Satyajit Ray- Filmmaker

Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, music composer, graphic artist, lyricist and author, widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

1. SATYAJIT RAY (2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) Fr Anil Ivan Fernandes St Aloysius College, Mangaluru 2019

2. SATYAJIT RAY (2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) Indian Bengali filmmaker T he greatest auteur of 20th Century cinema. B orn – Calcutta , Bengali family Career - commercial artist

3. Independent filmmaking after meeting French filmmaker Jean Renoir and viewing the Italian neorealist film Bicycle Thieves (visit to London.)

4. SATYAJIT RAY Directed 37 films -feature films, documentaries and shorts. He was a fiction writer, publisher, illustrator, graphic designer and film critic. Ray's first film, Pather Panchali (1955), won 11 International awards.

5. AWARDS, HONOURS AND RECOGNITIONS 32 National Film Awards by the Government of India Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1985. The highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna from the Government of India. Received Oscar for Lifetime Achievement – before his death. Academy Honorary Award in 1991 He died on 23 April, 1992.

6. At first I am Bengali then I am Indian…… Satyajit Ray

7. … He is a Word we can take seriously….. John Russell Taylor (Sight and sound) Known for humanistic approach to cinema. He took his hand on every part of cinema

8. Sathyajit Ray – An All Rounder Ray directly controlled many aspects of filmmaking. Wrote all the screenplays of his films, based on his own stories. He designed the sets and costumes, operated the camera since Charulata (1964). Composed music since 1961. 1.Director 2.Music director 3.Author 4.Cinematographer 5.Screen play 6.lyricist scripting, casting, scoring, cinematography, art direction, editing and designed his own credit titles and publicity material.

9. Ray’s Composition and Screen Play

10. Pather Panchali (1955) 115min Aparajito (1956) 113 min Parash Pathar (1957) 111 min Jalsaghar (1958) 100 min Apur Sansar (1959) 106 min Devi (1960), 93 min Kanchenjungha (1962) 102 min Colour Abhijan (1962) 150min Mahanagar (1963) 131 min Charulata (1964) 117 min Nayak (1966) 120 min Chiriakhana ( The Zoo ) (1967) 125 min Goopy Gyn Bagha Byne (1968) 132 min Aranyer Din Ratri (1969) 115 min Pratidwandi (1970) 110 min Seemabaddha (1971) 112 min “I feel that He is a "giant" of the movie industry.” Akira Kurosawa FILMOGRAPHY Asani Sanket (1973) 101 min Colour Sonar Kella (1974) 120 min Colour Jana Aranya (1975) 131 min B/W Bala (Documentary, 1976) 33 min Colour Shatrani Ke Khilari (1977) 113 min Colour Joi Baba Felunath (1978) 112 min Colour Pikoo (Short, 1980) 26 min Colour Hirak Rajar Deshe (1980) 118 min Colour Sadgati (1981) 52 min Colour Ghare Baire (1984) 140 min Colour Ganashatru (1989) 100 min Colour Shakha Proshakha (1990) 121 min Colour Agantuk (1991) 120 min colour Two (1964) 15 min Sikkim (Documentary, 1971) 60 min The Inner Eye (Documentary, 1972) 20 min Colour Pikoo ( Pikoo’s Day ) (Short, 1980) 26 min Colour Sukumar Ray (Documentary, 1987) 30 min Colour Documentaries

11. 'Bicycle Thieves' Confirms Ray's Belief in Realistic Cinema. Business trip. Made notes. In this 6 months long stay abroad, Ray saw about a 100 films including Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves. No make up and new faces on Pather Panchali “All through my stay in London, the lessons of Bicycle Thieves and neo-realist cinema stayed with me.” - Satyajit Ray, in Our Films, Their Films MAIN Influence of Realism

12. Founder of Calcutta Film Society  It was founded in 1947, just after independence Chandra Gupta co-founder Calcutta's first film society. The first film screened: The 1925 silent film directed by  Sergei Eisenstein ,  Battleship Potemkin

13. Pather Panchali Story of Life between birth and death. Life exhibiting joyfulness at birth-; freedom in childhood; excitement in adolescence, struggle and hardships at adulthood; old-age problem and death. a) Story line: Based on a book by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay . b) Context: After World War II and the independence.

14. c) Editing: Non-linear editing style. It shows sequence of events chronologically. d) Setting: Real and natural production design Camera : Smooth Camera work with few and steady movements Lighting: natural light gives rawness to every frame and highlights the authenticity of the story.

15. Ray’s Realism over Idealism Pather Panchali is neorealism film. Pather Panchali did not tell people how to live their lives. It depicted how people lived their lives. It depicts life as it was in Bengal in 1955.

16. f) Ray Lover of Nature and Bengal: wider angle or long shots, covering panoramic view of the fields and nature. g) Prominence to every Character: Every character in the Ray’s films have equal importance.

17. Every aspect of his films were completely natural

18. ‘ Two’- A Short Film that speaks in volumes No dialogue. Shows greatness of filmmaker and his calibre in storytelling.

19. b) Storyline: ‘Two’ depicts the story of two small boys; Rich and poor

20. c) Symbolism: The rich boy’s Mickey Mouse cap and Coca-Cola drink in his hand symbolise American imperialism and Consumerism. Toys of rich boy are of destructive nature. America's oppression over the third world countries. A strong anti-war statement : with street kid’s flute sound overpowering sound of expensive toys.

21. a) Context: 1964 -Vietnam War. US being the super power showed its dominance over Vietnam through its military force.

22. d) Themes: Arrogance , suppression, dominance, and rivalry are the main themes. Rich are materialistic e) Background score: The flute and drum music

23. Genre of Sathyajit Films: Though inspired by neo-realist tradition, yet belongs different genre. His films belong to a meta-genre of storytelling that includes the works of Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, Charles Chaplin, David Lean, Federico Fellini, Jean Renoir, Luis Bunuel, Robert Bresson and many others.

24. CR ITICAL AND POPULAR RESPONSE Admired for skilled use of music, grasp of history, culture, and aesthetics Akira Kurosawa, declared, " Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.” But criticized for slow , moving like a "majestic snail. “ Humanism simple-minded , His work anti-modern and lack new modes of expression or experimentation Kurosawa defended him: Ray's films were not slow at all, "His work can be described as flowing composedly, like a big river". He was criticized for potraying the poverty of Bengal

25. He was also a music director of his own film

26. Conclusion Cultural icon - cinematic heritage that belongs Bengal, India and World at large. Legend – for evoking a new wave in Indian film industry. Universal Movies : human race - relationships, emotions, struggle, conflicts, joys and sorrows.

27. Thank you