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Satyajit Ray

サティヤジット・レイ

Satyajit Ray

Aliases: Manik
Pen Names:

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1921-05-02 （Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bengal Presidency, India）
Died
1992-04-23 （Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India） age 70
Nationality
India
Languages
Bengali, English, Hindi/Hindustani
Religion
Atheist / non-religious
Residence History
31 Lake Avenue (until 1959), Kolkata → 3 Lake Temple Road (1959–1970), Kolkata → 1/1 Bishop Lefroy Road (1970–1992), Kolkata

Career

Occupations
film director, screenwriter, author (children's & fiction), lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, graphic designer, typeface designer, book-jacket designer, composer, calligrapher
Active Years
1950-1992
Affiliations
Calcutta Film Society, U. Ray and Sons (family printing press / early association)
Influenced By
Jean Renoir, Vittorio De Sica, Charlie Chaplin, Rudolf Arnheim
Influenced
Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Wes Anderson, Christopher Nolan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Many Indian and Bengali directors (e.g. Aparna Sen, Rituparno Ghosh)

Education

Presidency College, Calcutta
Economics
Degree: BA
Period: 〜1940
Year of Graduation: 1940
Country: India
Completed BA in Economics
Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan
Fine Art (did not complete)
Period: 1940–1942
Country: India
Studied Fine Art under influence of Rabindranath Tagore; dropped out in 1942

Awards

Padma Shri
1958
Organization: Government of India
Result: 受賞
Padma Bhushan
1965
Organization: Government of India
Result: 受賞
Padma Vibhushan
1976
Organization: Government of India
Result: 受賞
Dadasaheb Phalke Award
1984
Organization: Indian National Film Awards (Government of India)
Result: 受賞
Commander of the Legion of Honour
1987
Organization: Government of France
Result: 受賞
Academy Honorary Award
1992
Organization: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Result: 受賞（名誉）
Bharat Ratna
1992
Organization: Government of India
Result: 受賞（追贈）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Pather Panchali (The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali)

1955 Drama/Coming-of-age

A semi-autobiographical story of Apu's childhood and maturation in a Bengal village, portrayed with poetic realism.

coming-of-agepoverty and dignityfamily bonds

Aparajito (The Apu Trilogy: Aparajito)

1956 Drama

Follows Apu's growth as he moves to the city and seeks independence; focuses on the mother-son relationship.

independenceparental bondsurbanisation

Apur Sansar (The World of Apu)

1959 Drama

The final part of the trilogy depicting Apu's adult life, marriage, loss and eventual redemption; intimate human portrait.

lossrenewalmarried life

Jalsaghar (The Music Room)

1958 Drama

Portrays the melancholy of a declining zamindar obsessed with music; acclaimed for its integration of image and sound.

declineart and decadencetradition vs change

Charulata (The Lonely Wife)

1964 Drama

Set in 19th-century Bengal, it depicts Charu's inner life and loneliness; considered one of Ray's most accomplished films.

lonelinessinner life of womenintellectual yearning

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (Goopy–Bagha)

1969 Fantasy / Family

A fairy-tale fantasy about Goopy the singer and Bagha the drummer; notable for music and humour, beloved by children and adults.

friendshipadventurehumour

Bibliography

  • Feluda stories (detective series)
  • Professor Shonku series
  • Jakhan Choto Chilam (Childhood Days: A Memoir)
  • My Years with Apu
  • Our Films, Their Films
  • Short stories, children's tales and poetry (various)

Adaptations

  • Film and TV adaptations of Feluda stories
  • Multiple feature films restored and screened at international festivals

Translations of Works

  • Childhood Days (English translation by Bijoya Ray)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise, humanist realismvisual and musical structuring of narrativewry humour and playfulness in children's writing
Recurring Motifs
everyday detailfamily and coming-of-ageobsession with music and artcontrast between urban and rural life

Health

  • Heart attack
    1983
    After 1983, his productivity and ability to work on films were seriously limited by health problems.
  • Heavy smoker
    生涯
    Long-term heavy smoking is believed to have contributed to his heart-related health decline.

Legacy

Satyajit Ray is regarded as one of the preeminent filmmakers of the 20th century, internationally acclaimed and highly influential in Indian and Bengali cinema, with a legacy spanning film, literature and graphic design.

Museums

  • Satyajit Ray Film and Study Collection (UC Santa Cruz) Santa Cruz, California, USA Opened in 1993
  • Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute Kolkata region, India Opened in 1995

Academic Societies

  • Satyajit Ray study groups
  • Calcutta Film Society (co-founder / related institution)

Archives

  • Academy Film Archive preservation of many Ray films; Satyajit Ray Collection (AMPAS)
  • Satyajit Ray Film and Study Collection at UC Santa Cruz

In Popular Culture

  • Adaptations of Feluda stories to film, TV and radio; related cultural presence
  • Indian postage stamps and retrospectives at international film festivals

Quotes

  • This Honorary Academy Award is the best achievement of my moviemaking career.
    Source: Acceptance speech for the Honorary Academy Award (presented while hospitalized, 1992) (1992)
  • Inspiration for cinema should derive from life; no amount of technical polish can make up for artificiality of the theme.
    Source: Essays / interviews (various)

Trivia

  • Although known as Satyajit Ray, he was familiarly called 'Manik' by some.
  • Created popular Bengali children's characters such as Feluda and Professor Shonku.
  • Designed typefaces for the Roman script (e.g. Ray Roman, Ray Bizarre).
  • Awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1992 (shortly before his death).
  • The Apu Trilogy continues to be celebrated internationally.