India@75: Satyajit Ray, master behind the masterpiece
Last year on May 2, 2021, marked the centenary of Satyajit Ray, the Indian master who won Oscar in 1992, before his death, and the man remains India’s best-known filmmaker internationally.
FollowToday, we will talk about one of the world's finest filmmakers, Satyajit Ray, who was from Calcutta (now called Kolkata). He was also widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers and screenwriters in film history. People who love Satyajit Ray used to call him 'Manik'.
Besides filmmaking, Satyajit Ray had written many children's books and did an illustration for the same. Satyajit studied at Ballygunge Government High School, Calcutta and finished his BA in economics at Presidency College; the man was also interested in fine arts. Later, Satyajit Ray started working as an art director at a British-run advertising agency and did some commercial illustrator.
During that time, Ray came across a popular Bengali novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay called Pather Panchali, which deeply impacted him. Later, we can see that effect on him his films. He started taking an interest in film direction, scriptwriting for which he started watching many foreign films.
His musical fantasy Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne was his most successful film commercially during that time. He later came up with a sequel titled Hirak Rajar Deshe, which reportedly targeted the Emergency imposed by late former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Satyajit Ray's Films and Awards: He gave the world some exceptional works in the form of movies like Pather Panchali, Seemabaddha, Charulata, Aparajito and The World of Apu, which changed the trajectory of Indian cinema. The man won Bharat Ratna, Padma Bhushan and an Oscar in 1992 for Lifetime Achievement. In 1982, Ray won Golden Lion (The Golden Lion is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival) for Aparajito and Seemabaddha.
Ray also won a British Institute Fellowship in 1983 to go with the London Film Festival’s Sutherland Trophy for Apur Sansar. In 1987, the government of France made Ray a Commander of the Legion of Honor. He has also received Dadasaheb Phalke Award and the French Legion d’Honneur award.
Besides his contributions to the Indian film industry, Satyajit Ray has also written remarkable literary stories such as The Complete Adventures of Feluda, The Incredible Adventures of Professor Shonku, My Years with Apu: A Memoir, Indigo and others, which have been translated and widely read worldwide.
Satyajit Ray is and always be an inspiration for all filmmakers. The Apu trilogy written by Ray was included in critic Roger Ebert’s list of ‘100 Great Movies’ in 2001 and in Time’s All-Time 100 best movies list in 2005.
