Pather Panchali (1955)

Sometime in the early years of the century, a boy, Apu, is born to a poor Brahmin family in a village in Bengal. The father, a poet and priest, cannot earn enough to keep his family going. ... See full summary »

Director:

Satyajit Ray

Writers:

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (novel), Satyajit Ray (screenplay)

Stars:

Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Chunibala Devi

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 8 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Kanu Bannerjee	...	Harihar Ray (as Kanu Bandyopadhyay)
Karuna Bannerjee	...	Sarbojaya Ray (as Karuna Bandopadhyay)
Chunibala Devi	...	Indir Thakrun
Uma Das Gupta	...	Durga (as Uma Dasgupta)
Subir Banerjee	...	Apu (as Subir Bandopadhyay)
Runki Banerjee	...	Little Durga (as Runki Bandopadhyay)
Reba Devi	...	Seja Thakrun
Aparna Devi	...	Nilmoni's wife
Tulsi Chakraborty	...	Prasanna, school teacher
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Haren Banerjee	...	Chinibas, Sweet-seller (as Haren Bandyopadhyay)
Rampada Das
Nibhanani Devi	...	Dasi Thakurun
Rama Gangopadhaya	...	Ranu Mookerjee
Roma Ganguli	...	Roma (as Rama Gangopadhyay)
Binoy Mukherjee	...	Baidyanath Majumdar (as Binoy Mukhopadhyay)

Storyline

Sometime in the early years of the century, a boy, Apu, is born to a poor Brahmin family in a village in Bengal. The father, a poet and priest, cannot earn enough to keep his family going. Apu's sister, Durga, is forever stealing guavas from the neighbour's orchards. All these add to the daily struggles of the mother's life, notwithstanding her constant bickering with old aunt who lives with the family.

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Plot Keywords:

struggle | village | stealing | aunt | india | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Bengali

Release Date:

22 September 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Song of the Little Road

Box Office

Gross:

$536,364 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Government of West Bengal

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min 122 min (within Bengal)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Satyajit Ray first became involved with Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's source novel in 1945 when he was commissioned to illustrate a children's edition of the book.

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Quotes

Harihar Ray: Whatever God does is for the best.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.6 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"It's A Long Way to Tipperary"
(uncredited)
Written by Jack Judge and Harry Williams
Played by the band

User Reviews

one of the most beautiful Indian films.

This has to be by-far Satayjit Ray's most beautiful and greatest achievement in cinema. Looking at all the aspects, will definitely inspire someone to make a film more like this in our generation. I saw this film at a recent 50th anniversary screening in my hometown. I really loved the director's beautiful creation, his attention to detail works very neatly and exactly as the director had planned. I wish i had got to see the Apu Trilogy, the character which followed in the other two sequels, must be watched also.

The story is simple, only focusing on the life of one family. but the true trademarks of the film go to the Actors, the Director and his screenplay. Anyone who wants to learn film-making must not miss this film. A true cinematic achievement's and one of the most beautiful films from one of the most important directors of this era.