Pather Panchali

Pather Panchali (Bengali: পথের পাঁচালী Pôther Pãchali) is the 1955 directorial debut of Satyajit Ray. It is the first film in Ray's Apu trilogy and depicts a boy's childhood in the Indian countryside in the early twentieth century. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by noted Bengali writer Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay.

Contents [hide]
1 Title
2 Plot
3 Production
4 Property
5 Reception
5.1 Contemporary responses
5.2 Recent responses
6 Awards
7 Notes
8 Bibliography
9 References



[edit] Title
The title is usually translated as "song of the little road". Pather literally means "of the path" in Bengali, while panchali refers to a type of narrative folk song that used to be performed in Bengal, and was the forerunner of another type of folk song now known as jatra.[1]


[edit] Plot
Pather Panchali portrays life in rural Bengal in the 1920s. It focuses on the lives of Apu (full name: Apurba Kumar Roy) and his family members.

The story revolves around a poor Brahmin family. The father, Harihar, is a priest who is unable to make ends meet to keep his family together. The mother, Sarbajaya, has the chief responsibility for raising her mischievous daughter Durga and caring for her elderly sister-in-law Indir, who is a distant relative and whose independent spirit sometimes irritates her. With the arrival of Apu in the family, scenes of happiness and play enrich their daily life, occasionally interrupted by tragedy (e.g. the death of Indir). Life, however, is a struggle, so Harihar has to find a new job and departs, leaving Sarbajaya alone to deal with the stress of this family's survival, Durga's illness and the turbulence of the monsoon. The final disaster, Durga's death, causes the family to leave their village in search of a new life in Benares.


[edit] Production

Wide open eyes, a continual motif in the Apu TrilogyFor his first film, Ray decided to adapt Pather Panchali, the classic bildungsroman of Bengali literature. Published in 1928 by Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay, this semi-autobiographical novel describes the growing up of Apu, a small boy in a Bengal village. Ray's adaptation makes many changes and cuts. Ray always claimed that cinema, as a medium of artistic expression, was entirely different from literary modes such as novels, short stories, and dramas. He restructured the entire story and cut away what he thought were unnecessary elements of the novel.[citation needed]

The film was made on a shoestring budget. Bandopadhyay was deceased at that point, but his widow was generous enough to allow a complete novice to shoot her husband's masterpiece. The film never had a complete screenplay; it was made from Ray's drawings and notes. Shooting started in early 1953. In retrospect, the technical team was immensely talented, even apart from Ray; both Subrata Mitra (cinematographer) and Bansi Chandragupta (art director) would later be considered undisputed masters of their craft. However, at that point, Ray had never directed anything and Mitra had never operated a movie camera, though Chandragupta was a young professional.

The father Harihar, was played by a professional film actor, but Sarbajoya, the mother, was played by Karuna Banerjee, an amateur theatre actress and the wife of a friend of Ray's. Apu was spotted on a neighbor's terrace by Bijoya Ray, while Durga was chosen from an interview. The hardest to cast was of course the character of the wizened, 80 year old Aunt; Ray eventually found Chunibala Devi, a retired stage actress, then living in a brothel.

Funding was a problem from the beginning, as no producer agreed to produce the film. Ray kept working in Keymer, exhausted his last penny, and sold the LP records close to his heart. His production manager Anil Chowdhury was reduced to sleeping in a taxi at one point, and he (Chowdhury) convinced Bijoya to pawn her jewels as well (Ray's life insurance policy had already been pawned). Still, partway through filming Ray ran out of funds; the Government of West Bengal loaned him the rest, allowing him to finish the film. The money was loaned on record for 'roads improvement', a reference to the film's title.[2]


[edit] Property
This section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details.(October 2007)

The film's representation of property may be unfamiliar to non-Indians.

In the beginning of Pather Panchali, Durga (Apu's elder sister) is shown stealing one fruit a day from her neighbor Mrs. Mukherjee's orchard. She then gives the fruit to her aunt Indir. Sarbajaaya (Durga's mother) is not fundamentally opposed to the idea of her daughter stealing, but she scolds her when Mrs. Mukherjee threatens to complain to the local panchayat or village council. (Ironically, Sarbajaaya herself steals banana leaves from the orchard).

In India, particularly during the colonial era when it was still a British colony, wealth was measured chiefly in terms of property. Mukherjee claims that her property was "bought and paid for," but Sarbajaaya claims it was "stolen" from Harihar's family. We later learn from Harihar that Mukherjee's family claimed that Harihar's dead brother was in debt to them and that the family was forced to repay the debt by giving up the orchard. Harihar's explanation implies the following situation, which was not uncommon in India at the time.

Harihar's brother borrowed money from, and lent money to, several people. He never kept written accounts of his transactions since he felt he was able to remember them otherwise. When he died, however, the Mukherjees (and possibly other families) claimed that he had owed a certain sum of money. Since Harihar's family was now unable to provide evidence to the contrary, the Mukherjees took away the orchard as compensation. Nevertheless, Indira, who has enjoyed the fruits of the orchard for many years, desires the fruit and encourages Durga to steal some.


[edit] Reception

[edit] Contemporary responses

A frame from the 'discovery of train' scene. The scene is widely considered as the magic moment of the film[3].While it was in production, a number of westerners, including Monroe Wheeler from the Museum of Modern Art, saw the rushes and immediately recognized its originality. This helped Pather Panchali to get a screening at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was screened toward the end of the festival and at the same time as a party thrown by the Japanese delegation, so only a small number of critics attended; however, although some were initially unenthusiastic at the propect of yet another Indian melodrama, they reportedly found "the magic horse of poetry" slowly invading the screen.[4] The film was awarded the Best Human Document prize at the 1955 Cannes film festival.

Akira Kurosawa said of the film, "I can never forget the excitement in my mind after seeing it. It is the kind of cinema that flows with the serenity and nobility of a big river."[5]

Newsweek critic Jack Kroll reviewed the film as "One of the most stunning first films in movie history. Ray is a welcome jolt of flesh, blood and spirit."

Hazel-Dawn Dumpert of LA Weekly wrote that the film was "as deeply beautiful and plainly poetic as any movie ever made. Rare and exquisite."[6]

"The first film by the masterly Satyajit Ray - possibly the most unembarrassed and natural of directors - is a quiet reverie about the life of an impoverished Brahmin family in a Bengali village. Beautiful, sometimes funny, and full of love, it brought a new vision of India to the screen" said Pauline Kael.[citation needed]

"A beautiful picture, completely fresh and personal. [Ray's camera] reaches forward into life, exploring and exposing, with reverence and wonder" wrote Lindsay Anderson.[6]

After the success of Pather Panchali, Ray was able to obtain a grant from the government of West Bengal, and completed the Apu trilogy at the behest of the Prime Minister of India; this indicates the extent of the first film's cultural impact.


[edit] Recent responses

An alternate DVD coverPhilip French of The Observer has described Pather Panchali as "one of the greatest pictures ever made".[7]

The Village Voice ranked the film at #12 (tied with The Godfather) in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics.[8]

Prolific web reviewer James Berardinelli writes, "This tale, as crafted by Ray, touches the souls and minds of viewers, transcending cultural and linguistic barriers".[9]

In 2005, the film was included in Time magazine's All-Time 100 Movies list.

The novel is included as part of the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) and ICSE syllabus for students in India choosing to study Bengali.


[edit] Awards
President's Gold & Silver Medals, New Delhi, 1955
National Film Award for Best Film, India, 1956
Best Human Document, Cannes 1956
Diploma Of Merit, Edinbugh, 1956
Vatican Award, Rome, 1956
Golden Carbao, Manila, 1956
Best Film and Direction, San Francisco, 1957
Selznik Golden Laurel, Berlin, 1957
Best Film, Vancouver, 1958
Critics' Award: Best Film, Stratford (Canada), 1958
Best Foreign Film, New York, National Board Of Review 1959
Kinema Jumpo Award: Best Foreign Film, Tokyo 1966
Bodil Award: Best Non-European Film of the Year, Denmark, 1966

[edit] Notes
^ Banglapedia: Panchali. Banglapedia. Retrieved on 9 September 2006.
^ "Filmi Funda Pather Panchali (1955)", The Telegraph, 2005-04-20. Retrieved on 2006-04-29.
^ upperstall.com - Pather Panchali Review
^ Seton 1971, pp. 33
^ Critics on Ray. SatyajitRay.org. Retrieved on 3 April 2006.
^ a b Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road). SatyajitRay.org. Retrieved on 3 April 2006.
^ Philip French (5 May 2002). Pather Panchali. The Observer. Retrieved on 27 July 2006.
^ Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll. The Village Voice (1999). Retrieved on 27 July 2006.
^ James Berardinelli (1996). Review: Pather Panchali. ReelViews. Retrieved on 3 April 2006.

[edit] Bibliography
Seton, M (1971), Satyajit Ray: Portrait of a director, Indiana University Press.