The Alien (unproduced film)

Lore & Background

The plot revolves around a spaceship that lands in a pond in rural Bengal. The villagers worship it as a temple risen from the earth. The alien, known as 'Mr Ang,' contacts a young village boy named Haba (meaning 'Dumb' in Bengali) through dreams and plays pranks on the community. The story includes an Indian businessman, a journalist from Calcutta, and an American engineer. Ray's biographer W. Andrew Robinson describes a scene where the alien moves quickly over lotus leaves, examines a blade of grass, and makes flowers bloom with a touch, accompanied by a thin, high-pitched laugh.

Ray wrote the script in early 1967. Columbia Pictures was the producer, with Peter Sellers attached for a lead role (though no final casting was confirmed). Marlon Brando was never cast, and James Coburn was considered for a different role.

Reader's Guide

The Alien is significant primarily for its alleged influence on later, successful alien films. After E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was released in 1982, Ray noted similarities to his own script. He claimed that Spielberg's film 'would not have been possible without my script of The Alien being available throughout America in mimeographed copies.' Spielberg denied this, stating he was a high school student when the script was circulating, though Star Weekend disputes this, noting Spielberg graduated high school in 1965 and began directing in 1969. The Times of India observed 'remarkable parallels' between E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and The Alien, including the physical description of the alien as 'a cross between a gnome and a famished refugee child: large head, spindly limbs, a lean torso... a kind of ethereal innocence.' The 2003 Hindi film Koi... Mil Gaya, directed by Rakesh Roshan, appears to be based on The Alien, particularly in its focus on an intellectually disabled person meeting a friendly alien. In 2006, Sandip Ray adapted the original 1962 story Bankubabur Bandhu into a Bengali television film, directed by Kaushik Sen, which featured a school teacher protagonist rather than the boy Haba.

Did You Know?

• The script was copyrighted by Michael Wilson, who claimed co-writer credit despite not contributing to its creation.
• Marlon Brando was originally cast but dropped out; James Coburn was considered as a replacement.
• The 2003 Hindi film Koi... Mil Gaya appears to be based on The Alien, paralleling its story of an intellectually disabled person meeting a friendly alien.

Creative Origins & The Alien's World

The Alien grew from a 1962 Bengali science fiction story called Bankubabur Bandhu, which Ray wrote for Sandesh, his family's magazine. The story became popular among Bengali readers in the early 1960s. In 1967, Ray expanded this foundation into a full screenplay written entirely in English. The plot centers on a spaceship that crashes into a pond in rural Bengal, where villagers mistake it for a temple emerging from the earth. The alien, called Mr. Ang, communicates with a young village boy named Haba (a Bengali word meaning "Dumb") through dreams and plays pranks on the community. The screenplay also features an Indian businessman, a Calcutta journalist, and an American engineer. Ray described the alien's physical form as a cross between a gnome and a famished refugee child—large head, spindly limbs, lean torso—conveying ethereal innocence with an eerie resemblance to a sickly human child. His biographer W. Andrew Robinson highlighted a scene where the alien hops over lotus leaves, examines a blade of grass, and passes his hand over a small plant to make flowers bloom, accompanied by a thin, high-pitched laugh.

Hollywood Ambitions & The Wilson Betrayal

Ray completed the script in early 1967, and the project was structured as a US-India co-production with Columbia Pictures as the producing studio. The casting ambitions were enormous: Peter Sellers and Marlon Brando were attached to lead roles. However, the project unraveled due to a shocking betrayal. Ray discovered that his script had already been copyrighted and the fee appropriated by Michael Wilson, a Colombo-based producer who served as Ray's Hollywood representative. Wilson had registered the screenplay as co-writer despite having no involvement in its creation whatsoever. Marlon Brando subsequently dropped out, and although efforts were made to replace him with James Coburn, Ray grew disillusioned and returned to Calcutta. Columbia Pictures expressed interest in reviving the project multiple times throughout the 1970s and 1980s, but none of these attempts materialized into actual production. The project has since been described as the most bizarre episode in Ray's career.

The E.T. Controversy & Claimed Influence

When Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial premiered in 1982, Ray noted striking similarities between the film and his own earlier screenplay. In a 1980 Sight & Sound feature, Ray discussed the project's collapse, and his biographer Andrew Robinson provided further details in The Inner Eye (1989). Ray made a bold claim: that Spielberg's film would not have been possible without his script of The Alien being available throughout America in mimeographed copies. When the press raised the issue, Spielberg denied the allegation, stating he was a high school student when Ray's script was circulating in Hollywood. However, Star Weekend challenged this defense, noting that Spielberg graduated high school in 1965 and began his directing career in 1969—well after the script's 1967 copyright. The Times of India observed that both E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) shared remarkable parallels with The Alien, particularly in the physical description of the alien creature.

Cultural Echoes & Aftermath

Though The Alien was never filmed, its influence rippled through Indian and global cinema for decades. The 2003 Hindi film Koi... Mil Gaya, directed by Rakesh Roshan, appears to draw heavily from Ray's screenplay. Notably, it parallels The Alien more closely than E.T., centering on an intellectually disabled person who befriends a gentle alien—a direct echo of the Haba-and-Mr. Ang dynamic. In 2003, Ray's son Sandip Ray began adapting the original 1962 story Bankubabur Bandhu into a Bengali television movie. Directed by Kaushik Sen, the adaptation aired on Indian television in 2006. This version returned to the story's original protagonist, a school teacher named Banku Babu, rather than the boy Haba from the film script. The story was also adapted into a play by the theatre group Swapnasandhani. Critics have noted that Ray's conception of the alien reflects his broader posthumanist vision, with one scholar describing it as a missing link between the childlike and the ridiculous, echoing the spirit of a Bengali male character.