SATYAJITH RAY

Satyajit Ray (2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema.[1] Ray was born in the city of Calcutta (now Kolkata) into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature. Starting his career as a commercial artist, Ray was drawn into independent filmmaking after meeting French filmmaker Jean Renoir and viewing the Italian neorealist film Bicycle Thieves during a visit to London.
Ray directed thirty-seven films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. He was also a fiction writer, publisher, illustrator, graphic designer and film critic. Ray's first film, Pather Panchali (1955), won eleven international prizes, including Best Human Documentary at the Cannes film festival. Alongside Aparajito (1956) and Apur Sansar (1959), the three films form The Apu Trilogy. Ray did the scripting, casting, scoring, cinematography, art direction, editing and designed his own credit titles and publicity material. Ray received many major awards in his career, including 32 Indian National Film Awards, a number of awards at international film festivals and award ceremonies, and an Academy Honorary Award in 1991.

Born 2 May 1921
Calcutta, British India
Died 23 April 1992 (aged 70)
Calcutta, India
Occupation Film director, producer, screenwriter, writer, music director, lyricist
Years active 1950–1991

Satyajit Ray's films are both cinematic and literary at the same time; using a simple narrative, usually in a classical format, but greatly detailed and operating at many levels of interpretation.

His first film, Pather Panchali (Song of the little road, 1955) established his reputation as a major film director, winning numerous awards including Best Human Document, Cannes, 1956 and Best Film, Vancouver, 1958. It is the first film of a trilogy - The Apu Trilogy - a three-part tale of a boy's life from birth through manhood. The other two films of this trilogy are Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1956) and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959).

His later films include Jalsaghar (The Music Room, 1958), Devi (The Goddess, 1960), Teen Kanya (Two Daughters, 1961), Charulata (The Lonely Wife, 1964), Nayak (The Hero, 1966), Asani Sanket (Distant Thunder, 1973), Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1977), Ghare Baire (The Home and the World, 1984), Ganashatru (An Enemy Of The People, 1989) and Shakha Prashakha (Branches Of The Tree, 1991). Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991) was his last film.

Satyajit Ray (1921-1992), an Indian filmmaker and among the dozen or so great masters of world cinema, is known for his humanistic approach to cinema. He made his films in Bengali, a language spoken in West Bengal, the eastern state of India, and Bangladesh. In 1992, Satyajit Ray received the honorary Academy Award ©A.M.P.A.S. ® - Lifetime Achievement.

1958
Padmashree, India
1965
Padmabhushan, India
1967
Magasaysay Award, Manila
1971
Star of Yugoslavia
1973
Doctor of Letters, Delhi University
1974
D. Litt., Royal College of Arts, London
1976
Padmabibhushan, India
1978
D. Litt., Oxford University
Special Award, Berlin Film Festival
Deshikottam, Visva-Bharati University, India
1979
Special Award, Moscow Film Festival
1980
D. Litt., Burdwan University, India
D. Litt., Jadavpur University, India
1981
Doctorate, Benaras Hindu University, India
D. Litt. , North Bengal University, India
1982
Hommage à Satyajit Ray, Canes Film Festival
Special Golden Lion of St. Mark, Venice Film Festival
Vidyasagar Award, Govt. of West Bengal
1983
Fellowship, The British Film Institute
1985
D. Litt., Calcutta University, India
Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India
Soviet Land Nehru Award
1986
Fellowship, Sangeet Natak Academy, India
1987
Légion d'Honneur, France
D. Litt., Rabindra Bharati University, India
1992
Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, USA
Bharatratna, India

Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road), 1955
President's Gold & Silver Medals, New Delhi, 1955
Best Human Document, Cannes 1956
Diploma Of Merit, Edinbugh, 1956
Vatican Award, Rome, 1956
Golden Carbao, Manila, 1956
Best Film and Direction, San Francisco, 1957
Selznik Golden Laurel, Berlin, 1957
Best Film, Vancouver, 1958
Critics' Award - Best Film, Stratford, (Canada), 1958
Best Foreign Film, New York, 1959
Kinema Jumpo Award: Best Foreign Film, Tokyo 1966
Bodil Award: Best Non-European Film of the Year, Denmark, 1966
Aparajito (The Unvanquished), 1956
Golden Lion of St. Mark, Venice, 1957
Cinema Nuovo Award, Venice, 1957
Critics Award, Venice, 1957
FIPRESCI Award, London, 1957
Best Film and Best Direction, San Francisco, 1958
International Critic' Award, San Francisco, 1958
Golden Laurel for Best Foreign Film of 1958-59, USA
Selznik Golden Laurel, Berlin, 1960
Bodil Award: Best Non-European Film of the Year, Denmark, 1967
Jalsaghar (The Music Room), 1958
President's Silver Medal, New Delhi, 1959
Silver Medal for Music, Moscow, 1959
Apur Sansar (The World Of Apu), 1959
President's Gold Medal, New Delhi, 1959
Sutherland Award for Best Original And Imaginative Film, London, 1960
Diploma Of Merit, 14th International Film festival, Edinburgh, 1960
Best Foreign Film, National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, USA, 1960
Apu Trilogy (Pather Panchali, 1955; Aparajito, 1956; Apur Sansar, 1959)

Wington Award for each film, London Festival, 1980
Devi (The Goddess), 1960
President's Gold Medal, New Delhi, 1961
Teen Kanya (Three Daughters /Two Daughters), 1961
President's Silver Medal, New Delhi, 1961 (for Samapti)
Golden Boomerang, Melbourne, 1962 (for the Two Daughters)
Selznik Golden Laurel Award, Berlin, 1963
Rabindranath Tagore (Documentary film), 1961
President's Gold Medal, New Delhi, 1961
Golden Seal, Locarno, 1961
Special Mention, Montevideo, 1962
Abhijan (The Expedition), 1962
President's Silver Medal, New Delhi, 1962
Mahanagar (The Big City), 1963
Certificate of Merit, New Delhi, 1964
Silver Bear For Best Direction, Berlin, 1964
Charulata (The Lonely Wife), 1964
President's Gold Medal, New Delhi, 1964
Silver Bear For Best Direction, Berlin, 1965
Catholic Award, Berlin, 1965
Best Film, Acapulco, 1965
Nayak (The Hero), 1966
Best Screenplay and Story, New Delhi, 1967
Critics' Prize (Unicrit award), Berlin, 1966
Special Jury Award, Berlin, 1966
Chiryakhana (The Zoo), 1967
Best Direction, West Bengal Government, 1968
Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha), 1968
Award for Best Direction, New Delhi, 1968
President's Gold and Silver Medals, New Delhi, 1970
Silver Cross, Adelaide, 1969
Best Director, Auckland, 1969
Merit Award, Tokyo, 1970
Best Film, Melbourne, 1970
Pratidwandi (The Adversary) 1970
Special Award, New Delhi, 1971
President's Silver Medal, New Delhi, 1971
Seemabaddha (Company Limited), 1971
President's Gold Medal, New Delhi, 1972
PIPRESCI Award, Venice, 1972
The Inner Eye, 1972
President's Gold Medal, new Delhi, 1974
Asani Sanket (Distant Thunder), 1973
Presidents Gold Medal for Music Direction, New Delhi, 1973
Best Regional Film, New Delhi, 1973
Golden Bear, Berlin, 1973
Golden Hugo, Chicago, 1974
Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress), 1974
President's Silver Medal, Best Screenplay, Direction, New Delhi, 1974
Best Film, Direction and Screenplay, Government of West Bengal, 1974
Best Feature Film for Children and Young Adults, Tehran, 1975
Jana Aranya (The Middleman), 1975
Best Direction, New Delhi, 1975
Best Film, Direction, Screenplay, Government of West Bengal, 1975
Karlovy Vary Prize, 1976
Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players), 1977
Best Feature Film in Hindi, New Delhi, 1977
Best Color Photography, New Delhi, 1977
Joi Baba Felunath (The Elephant God), 1978
Best Children's Film, New Delhi, 1978
Best Feature Film, Hong Kong Film Festival, 1979
Hirak Rajar Deshe (The Kingdom of Diamonds), 1980
Best Music, Director, New Delhi, 1980
Best Lyrics, New Delhi, 1980
Special Award, Cyprus, 1984
Sadgati (Deliverance), 1981
Special Jury Award, New Delhi, 1981
Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World), 1984
Best Bengali Film, New Delhi, 1984
Best Costume design, New Delhi, 1984
Ganashatru (An Enemy of the People), 1989
Best Bengali Film, New Delhi, 1989
Agantuk (The Stranger), 1991
FIPRESCI Award, Venice, 1991
Best Film, New Delhi, 1991
Best Director, New Delhi, 1991