Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray (1921-1992), Indian filmmaker, known throughout the world for his evocative depictions of Indian life. Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bengal (now West Bengal), and educated at the University of Calcutta and at Visva-Bharati University, he began his career as an illustrator, becoming art director for an advertising agency. In 1947 he helped found the Calcutta Film Society. In the early 1950s he began raising money to finance the motion picture Pather Panchali (Song of the Road), to be filmed with a nonprofessional cast in village surroundings. Completed in 1955 and honored at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, Pather Panchali established Ray's career as a film director. It was the first of a trilogy, completed by Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1956) and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959), that chronicled the growing up of the youth Apu and his family's move to the city from traditional rural society. His later films include Devi (The Goddess, 1960), Days and Nights in the Forest (1969), Distant Thunder (1973), The Chess Players (1977), The Home and the World (1984), and Agantuk (The Visitor, 1991). In March 1992, shortly before his death, he was honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for lifetime achievement in cinema.