Directing

Satyajit Ray

Born May 2, 1921 · Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India [now India]

Died April 23, 1992 · aged 70

Satyajit Ray (2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was a Bengali Indian filmmaker, widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. Ray was born in the city of Calcutta into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature. Starting his career as a commercial artist, Ray was drawn into independent filmmaking after meeting French filmmaker Jean Renoir and viewing Vittorio…

Known For

The Music Room

The Music Room · 1958

MovieDramaMusic

An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices his wealth in order to compete with the opulent music room of his younger, richer neighbour.

Pather Panchali

Pather Panchali · 1955

Pather Panchali

MovieDramaHistory

Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. Alone, his wife, Sarbojaya, looks after her rebellious daughter, Durga, and her young son, Apu, as well as Harihar's elderly aunt Indir. The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life, while their parents suffer the daily indignities heaped upon them.

The River

The River · 1951

MovieDramaRomance

Director Jean Renoir’s entrancing first color feature—shot entirely on location in India—is a visual tour de force. Based on the novel by Rumer Godden, the film eloquently contrasts the growing pains of three young women with the immutability of the Bengal river around which their daily lives unfold. Enriched by Renoir’s subtle understanding and appreciation for India and its people, The River gracefully explores the fragile connections between transitory emotions and everlasting creation.

The Stranger

The Stranger · 1991

A well-off family is paid an unexpected, and rather unwanted, visit by a man claiming to be the woman's long lost uncle. The initial suspicion with which they greet the man slowly dissolves as he regales them with stories of his travels, tales that are at odds with their conventional middle class perspective on the world.

The Expedition

The Expedition · 1962

Narsingh, a North Indian taxi driver, attempts to reinvent his life by visiting his native place, but instead gets embroiled in a local Marwari businessman's smuggling and human trafficking business.

Aparajito

Aparajito · 1956

Apu and his family have moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Benares. As he progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, eventually studying in Kolkata, we witness his academic and moral education, as well as the growing complexity of his relationship with his mother.

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne · 1969

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne

MovieComedyMusic

Goopy Gyne and Bagha Byne are banished from their respective villages for being bad musicians. However, with their skills, they succeed in pleasing the king of ghosts who grants them three boons. How will they succeed in preventing the war between Halla and Shundi which is looming large?

The World of Apu

The World of Apu · 1959

The World of Apu

Apu, now a jobless ex-student dreaming vaguely of a future as a writer, is invited to join an old college friend on a trip up-country to a village wedding.

Filmography

Sort

The Music Room

The Music Room · 1958

MovieDramaMusic

An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices his wealth in order to compete with the opulent music room of his younger, richer neighbour.

Director

Pather Panchali

Pather Panchali · 1955

Pather Panchali

MovieDramaHistory

Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. Alone, his wife, Sarbojaya, looks after her rebellious daughter, Durga, and her young son, Apu, as well as Harihar's elderly aunt Indir. The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life, while their parents suffer the daily indignities heaped upon them.

Director

The River

The River · 1951

MovieDramaRomance

Director Jean Renoir’s entrancing first color feature—shot entirely on location in India—is a visual tour de force. Based on the novel by Rumer Godden, the film eloquently contrasts the growing pains of three young women with the immutability of the Bengal river around which their daily lives unfold. Enriched by Renoir’s subtle understanding and appreciation for India and its people, The River gracefully explores the fragile connections between transitory emotions and everlasting creation.

Assistant Director

The Stranger

The Stranger · 1991

A well-off family is paid an unexpected, and rather unwanted, visit by a man claiming to be the woman's long lost uncle. The initial suspicion with which they greet the man slowly dissolves as he regales them with stories of his travels, tales that are at odds with their conventional middle class perspective on the world.

Producer

The Expedition

The Expedition · 1962

Narsingh, a North Indian taxi driver, attempts to reinvent his life by visiting his native place, but instead gets embroiled in a local Marwari businessman's smuggling and human trafficking business.

Director

Aparajito

Aparajito · 1956

Apu and his family have moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Benares. As he progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, eventually studying in Kolkata, we witness his academic and moral education, as well as the growing complexity of his relationship with his mother.

Screenplay

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne · 1969

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne

MovieComedyMusic

Goopy Gyne and Bagha Byne are banished from their respective villages for being bad musicians. However, with their skills, they succeed in pleasing the king of ghosts who grants them three boons. How will they succeed in preventing the war between Halla and Shundi which is looming large?

Original Music Composer

The World of Apu

The World of Apu · 1959

The World of Apu

Apu, now a jobless ex-student dreaming vaguely of a future as a writer, is invited to join an old college friend on a trip up-country to a village wedding.

Director

The Storyteller

The Storyteller · 2022

The Storyteller

After decades of working in the printing industry in Kolkata in eastern India, Tarini has reached retirement age. He spends his days at home, having declined his son’s invitation to come to the United States. Then a friend shows him a help-wanted ad. Although he has never published a book, Tarini used to tell made-up stories to his friends in his youth, and the ad for a storyteller in Ahmedabad in western India piques his interest.

Author

Bombay Talkies

Bombay Talkies · 2013

MovieDramaRomance

One hundred years of Hindi cinema is celebrated in four short stories showcasing the power of film.

Short Story

Days and Nights in the Forest

Days and Nights in the Forest · 1970

Days and Nights in the Forest

MovieDramaComedy

Four friends from Calcutta who have very different personalities make a holiday excursion into the country, to a tiny village in the state of Bihar where they set themselves up in a bungalow. A series of minor events, all connected to their respective reactions to their new environment, reveals their characters more deeply.

Director

Distant Thunder

Distant Thunder · 1973

Distant Thunder

Gangacharan is the new Brahmin of a village, where he assumes various duties: teaching, organizing religious events, and trying to prevent epidemics. But in that year 1943, war is raging (as reminded by the planes occasionally heard flying over the countryside), and a major famine is under way. As food shortages reach catastrophic proportions, Gangacharan attempts to preserve his privileged situation, while his generous wife, Ananga, conversely tries to help and support the community.

Director

Devi

A devout upper-class Hindu has a vision in a dream that his daughter-in-law is the human incarnation of the Goddess Kali and begins worshipping her.

Director

An Enemy of the People

An Enemy of the People · 1990

An Enemy of the People

Ashoke Gupta is an idealistic doctor working in a town near Calcutta. He discovers that the water at a popular temple is the source of an outbreak of typhoid and hepatitis. In order to save lives, he risks his career to try and call attention to this polluted water source, while a local group of building contractors attempt to discredit him in various ways.

Director

Charulata

Charulata · 1964

MovieDramaRomance

In 1870s India, Charulata is an isolated, artistically inclined woman who sees little of her busy journalist husband, Bhupati. Realizing that his wife is alienated and unhappy, he convinces his cousin, Amal, to spend time with Charulata and nourish her creative impulses. Amal is a fledgling poet himself, and he and Charulata bond over their shared love of art.

Director

The Branches of the Tree

The Branches of the Tree · 1990

The Branches of the Tree

When a wealthy patriarch falls ill on his 70th birthday, three of his sons rush in from Calcutta, leading to a reunion filled with painful ironies and lingering disillusionment. As the family—including an addled fourth son who lives with the old man—watches and waits, the static occasion brings out simmering tensions in their family dynamics, from the father’s moral rectitude to the business ambition of two sons and the withdrawal of their siblings.

Director

Jigarthanda DoubleX

Jigarthanda DoubleX · 2023

Jigarthanda DoubleX

MovieActionDrama

A notorious gangster is incited to transform into a film hero and opts for a filmmaker and their project descends into a scenario they had never anticipated.

Thanks

The Big City

The Big City · 1963

Arati takes a job as a door-to-door saleswoman in Calcutta's wealthy neighbourhoods, in defiance of her traditionally-minded husband, Subrata, and his live-in parents. Emulating her Anglo-Indian friend Edith, who speaks equal to the men she encounters on the job, Arati quickly becomes her firm's top salesperson. When Subrata loses his job, the power dynamic begins to shift.

Director

Ahalya

Ahalya, set as a modern-day thriller, is an ode to a legend from Ramayana. The 14-minute-long film replays the deadly game of Gods, spinning a web of intrigue, seduction, desire and mystery between Gods and Apsaras. Ahalya is a deadly game you can’t escape.

Writer

The Chess Players

The Chess Players · 1977

The Chess Players

In the year 1856, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah is the King of Awadh, one of the last independent kingdoms of India. The British intend to control this rich land and send General Outram to clear way for an annexation. Pressure is mounting amidst intrigue and political maneuvers, but the Nawab whiles away his time in pursuit of pleasure and religious practice. The court is of no help either — noblemen Mir and Mirza ignore all duties and spend their days playing endless games of chess.

Director

Shakespeare-Wallah

Shakespeare-Wallah · 1965

Shakespeare-Wallah

MovieDramaRomance

The story of a family troupe of English actors who travel around the towns and villages in India giving performances of Shakespearean plays. Through their travels we see the changing face of India as the old is replaced by the new, Maharajas become hotel owners, sports become more important than culture and the theater is replaced by Bollywood movies. Based on the travels of Geoffrey Kendal with his daughter Felicity Kendal.

Original Music Composer

Double Feluda

Double Feluda · 2016

MovieMysteryCrime

The movie consists of two Feluda stories by Satyajit Ray, Samaddar-er-Chabi and Golokdham Rahashya, shown on either half of the film. It was a tribute to the 50-year anniversary of Feluda and a sequel to Royal Bengal Rahashya (2011).

Music

The Hero

The Hero · 1966

Arindam, a matinee idol, is going by train to collect an acting award. On the train, he is confronted by Aditi, a journalist who somewhat unwillingly starts to take his interview. Arindam, won over by Aditi's naivete, starts to disclose his past, his fears and his secrets.

Director

The Coward

The Coward · 1965

MovieDramaRomance

Amitabha Roy is a Calcutta-based scriptwriter, driving around in the country to collect material for a film. His vehicle breaks down in a small town. A tea planter, Bimal Gupta, offers hospitality for the night. Amitabha is forced to accept the offer as he has no alternative.

Director

The South Bank Show

The South Bank Show · 1978

The South Bank Show

SeriesDocumentaryTalk

The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.

Ray

From a satire to a psychological thriller, four short stories from celebrated auteur and writer Satyajit Ray are adapted for the screen in this series.

Story

Feluda Pherot - Jawto Kando Kathmandute

Feluda Pherot - Jawto Kando Kathmandute · 2025

Feluda Pherot - Jawto Kando Kathmandute

SeriesMysteryCrime

Jawto Kando Kathmandute is a Feluda mystery where the detective travels to Kathmandu with Topse and Jatayu to investigate a murder and a fake medicine racket, ultimately confronting Maganlal Meghraj, a familiar antagonist.

Original Story

Feluda 30

Feluda 30 · 1996

SeriesCrimeMystery

Feluda is an Indian-Bengali detective media franchise created by Indian-Bengali film director and writer Satyajit Ray, featuring the character, Feluda. The titular character is a private investigator who resides at 21 Rajani Sen Road,Ballygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Story