds himself in the middle of an industrial dump yard, with mound after mound of metal scrap spreading as far as his eyes could see — the possibilities now slowly beginning to emerge in his head. But he soon realizes that not only is keeping wealth far more difficult than earning it, but also that all the gold in the world can’t buy some of the most basic things in life. 

With these scenes, Ray successfully connects with the fears and insecurities of the common man as well as delineates the illusion of contentment that wealth/possessions offer. Parash Pathar stands out as a remarkable modern day parable inspired by the ancient Greek story of Midas and his magical stone.

The Perfect Dish is the story of a young boy who is a picky eater and the lengths his mother will go to, to make her child happy. 

In a small town there lived a family of three – a mother, her husband and her little boy. The Son was a very picky eater and no matter what they fed him he ate no more than a mouthful. Her son’s behavior was very alarming to his Mother and she was willing to do anything to make him eat and be healthy. 

She spends almost all day cooking everything from healthy meals, to even sweets and desserts but the Son refused to eat. Tired and upset, the mother cries by herself at the dining table. The Husband comes back after a day at work. He is drunk and has a sudden violent outburst at the Mother.  The Mother runs away from him and tries to defend herself but the Husband strikes her and she is horrified. In a desperate attempt to protect herself, she grabs a knife and swings blindly at her attacker. When she opens her eyes, she is horrified to see that her Husband is bleeding to death on the floor of the kitchen. She rushes to the window and sees her Son returning after playing with his friends. She rushes to hide the body and stuff the Husband in the refrigerator.  The Son comes home and asks his Mother for food. The Mother goes to the kitchen to start cooking but there's nothing she can cook with. Out of desperation to do something and prepare a meal for her Son, she chops up her Husband and cooks him. She serves the meal to her Son apprehensively, hoping that he does not reject it. To her surprise the Son loves it and she is overjoyed! Several weeks pass and people in the town seem to go missing. Mother and Son walk through the town, surrounded by the numerous poster of missing children and adults. They are oblivious to the grief around them. The Mother is just happy she has found a way to make her Son eat again.