Lesser-known Facts About the Godfather of Indian Cinema : Satyajit Ray

The renowned filmmaker, Satyajit Ray was born on May 2, 1921, in Kolkata. For studying art, he went to Tagore's University at Shantiniketan and in later years did his direction debut with Pather Panchali in 1955. 

Ray happened to be not just a legendary director but complimented the Indian Cinema with his excellent skills like writing, graphic designing, calligraphy, music composition and whatnot. One of the finest works by Satyajit Ray was the Apu Trilogy which made Indian Cinema get recognition on the global level. He later died with old age complications on April 23, 1992.

On Satyajit Ray’s birth anniversary, here’s looking at some lesser-known facts about the creative cinematic legend:

- Ray received 32 National Awards for his Films.

- Ray was esteemed with the Lgion d'honneur(Legion of Honour) in 1987 by the President of France.

- In 1962 Ray made the first colored Bengali film Kanchenjunga.

- Ray worked as a graphic designer before films and designed covers for books like Jawahar Lal Nehru's Discovery of India.

- His debut film, Pather Panchali, took around three years to conclude and was made with a shoestring budget.

- Ray was the first Indian to be conferred with the highly coveted Oscar. He was honored with Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement.

- Ray was honored with the Bharat Ratna by the Government of India before his demise.

Films Directed by Ray

Ray also wrote screenplays of all his films, operated the camera and composed music for most of the films and many of his films are based on his own stories.
1955 – Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road), 115 min., B/W.1956
1956 – Aparajito (The Unvanquished), 113 min., B/W.
1958 – Parash Pathar (The Philosopher’s Stone), 111 min., B/W
1958 – Jalsaghar (The Music Room), 100 min., B/W
1959 – Apur Sansar (The World of Apu), 106 min., B/W.
1960 – Devi (The Goddess), 93 min., B/W.Devi [DVD]
1961 – Teen Kanya (Three Daughters), Postmaster 56 min.; Monihara 61 min.; Samapti 56 min. (Two Daughters, Postmaster 56 min; Samapti 56 min), B/W.
1961 – Rabindranath Tagore, Documentary, 54 min, B/W
1962 – Kanchenjungha, 102 min., Color
1962 – Abhijan (The Expedition), 150 min., B/W
1963 – Mahanagar (The Big City), 131 min., B/W
1964 – Charulata (The Lonely Wife), 117 min., B/W.
1964 – Two, Short, 15 min., B/W
1965 – Kapurush – O – Mahapurush (The Coward and the Holy Man), 74 + 65 min., B/W
1966 – Nayak (The Hero), 120 min., B/W
1967 – Chiriyakhana (The Zoo), 125 min., B/W
1968 – Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (Adventures of Goopy and Bagha), 132 min., B/W & part in color
1969 – Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest), 115 min., B/W
1970 – Pratidwandi (The Adversary), 110 min., B/W
1971 – Seemabaddha (Company Limited), 112 min., B/W
1971 – Sikkim, Documentary, 60 min., B/W
1972 – The Inner Eye, Documentary, 20 min., Color
1973 – Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder), 101 min., Color.
1974 – Sonar Kella (The Fortress), 120 min., Color
1975 – Jana Aranya (The Middleman), 131 min., B/W.
1976 – Bala, Documentary, 33 min., Color
1977 – Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players), 113 min., Color
1978 – Joi Baba Felunath (The Elephant God), 112 min, Color
1980 – Hirak Rajar Deshe (Kingdom of Diamonds), 118 min., Color
1980 – Pikoo (Pikoo’s Day), Short, 26 min., Color
1981 – Sadgati (The Deliverance), 52 min., Color
1984 – Ghare-Baire (Home and the World), 140 min., Color.
1987 – Sukumar Ray, Documentary, 30 min., Color
1989 – Ganashatru (Enemy of the People), 100 min., Color
1990 – Shakha Prashakha (Branches of the Tree), 121 min., Color
1991 – Agantuk (The Stranger), 120 min., color.