Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray
Ray in New York, 1981
Born(1921-05-02)2 May 1921
Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died23 April 1992(1992-04-23) (aged 70)
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Other namesManik
Alma mater
Occupations
Years active1950–1992
Works
Spouse
​
(m. 1949)​
ChildrenSandip Ray
FatherSukumar Ray
Relatives
AwardsFull list
Honors
Signature
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Satyajit Ray (Bengali pronunciation: [ˈʃotːodʒit ˈrae̯] ⓘ; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and composer. Ray is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors in the history of cinema.[7][8][9][10][11] He is celebrated for works including The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959),[12] The Music Room (1958), The Big City (1963), Charulata (1964), and the Goopy–Bagha trilogy (1969–1992).[a]

Ray was born in Calcutta to author Sukumar Ray and Suprabha Ray. Starting his career as a commercial artist, Ray was drawn into independent film-making after meeting French filmmaker Jean Renoir and viewing Vittorio De Sica's Italian neorealist film Bicycle Thieves (1948) during a visit to London.

Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries, and shorts. Ray's first film, Pather Panchali (1955), won eleven international prizes, including the inaugural Best Human Document award at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. This film, along with Aparajito (1956) and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) (1959), form The Apu Trilogy. Ray did the scripting, casting, scoring, and editing for the movie and designed his own credit titles and publicity material. He also authored several short stories and novels, primarily for young children and teenagers. Popular characters created by Ray include Feluda the sleuth, Professor Shonku the scientist, Tarini Khuro the storyteller, and Lalmohan Ganguly the novelist.

Ray received many major awards in his career, including a record thirty-seven Indian National Film Awards which includes Dadasaheb Phalke Award, a Golden Lion, a Golden Bear, two Silver Bears, many additional awards at international film festivals and ceremonies, and an Academy Honorary Award in 1992. In 1978, he was awarded an honorary degree by Oxford University. The Government of India honoured him with the Bharat Ratna, its highest civilian award, in 1992. On the occasion of the birth centenary of Ray, the International Film Festival of India, in recognition of the auteur's legacy, rechristened in 2021 its annual Lifetime Achievement award to the "Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award". In April 2024, Forbes ranked Ray as the 8th greatest director of all time.[13]

  1. ^ "Academy Awards Acceptance Speeches – Search Results | Margaret Herrick Library | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences".
  2. ^ "When Satyajit Ray accepted his Oscar award from a hospital bed in Kolkata: 'Best achievement of my moviemaking career'". 26 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Oscar 2023: From AR Rahman to Satyajit Ray, Here's a List of Indians Who Won the Academy Awards". 25 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Ray-esque | Throwback to thirty years ago when Satyajit Ray became the first Indian to receive the Oscar award". 21 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Satyajit Ray: India Marks Centenary of Cinema Giant, but Legacy Has Multiple Interpretations". 2 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Satyajit Ray". IMDb.
  7. ^ "Introduction". Screen Epiphanies. 2009. doi:10.5040/9781838710460.0004. ISBN 9781838710460.
  8. ^ Malcolm, Derek (2 May 2002). "The universe in his back yard". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  9. ^ Times, Bernard Weinraub Special to The New York (3 August 1973). "Satyajit Ray Finds A Freedom in Film". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  10. ^ Gargan, Edward A. (16 February 1992). "FILM; Satyajit Ray Honored, Without Profit in His Land". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Critics on Ray, Satyajit Ray Org". Satyajit Ray Org. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  12. ^ Howe, Desson (1 September 1995). "INDIAN SUMMER: THE FILMS OF SATYAJIT RAY". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  13. ^ Escandon, Rosa (6 April 2024). "The 30 Greatest Film Directors Of All Time". Forbes. Retrieved 23 July 2024.