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Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray (May 2 1921 - April 23 1992) was a Bengali director most known for his Apu trilogy (the films Pather Panchali, Aparajito, and The World of Apu.). Born into a relatively wealthy family in Calcutta, Ray was well-educated and spent many years as a layout artist in a publishing house; inspired by the novel Pather Panchali, he decided to make it into a film and shot it on location using friends as actors, putting up the funding himself. Partway through filming he ran out of funds; the Bengal government loaned him the rest, allowing him to finish the film. The film was successful both artistically and commercially, winning notice at the 1956 Cannes film festival and providing a boon to the Indian film industry. Ray's work is tends to be both realistic and subdued; his early work is compassionate and touching; his later work, while more political, is also at times cynical, but still infused with his typical humor. He won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992.

Note: This profile was written in or before 2003.

Satyajit Ray Facts

OccupationDirector, Writer, Composer
BirthdayMay 2, 1921
SignTaurus
BirthplaceCalcutta, India
Date of deathApril 23, 1992 (age 70)
Height6' 5" (1m96)
Awards1992 Academy Awards: Honorary Award

Selected Filmography

The Apu Trilogy
The Music Room
Eclipse Series 40
Pather Panchali
The Big City
The Chess Players
Ganashatru
Aparajito
Goddess
Apur Sansar
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