Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali was released on this day in Calcutta at Basusree theatre. The initial response was not encouraging, but the film would pick up as word of mouth spread in the next few weeks. It would go on to change Indian cinema.
The film, based on Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s novel of the same name, about the life journey of a poor Brahmin priest and his family, has been considered one of the best films in world cinema for its realism, humanity and lyricism. The story of its making is as remarkable as it is inspiring.
After Ray began shooting with his cast and crew — actors Kanu Bandyopadhyay, Karuna Bandyopadhyay and Chunibala Debi featured in it; Subrata Mitra was in charge of cinematography, Dulal Dutta of editing, Bansi Chandragupta was art director and sitar player Ravi Shankar composed the film’s music — the film ran into financial hurdles. Finally, after a gap in production, with the then Bengal chief minister Bidhan Chandra Roy’s help and funds from the Bengal government, shooting began again.
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