Satyajit Ray (1921 - 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, composer, illustrator and author, widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of the twentieth century. [1] His debut feature Pather Panchali (1955) and the two films that completed the Apu Trilogy brought Indian cinema sustained international recognition. [2] He received the Academy Honorary Award and India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1992.
Early life and education
Ray was born on 2 May 1921 in Calcutta into a distinguished Bengali family; his grandfather Upendrakishore Ray was a writer, printer and publisher, and his father Sukumar Ray was a celebrated writer of nonsense verse who died when Ray was two. [1] He was raised by his mother in modest circumstances.
He studied economics at Presidency College under the University of Calcutta, then went at his mother's urging to Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan, founded by Rabindranath Tagore, where he studied fine art. [2] He left before completing the course and joined a British advertising agency in Calcutta as a commercial artist, later designing book covers, among them an abridged edition of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's novel Pather Panchali.
The Apu Trilogy
Two experiences pushed Ray towards film: a founding role in the Calcutta Film Society, and a stay in London in 1950 during which he saw Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves. [1] He shot Pather Panchali over several years with a largely amateur cast and crew, financing it partly by pawning his wife's jewellery before the government of West Bengal finally funded its completion.
Released in 1955, Pather Panchali won the award for Best Human Document at Cannes in 1956 and established Ray internationally. [3] Aparajito (1956) took the Golden Lion at Venice, and Apur Sansar (1959) completed the trilogy, following its protagonist Apu from a Bengali village through education in Benares and Calcutta to marriage, loss and reconciliation.
Later films
Over the following three decades Ray directed more than thirty films, working in an unusually wide range. Jalsaghar (1958) portrayed a declining feudal landowner; Charulata (1964) and Ghare Baire adapted Tagore; Mahanagar (1963) examined a married woman entering paid work in Calcutta; and Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1969) was a musical fantasy for children that became one of Bengali cinema's greatest popular successes. [2] Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977) was his only Hindi-language feature. His later Calcutta films addressed political violence, unemployment and corruption in the 1970s.
Ray controlled nearly every element of his productions, writing the screenplays, composing the music from 1961 onward, designing costumes and publicity material, and supervising the editing. [1] He won the Silver Bear for Best Director at Berlin twice and the Golden Bear once.
Writing and illustration
Ray was also a prolific author in Bengali, creating the detective Feluda and the scientist Professor Shonku and editing the children's magazine Sandesh, founded by his grandfather. [4] He designed his own typefaces and publicity material.
Later years and legacy
A heart attack in 1983 curtailed his working life, and he made his last three films under medical restriction, shooting largely indoors. [1] In 1992 he received the Academy Honorary Award, accepted from his hospital bed in Calcutta, and was awarded the Bharat Ratna. He died on 23 April 1992.
Ray's influence extends across Indian and international cinema, and directors including Martin Scorsese, Akira Kurosawa and Wes Anderson have acknowledged his work. [3] His films have been extensively restored and remain central to the history of world cinema.
