Did Zack Snyder Take Inspiration From Satyajit Ray's 'Nayak' For A Scene In 'Man Of Steel'?
Inspiration is something that can come from anywhere. While the source rarely matters, when it involves two of the best directors who really have excelled in their individual crafts, it perhaps is worthy of mention and even analysis. We're talking about two particular scenes from two movies that are as different as chalk and cheese, but it does look like one has been inspired from the other. via GIPHY  The two movies in question are Zack Snyder's Man Of Steel that was released in 2013, and Satyajit Ray's iconic Bengali film Nayak, released way back in 1966. If you've scrolled this far, it's safe to say you know enough about Man Of Steel, but for the uninitiated, Nayak ('The Hero' in English) is one of those films that pin-point towards the rich legacy of Indian cinema. It stars 'Mahanayak' Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore, and was directed by the one and only Satyajit Ray. While it's said that Ray's Nayak itself was inspired by an Ingmar Bergman film, there is an iconic scene in Man Of Steel (the pit of skulls bit from A New Krypton scene to be specific), which clearly has been inspired by a scene from Nayak.  IMDb  While Man Of Steel is (obviously) about Superman, Nayak tells the story of an extremely successful film actor who is travelling on train to receive a prestigious award. He meets a journalist on his way, who starts interviewing him. His story of 7 flashbacks and 2 dreams is what makes the movie. via GIPHY  Now, let us get to the scenes we're talking about. First, let's look at the scene from Nayak (1966). Please specifically focus on the end of the scene. Let us now look at the scene from Man Of Steel (2013). Again, please focus on the end of the scene. From an analytical point of view, the two scenes are not similar at all, from the perspective of storyline. According to Redittor Mrmazzz, "Nayak (which roughly translates from Bengali to English as The Hero) was inspired by an Ingmar Bergman film. It's a surprisingly reflexive film for Satyajit Ray, but you could also argue Ray had begun to move away from his realist mode by that time. It centers on a film star on a long train ride - it really reminds me more of The White Sheik (Felini). The scene in particular here is a dream sequence where basically our titular hero/star is being crushed by the encroachment of late capitalism upon his life and it's destroying himself and everything around him. The two scenes are visually similar, somewhat opposed to one another. Nayak is all about self discovery and dreams turning to nightmares. Man of Steel is a villain monologue by Zod that never achieves the blissful dreamlike qualities of the latter, despite a seemingly utopian setting, as it goes from 'neutral' to nightmare. Still a nice reference point." via GIPHY  While such instances usually end up in fan wars or negativity, in this particular instance involving the two greats, fans are exhilarated and have opined that there is, in fact, nothing wrong when one great director 'takes inspiration' from another one - 'The God of Directors' in this case.