Ray, Satyajit, << ry, sat ya JIHT >> (1921-1992), was the first internationally famous Indian motion-picture director. He gained worldwide fame for his Apu trilogy. The three films deal with a poor young man named Apu as he grows into manhood in a village in modern India. The trilogy consists of Pather Panchali (Song of the Road, 1955), Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1956), and The World of Apu (1959). The trilogy sympathetically explores social change in rural India. The films won acclaim for their realism, humanity, and sensitivity.
Ray was involved in all major aspects of production in his films, including camera work and costume and set design. He wrote the screenplays for all of his films. He also composed the music for many of his movies.
Ray was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) on May 2, 1921. He graduated with an honors degree in economics from the University of Calcutta in 1940 and then studied painting for three years. From 1943 to 1956, he worked as a commercial artist for an advertising firm. He made Pather Panchali, his first film, using largely untrained actors and an inexperienced crew. After completing the film, Ray left advertising to devote himself to directing.
Ray’s other films include documentaries and adaptations from Indian folklore, such as Devi (1960). Ray explored social issues, such as famine in Distant Thunder (1973) and business ethics in The Middle Man (1975). He adapted stories by the famous Indian author Rabindranath Tagore in such films as The Home and the World (1984). Ray’s other films include The Music Room (1958), The Big City (1963), The Lonely Wife (1964), The Hero (1966), The Chess Players (1977), An Enemy of the People (1989), Branches of the Tree (1990), and The Stranger (1991). He died on April 23, 1992.
