Satyajit Ray Birth Anniversary: Revisiting 10 Iconic Movies By Father of Indian Cinema

Hailed as the maverick and Godfather of Indian Cinema, Satyajit Ray was born on May 2, 1921, in Kolkata. He debuted in film direction with Pather Panchali in 1955 and went on to direct 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and telly films.

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A legendary filmmaker, writer, illustrator, graphic designer and music composer, Satyajit Ray was born on May 2, 1921, in Kolkata. Hailed as the maverick and Godfather of Indian Cinema, Ray started his career as a graphic artist in the advertising industry. Ray then travelled to London where his meeting with French director Jean Renoir and famous Italian neo-realist film 'Bicycle Thieves' by Vittoria De Sica made him realise his passion for film creation. Ray debuted in film direction with Pather Panchali in 1955 and went on to direct 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and telly films. What made Ray’s films stand unique is the subject which is of universal interest. His movie plots deal with human emotions, inner conflicts, day-to-day struggle, and relationships, etc. At the age of 70, Satyajit Ray breathed his last in Kolkata on April 23 following heart block.

As May 2 marks the 99th birth anniversary of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray, we revisit ten of his iconic films in his remembrance:

Pather Panchali His debut film, Pather Panchali is a story of a young boy, Apu, and life in his small Indian village. His parents are quite poor – his father Harihar, gave away the family’s fruit orchard to settle his brother’s debts while his mother Sarbojaya bears the brunt of the family’s situation. The film revolves around the ray of hope Apu's family survives through despite hundreds of hurdles. Sonar Kella Sonar Kella is the adaption of one of his detective stories also named Sonar Kella, which revolves around the story of a 6-year-old boy Mukul and his visions of a fort made up of gold. Sonar Kella was one of Ray’s most commercially successful films which won Ray two National Awards. Nayak Nayak is a 1966 Bengali film that revolves around a matinee idol on a 24-jour train journey from Kolkata to Delhi. Not many would call it their favourite Ray film but the portrayal of an unapologetic star by Uttam Kumar who likes to project an image to his fans, mercilessly shot down by a gritty reporter played by Sharmila Tagore, made Nayak receive the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali and also a national award for the screenplay. Devi Another iconic movie directed by Ray is Devi, a story of Dayamoyee who is a 16-year-old wife of Umaprasad, the younger son of Kalikinkar Chaudhuri, an extremely erudite and highly revered zamindar in rural Bengal. The film's unique subject revolving around the religious belief of re-incarnation and the negation of a woman’s humane made the film won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. Aparajito Aparajito is the second part of The Apu Trilogy adapted from the last one-fifth of Bibhutibhushan Bannerjee's novel Pather Panchali. The film was another maverick artwork of Ray where he explored the relationship between a widowed mother and her adolescent son. It crystalises the thoughts that go through every parent’s mind.