Satyajit Ray : one of India's finest film makers

Satyajit Ray received a honorary Oscar for his lifetime achievements in 1992, a few days before his death. After searching on Youtube for nearly 3 years, I chanced upon that video today and felt absolutely thrilled from the discovery. The first few seconds of the video below shows the announcement followed by a rapturous ovation from the audience.





I also found this video where Satyajit Ray talks about creative choices he made during his filming. The clips are from 'The Apu Trilogy', his first landmark achievement in film making. Not surprisingly it is also considered by film makers around the world as one of the finest examples in neo-realistic cinema.


Here Satyajit Ray talks about how he used trains as a motif for emotions in his story and in the minds of his characters. His first movie is set in late 19th century Bengal (still a part of British India). One of Indian cinema's most iconic shots is shown where Apu, a boy of 7 or 8, along with his older sister watch a steam engine powered train crossing through the fields. Their joy in that sight is boundless. A tragic turn of fate takes place when the older sister shields Apu from the incessant rain (during their escapades into the fields) and dies.





In the second movie, Apu, who has now left home and his widowed mother in the village, is studying in the city of Calcutta. The train becomes a painful object to watch as Satyajit Ray makes it a motif of longing. Apu's mother longs for her son and spends her days lonely, waiting for her to son to be with her again. Having left my parents to pursue my education here, it left me with tears the first time I saw it. I called my mother a few minutes after the movie and told her how I felt. It was one of the most moving moments in my life, yet I felt so powerless.

In the third movie, Apu marries and Satyajit Ray purposefully chose Apu's ram shackled house by the train tracks. Ray wanted the train whistle (which gave Apu great joy when he was young) to become a symbol of irritation and emotional struggle. He wanted to reflect on Apu's destitute state of life and his confusion with what to do next.


It was extremely sad to know that Ray was given India's highest civilian award 4 days after he was given the Oscars (he was on his death bed then). For the Indian government to have taken so long in honoring one of India's most internationally respected cultural icons was unfortunate.


I hope this post will bring back memories of his movies to those who know about Ray. And to those who don't, I hope you will want to check out his movies on Blockbuster or Netflix and enjoy what many great film makers have said of his cinema, 'it is pure cinema'.