Pather Panchali

Pather Panchali, released in 1955, is the first film of director Satyajit Ray's Apu trilogy. The film is a serene and beautiful depiction of a little boy's childhood in the Indian countryside in the 1950s.

Related Topics:
1955 - Film - Satyajit Ray - Apu trilogy - India - 1950s

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The film was made on a shoestring budget by a hitherto unknown director. Apart from a seventy-year-old woman who made her name in the 1930s on the stage, none of the cast had ever acted before, and many had been plucked from the Indian countryside. After obtaining a grant from the government of West Bengal, Ray completed the trilogy at the behest of the Prime Minister of India, indicating the extent of the first film's cultural impact.

Related Topics:
1930s - West Bengal - Prime Minister of India

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The film went on to win a jury prize at the Cannes film festival, and was among the first Indian films to gain a wide global release.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~