Satyajit Ray is more than just a filmmaker to Bengali cinema in particular and Indian Cinema in general. His Pather Panchali is a favorite of not only Indians but of many Hollywood directors who swear by it. It wasn't easy to make a film like that and the fund crunch had to stop Pather Panchali's shooting multiple times. But Ray's determination towards the first installment of the Apu trilogy made it a reality eventually. Aporajito and Apur Sansar are the two other films in the series which charted Apu's journey from being a young boy to an adult.
Ray wasn't just a filmmaker. He was a visionary also someone who used to write a lot for kids. He started his career as a Junior visualiser in a British advertising agency in India. He later moved to a publishing house and made book cover designs. Did you know he was the one who designed the cover of Jawaharlal Nehru's Discovery Of India? But he is foremost a brilliant thinker and thus, his movies are so widely watched and respected. Apart from many National Film Awards, a Golden Lion, a Golden Bear, 2 Silver Bears, Ray was bestowed with an Academy Honorary Award in 1992.
Here are 10 of his brilliant works that should be part of everyone's playlist who call themselves a cinema lover.
Pather Panchali (1955)
A story of an impoverished Brahmin family, Pather Panchali highlights the turmoils of being poor but the movie is all about hope. Apu's inquisitiveness despite low means is what makes this film so special. The scene where Apu and his sister run to the field to see a steam engine pass by speaks volumes about what the film is all about.
Jalshaghar (1958)
A movie on a zamindar who is oblivious of the raging storm outside his princely mansion even when the Indian government had abolished the Zamindari system. A brilliant narration of how non-adjustment with times can lead you to your doom.
Mahanagar (1963)
A very progressive movie with a plotline that still is relevant in 2020. Mahanagar is about a woman who decides to take up employment after her husband's meager salary doesn't suffice for the family. The jealousy of the husband, a homemaker's sudden rise at work, her wide-eyed fascination towards a world beyond the four walls of the kitchen....there's so much in that one movie.
Charulata (1964)
Based on a story by Rabindranath Tagore, Charulata was all about forbidden love. When a bored wife starts feeling gravely drawn to her husband's young cousin, things don't generally end the way you want it to. There's a scene in the film where the wife played by Madhabi Mukherjee snatches glimpses of Soumitra Chatterjee (the young cousin) while on a swing in the garden. The desire in her matched by the rhythm of her oscillation on the swing. Talk about metaphors!
Nayak (1966)
Satyajit Ray works with Uttam Kumar and makes him play himself only as Arindam Mukherjee. Not many would call it their favourite Ray film. Guess that's why the film didn't see much patronage either. But Kumar's portrayal of an unapologetic star who likes to project an image to his fans, mercilessly shot down by a gritty reporter played by Sharmila Tagore, make Nayak a wonderful watch.
Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1969)
Movies for kids are something Indian cinema doesn't manage to do well. That's why Ray's Goopi Gayan Bagha Bayan is so special. The king of ghosts grants three wishes to a tone-deaf pair of Goopi and Bagha who have been thrown out of their villages. Everything about this movie is a pure gem!
Aranyer Din Ratri (1970)
A movie based on Sunil Gangopadhyay's book by the same name, Aranyer Din Ratri talks about the urban youth who have a very callous approach towards rural life almost to the point of being high-handed. This film is so layered, it addresses the topics of how a woman bailing out a man harms his pride and how she lets him win a game just to soothe the same. Or the scene where Sharmila Tagore writes her number on a currency note claiming that's the only piece of paper she could find after Soumitra Chatterjee insists on paying everything she bought at a fair. Subtle yet firm in its sequences, Aranyer Din Ratri is one of the best Ray movies.
Sonar Kella (1974)
Satyajit Ray was a brilliant storyteller. His magazine Sandesh had first published the adventures of Feluda, an Indian detective created by the man himself. Sonar Kella is one of his many stories in the Feluda series which still finds new audiences.
Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977)
This was Ray's first Hindi feature film and was based on Munshi Premchand's story by the same name. The use of the game of chess as a metaphor for what Britishers were doing to Nawab Wajid Ali Shah's kingdom is beautifully projected. Even the silences are masterfully used as a tool to make you realise who is walking towards their doom. This is Ray's most expensive film ever.
Ghare Baire (1984)
Yet again Ray delves into his favourite cinematic colour women emancipation in Ghare Baire. The wife of a rich noble feels drawn to a revolutionist but her husband doesn't berate her for that. Instead prompts her to make a choice she would like and also insists she has a life outside the four walls of his home. The latter means he wants his wife to have an identity more than his better-half. That's the thing about Ray. He never really saw his heroines as damsels in distress but a powerful being with a free mind and choices. A rare breed of filmmaker for sure.
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