Pather Panchali, Satyajit Ray's warm, honest portrayal of real life with a majestic Ravi Shankar soundtrack
Adapted from a novel and filmed on the fly by Satyajit Ray, Pather Panchali tells the story of a young boy born into poverty who dreams of a better life.
Satyajit Ray, who grew up in the Indian state of West Bengal immersed in its rich storytelling history thanks to family connections in the world of literature, had an early job illustrating the covers of some of the most loved books from the region. And it was to one such novel that he turned when he decided - in his 30s and with no filmmaking experience - to try his hand at cinema.
The novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay focuses on the struggles of a Bengali family and Ray would later say he had been captivated by its simple lyricism and its frank portrayal of life on the fringes of Indian society. For cinematic inspiration, Ray was moved by what he had seen of European neo-realism during a stint working in London.
The French great Jean Renoir used Ray to help scout locations for his production The River (1951) - and encouraged the aspiring director to chase his celluloid dreams.
The story of Pather Panchali follows the impoverished family of the young boy Apu (Subir Banerjee) as they simply get on with their day-to-day existence.
There are rows between family members, there are constant money pressures, there's sickness and even death, but there are also the dreams of a better life that infuse the lives of these characters with a constant sense of optimism. The production was basically put together on the fly, over three years, with no real script - just Ray's daily sketches of where he wanted the narrative to wander - and a cast made up mostly of amateurs or non-actors.