10 Best Facts about Satyajit Ray

10 Best Facts about Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray was an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

Ray was born in Calcutta, now Kolkata, India to renowned writer Sukumar Ray, who was prominent in the field of arts and literature.

Satyajit Ray spearheaded a new-wave in Indian cinema and guided it to the global arena. He is celebrated for works such as The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959), The Music Room (1958), The Big City (1963) and Charulata (1964).

Here are the 10 best facts about Saty Ajit Ray

1. He started out as a commercial artist

A poster from Ogilvy India – Flickr

In 1943, Ray started working at D.J. Keymer, now Ogilvy, a British advertising agency, as a junior visualizer. His work resulted in many innovative advertising campaigns, which enable him to rise to the rank of art director.

He worked with the D.J. Keymer company until the release of his first directorial Pather Panchali which cemented his place as a professional filmmaker back in 1956.

Despite being treated well at the firm, there was tension between the British and Indian employees. The British were better paid than the Indian employees. At this time, Satyajit Ray was being paid 80 rupees a month.

 Satyajit Ray also felt that “the clients were generally stupid.”

2. He designed book covers

Ruposhi Bangla cover design by Satyajit Ray – Amazon

Later, Satyajit Ray worked for the Signet Press, a new publisher started by D. K. Gupta. Gupta asked Satyajit Ray to create book cover designs for the company and gave him complete artistic freedom.

Some of his notable covers include the ones for Jim Corbett’s classic Man-Eaters of Kumaon and Jawaharlal Nehru’s Discovery of India.

He also worked on a children’s version of Pather Panchali renamed as Aam Antir Bhepu (The mango-seed whistle). While designing the cover and illustrations of the book, he was deeply mesmerized by the book. He used it as the subject of his first film and featured his illustrations as shots.

3. He founded a film club

Battleship Potemkin’ poster – Wikipedia

In 1947, Ray Satyajit, Chidananda Dasgupta and others founded the Calcutta Film Society. It was the first film club in Kolkata. Battleship Potemkin’ was the first film to be screened in this club.

Ray also wrote many thought-provoking articles on cinema for newspapers like The Statesman, and soon after started to develop screenplays.

To test his screen writing skills, Ray would script his own version of a film on the novel/story and then compare it with the actual film. This was his big step toward filmmaking.

4. He married his cousin

Sandip Ray – Wikipedia

In 1949, Ray married Bijoya Das, his first cousin and long-time sweetheart. Bijoya’s father was the eldest half-brother of Satyajit Ray’s mother.

Bijoya Ray acted and sang playback song in a Bengali feature film called Shesh Raksha in 1944 and also acted in the documentary Gaach (The Tree) by Catherine Berge in 1998.

The couple had a son in 1953, Sandip Ray, a film director. Bijoya Ray remained a constant inspiration and influence in Ray’s life.

She died on 2 June 2015 at the age of 97 after suffering from Pneumonia.

5. ‘Bicycle Thieves’ an inspiration

The Bicycle Thieves – Flickr

For some time, Satyajit had being thinking about making Pather Panchali, and he had pitched a realistic way of making the film to many of his friends. However, these methods were unheard of and this greatly discouraged Ray.

In 1950, D.J. Keymer sent Ray to London to work at the headquarters. During his six months in London, Ray watched 99 films. Among these was the neorealist film Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves) (1948) by Vittorio De Sica.

The realistic treatment of the film inspired him and also convinced him that it was possible to use fresh, new faces in the film without makeup and shooting on location.

This was the push that he needed to embark on making Pather Panchali.

6. Pather Panchali was exceptional in many ways

Pather Panchali poster – Flickr

Ray shot Pather Panchali over two and a half years, based on when he or his production manager Anil Chowdhury could raise additional funds.

He refused funding from sources who wanted to change the script or exercise supervision over production. He also ignored advice from the Indian government to incorporate a happy ending.

Later on, Ray would describe the making of the film as a series of miracles: “One, Apu’s voice did not break. Two, Durga did not grow up. Three, Indir Thakrun did not die.”

Pather Panchali is considered to be one of the greatest literary works describing rural life. The film put Indian cinema on the global map.

7. One of his documentaries was banned

Sunrise over Kangchenjunga, Sikkim – Wikipedia

The film, Sikkim, was made in 1971 on the subject of that landlocked state. The documentary was commissioned by the Chogyal (King) of Sikkim at a time when he felt the sovereignty of Sikkim was under threat from both China and India.

The film was banned by the government of India, when Sikkim merged with India in 1975. The ban was finally lifted in September 2010.

However, in November 2010 the director of the Kolkata film festival stated that upon screening the documentary for the first time, he received an injunction from the court of Sikkim again banning the film.

8. Ray revived his grandfather’s legacy

House of Upendrakishore at 100 A Garpar Road Kolkata Heritage Building Tag by KMC – Wikipedia

Sandesh is a Bengali children’s magazine. It was first published by Upendrakishore Ray, the grandfather of Satyajit Ray, in 1913 through his publishing company, M/s U. Ray and Sons.

Its publication had to be stopped twice, in 1925 when the business became insolvent and again in 1934.

In 1961, the magazine was revived under the editorialship of Satyajit Ray and Subhas Mukhopadhyay, a poet.

Ray began to make illustrations for the magazine, as well as to write stories and essays for children. He contributed illustrations and stories to the magazine throughout his life.

9. A national treasure

Padma Bhushan – Wikipedia

Ray has received many awards, including six National Awards for Best Director. This remains an unmatched achievement in Indian cinema. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan in 1965 and the highest civilian honour

Satyajit is the second film personality after Charlie Chaplin to have been awarded an honorary doctorate by Oxford University.

He was one of only four filmmakers to win the Silver Bear for Best Director more than once and holds the record for the most Golden Bear nominations, with seven.

10. Fame did not change him

The facade of Satyajit Ray’s house in Kolkata – Wikipedia

Despite Ray’s success, it had little influence on his personal life in the years to come. He continued to live with his wife and children in a rented house, with his mother, uncle and other members of his extended family.