The God Father of Indian Cinema, Satyajit Ray is one of the legendary personalities in the Indian Film Industry. He is one of the stars who took Indian Cinema abroad and has a great contribution in glorifying the cinema and art. He was among the personalities who brought the Indian film world a worldwide recognition. Today is his 99th birth anniversary, thus, let us take a look at some lesser-known facts about the legend.
Lesser Known Facts About Satyajit Ray
Family Background
He was born on May 2, 1921 to a Bengali family in Kolkata. His whole family has a prominent contribution to arts and literature. The filmmaker went to the Rabindranath Tagore’s university in Shantiniketan and perceived his education in the field of art.
First Steps In His Career
He kickstarted his career as an artist and later on followed his dream of becoming an independent filmmaker. During his visit to London in 1948, he met filmmakers such as Jean Renoir, Vittorio Domenico Stanislao and he was highly inspired by these filmmakers. After returning to India, Ray marked his debut as a director with the film, ‘Pather Panchali’ which released in the year, 1955. The film was made with a minimal budget and it took him almost three years to introduce it to the world.
Contribution To Indian Cinema
After making quite a few films, he was the one who let India to its first-ever Oscars with his contribution in direction and filmmaking. The filmmaker had directed 36 films, which include feature films, documentaries, and telly films. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Ray an Honorary Oscar in 1992 for Lifetime Achievement. Six of his films—’Pather Panchali’, ‘Apur Sansar’, ‘Charulata’, ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’, ‘Seemabaddha’, and ‘Agantuk’ won the Best Feature Film Awards at Cannes Film Festival in 1956. His films bagged 32 national awards by the Government of India, out of while 6 are of Best Director.
Multitalented
Apart from being a great filmmaker, he was also a fiction writer, publisher, illustrator, graphic designer, and a renowned film critic. The filmmaker was popularly known for not taking a religious and political stand when it was about telling stories through his films. He chose to simply present the reality of the time and that’s what made him a successful filmmaker.
His Demise
On April 23, 1992, the legendary filmmaker breathed his last. Apparently, the cause of his death was Heart Block. The God Father of Indian Cinema was honored with the Bharat Ratna by the Government of India before his demise.
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Also Read: I Love Satyajit Ray, Mira Nair And Shekhar Kapur’s Films: Simon Baker