Synopsis
Life
in a village is viewed through the eyes of Apu and Durga,
two young children of an impoverished Brahmin poet-priest,
Harihar and his wife, Sarbojaya. Life is hard and the old
aunt who stays with them is a further burden. One day Apu
and Durga return home to find her dead in a bamboo grove.
After the funeral Harihar leaves for the city in search
of a job. The monsoon arrives and Durga dances exultantly
in the downpour while Apu watches. She develops pneumonia
and dies. Harihar returns home and the family decide to
leave for Benares.
The film
Pather Panchali is perhaps the greatest
Indian film ever made and was the film that
really put India on the international film
map. The film, Satyajit
Ray's directorial debut, was over three
years in the making due to unceasing financial
burden. Finally the film was completed with
the help of the West Bengal Government.
The film went on to win a special prize
at Cannes for 'Best Human Document.' To
quote Lindsay Anderson in the Observer
"You
cannot make films like this in a studio
nor for money. Satyajit Ray has worked with
humility and complete dedication; he has
gone down on his knees in the dust. And
his film has the quality of intimate, unforgettable
experience."
Thus
began a sequence of events that was to place
Ray almost at once among the great directors
of the world and launching his extraordinary
career.
The film was based on a widely read novel
of the same name by Bibhuti Bhushan Banerjee.
Ray preserves the essential qualities of
the novel yet enhances their impact with
his vision. In a tradition going back to
Robert Flaherty and the Italian neo-realists,
Ray uses natural backgrounds and mainly
non-actors. But even then he is able to
turn even seemingly mundane events into
momentous experience as when Durga and Apu
are held spellbound by a humming telegraph
phone or the sight of an approaching train
in the film's most memorable sequence.
 The
look of the film almost poetic in nature
was due to the efforts of the cinematographer,
Subrata Mitra.
A much-admired still photographer, Pather
Panchali was his first film and Mitra
does an absolutely stunning job with his
evocative compositions. The music was done
by Ravi Shankar and is another highlight
of the film. The sequence of Harihar being
told of Durga's death is taken to great
heights by the splendid use of music rather
than dialogue and is one of the most touching
and unforgettable moments in the film. Although
outdoor locations were shot 10-12 miles
from Calcutta, much of the indoor work was
finally done in a Calcutta studio and perfectly
matched to the exterior. In fact,
special mention must be made of Bansi
Chandragupta's absolutely wonderful
art direction. The sets were constructed
outdoors and for the first time all notions
of artificiality were discarded in creating
filmic décor – the outdoor
sets of village huts, the costumes, the
everyday utensils, the furniture, the pictures
of gods and goddesses and other props looked
extremely genuine and perfectly in synch
with the characters' milieu and habits and
more importantly matched perfectly with
the ethos of lyrical realism inherent in
Pather Panchali. Another pioneering
facet of this classic film was that perhaps
for the first time in India that sets, costumes
and props were designed keeping in mind
aspects of camera movement, choice of lenses
and the tonal variations in terms of black
and white cinematography.
There are several unforgettable sequences
in the film. One of the most lyrical passages
in the film is the onset of the monsoon
bringing hope, joy and new life. The first
rain drops fall on the shining bald plate
of an angler, the water hyacinths in the
pond, the trees in the field. The momentum
slowly builds drawing Durga to her dance
in the rain. But as the storm rises in ferocity,
it turns destructive threatening the foundations
of their dilapidated house and ultimately
Durga's life.
An interesting aside - Though an unqualified
masterpiece, highly placed Government officials
frowned on the film depicting India's poverty
and thus damaging India's international
image even as the Central Government officially
rejoiced over the success of the film! The
film ran for 13 whole weeks in Calcutta.
Most important, backers were now ready to
back Ray's subsequent films.
The two following films Aparajito
(1956) and Apur
Sansar (1959) completing the
Apu trilogy following Apu into adulthood
and marriage while having their memorable
moments and in spite of much tighter cinematic
construction however lack the simplicity
and poetic quality of Pather Panchali.
But still the trilogy as a whole has the
rhythm and flow of life and Aparajito
did win the 'Lionne d'Ore' at Venice in
a jury presided by the great Rene Clair.
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