Satyajit Ray Biography(Indian filmmaker)
భారతీయ జీవితంలోని అణువణువుకూ చిత్రణ పట్టిందాయన దర్శక ప్రతిభ. ఆయనే (Satyajit Ray) సత్యజిత్ రే . తొలి చిత్రంతోనే అంతర్జాతీయ స్థాయిలో ఖ్యాతినార్జించిన అరుదైన దర్శకుడు సత్యజిత్ రే. ఆయన సినిమా చూడకపోవడం ఎలాంటిదంటే, ఈ ప్రపంచంలో బతుకుతూ కూడా సూర్యచంద్రులను చూడకపోవడంతో సమానం అవుతుంది’ అంటాడు ప్రఖ్యాత జపాన్ దర్శకుడు అకిరా కురసోవా. ‘పథేర్ పాంచాలీ’ చిత్రంలోని దుర్గ పాత్ర చనిపోయినప్పుడు నేనెందుకు ఏడవాలీ? అని ఎంత కఠినంగా వున్నా.. కళ్లు వాటంతటవి కన్నీళ్లు కార్చకుండా వుండవు.
అపరాజితోలోనూ అంతే. ‘అపూర్ సంసార్’ గురించైతే ప్రత్యేకంగా చెప్పాలి. ఇందులో అపర్ణ చనిపోయినప్పుడు అపూ పడే బాధ వర్ణనాతీతం. కొడుకు దగ్గరకెళ్లమని స్నేహితుడు చెబితే.. ‘‘ఎవరికోసం వెళ్లాలి? వాడు పుట్టడంవల్లే కదా నా భార్య చనిపోయిందని’’ అంటాడు అపూ. ఆ దృశ్యం చూసి ద్రవించని హృదయం వుండదు. ఇక క్లైమాక్స్ సీన్ ఇప్పటికీ సజీవమే.
సత్యజిత్ రే.. భారతీయ సినిమాను ఇంటర్నేషనల్ గా ఎన్నో ఎత్తులకు చేర్చిన దిగ్దర్శకుడు. సున్నితమైన ప్రేమానుబంధాలను ఫ్రేముల్లో బంధించడంలో దిట్ట. గూడుకట్టుకున్న విషాదం, నిజ జీవితంలోని వెలుగుజిలుగులు, రాగద్వేషాలకుండే విలువలకు పట్టం కట్టడం.. ఆయనకు తెలిసినంతగా మరెవరికీ తెలియదు. ఆయన సినిమా చూడ్డం మొదలు పెడితే.. అది పూర్తయినా అందులోంచి బయట పడ్డం సాధ్యం కాదు. జీవితాంతం వెంటాడే దృశ్యాలను ఒక చోట ఏర్చీ కూర్చి.. సినిమాగా మలచడంలో ఆయన తర్వాతే ఎవరైనా. తొలినాళ్లలో.. ఇండియన్ సినిమాను శాసించిన అతి కొద్దిమందిలో సత్యజిత్ రే ఒకడు. 1921, మే2న కలకత్తాలో జన్మించాడు. ఆయన కుటుంబం ఓ పెద్ద కళల కాణాచి. సాహితీ నిలయం. తాతయ్య ఉపేంద్ర కిషోర్ రాయ్ సాహితీపరుడు. తండ్రి సుకుమార్ రాయ్ చిల్డ్రన్ లిటరేచర్ కం నాన్సెస్ రైమ్ రైటర్. వీరి ఫ్యామిలీకి ‘యు రే అండ్ సన్స్’ అనే ప్రింటింగ్ ప్రెస్ వుండేది.
ఫిక్షన్ రైటర్, పబ్లిషర్, ఇల్లస్ట్రేటర్, గ్రాఫిక్ డిజైనర్, ఫిల్మ్ క్రిటిగ్గా నూ సత్యజిత్ రే సుపరిచుతుడే. Feluda, sleuth, ప్రొఫెసర్ సుంకు.. వంటి పాత్రల సృష్టి చేశాడు. సైన్స్ ఫిక్షన్ రైటర్ గా రే సుప్రసిద్ధుడు. దర్శకుడిగా తొలిచిత్రం ‘పథేర్ పాంచాలి’. రెండు నేషనల్ అవార్డులతో పాటు, పదకొండు ఇంటర్నేషనల్ ఫిల్మ్ అవార్డులు సొతం చేసుకుంది. అందులో కేన్స్ ఫిల్మ్ ఫెస్టివల్లో సాధించిన బెస్ట్ హ్యూమన్ డాక్యుమెంటరీ అవార్డు కూడా ఒకటి. అలా.. నేషనల్ గానే కాకుండా ఇంటర్నేషనల్ గానూ సత్యజిత్ రే సినీ కెరీర్ గ్రాండ్ గా స్టార్ట్ అయ్యింది.
1\6ది అపూ ట్రయాలజీలోని అపరాజితో, అపూర్ సంసార్ చిత్రాలకుగానూ scripting, casting, scoring, and editing విభాగాలను ఒంటిచేత్తో నడిపించి ఖ్యాతి గడించాడు సత్యజిత్ రే. ఆయన కెరీన్ మొత్తంలో.. 32 నేషనల్ ఫిల్మ్ అవార్డులు కలుపుకుని ఆయన ఎన్నో అంతర్జాతీయ అవార్డులు సైతం సాధించాడు. ఆయన పొందిన అవార్డులలో 1992లో వచ్చిన ఆస్కార్ లైఫ్ అచీవ్ మెంట్ అవార్డు, 1992లో వచ్చిన భారతరత్న అవార్డులు అత్యంత ముఖ్యమైనవి.
సినిమాను సినిమా కోసం తీసిన దర్శకుడు సత్యజిత్ రే. భారతీయ దర్శక ప్రతిభను ఖండ ఖండాంతరాలకు వ్యాపింపచేసిన అపర మేధావి. అందుకే మరే ఇతర దర్శకులకు సొంతం కాని ఎన్నో అవార్డులూ, రివార్డులూ ఆయన్ను వెతుక్కుంటూ వచ్చాయి. ఆయనపై భారతీయ దరిద్రాన్ని విదేశాలకు ఎగుమతి చేసి పేరు సాధించాడన్న విమర్శలున్నాయి. కానీ, తన కెరీర్లో ఏనాడూ భావ దారిద్రానికి లోను కాని మహా దర్శకుడు సత్యజిత్ రే.
(ENGLISH VERSION)
Satyajit Ray was a renowned Indian filmmaker. Coming from a distinguished family of artists, litterateurs and musicians, Satyajit Ray, from young age, showed signs of making it big in the world of entertainment. Having a passion for films, chess and western classical music, he excelled at art and soon took it up professionally. In his life, Ray directed more than 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts, starting off with the widely acknowledged ‘Pather Panchali’. His craftsmanship, mastery of detail and storytelling technique is admired by the world over. Other than films, Ray worked as a fiction writer, publisher, illustrator, calligrapher, graphic designer and film critic. He designed numerous book jackets and magazine covers. To know more about his life and profile, read through the following lines.
Birthday: May 2, 1921 (Taurus)
Born In: Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Died At Age: 70
Spouse/Ex-: Bijoya Das
Father: Sukumar Ray
Mother: Suprabha Ray
Children: Sandip Ray
Born Country: India
Died On: April 23, 1992
Place Of Death: Kolkata, West Bengal, India
City: Kolkata, India
Awards: Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1985)
Legion Of Honor By The President Of France (1987)
Bharat Ratna (1992)
Honorary Oscar (1992)
Childhood & Early Life :
Born on May 2, 1921 in Calcutta, in an affluent Bengali family which boasted of a rich heritage in art and literature, Satyajit Ray was the only son of Sukumar and Suprabha Ray.
Ray completed his formal education from Ballygunge Government High School after which he enrolled at the Presidency College, Calcutta to complete his BA in Economics.
After much insistence and persuasion from his mother, he reluctantly attended the Visva-Bharti University at Santiniketan. The decision, however, turned fruitful as it was at Santiniketan that he found his true love for Indian art
Career :
His first ever job profile was as a junior visualizer at a British-run advertising agency. Additionally, he worked along with D.K Gupta at the Signet Press, creating cover designs for various books.
It was during this time at the Signet Press that he worked on children’ novel, Pather Panchali, a work that so much so inspired him that it later became his subject for his very first film.
In 1947, he along with Chidananda Dasgupta founded the Calcutta Film Society. The organization screened foreign films, most of which became a guiding force for his later career as a film-maker and writer.
The realization of becoming a filmmaker finally dawned upon Ray when he was in London, working at Keymar’s office. It was during this time that he watched several movies, each of which inspired him to take up filmmaking professionally.
Returning to India, he started working on his new-found passion of filmmaking. Along with a group of inexperienced staff and amateur actors, he ventured forth to realize his dream of making a film out of ‘Pather Panchali’. Three years and several hardships later, he finally released the film in 1955.
‘Pather Panchali’ made an outstanding debut on the big screen and was grandly received by both the critics and the audience. What’s more, the movie did very well overseas, garnering positive response.
While ‘Pather Panchali’ established his career thunderously, his next film, ‘Aparajito’ firmed his stand as a cult filmmaker. It even earned him the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
He followed this up with a comedy film, ‘Parash Pathar’ and ‘Jalsaghar’, a film that depicted the societal decadence of Zamindars.
The character of Apu which he had introduced in ‘Pather Panchali’ and taken forward with ‘Aparajito’ finally hit its dawn with the 1959 released film, ‘Apur Sansar’. The movie, a final one of the trilogy, ranked supremely high and became one of the classic films ever screened.
Assuming full auteurship, he expanded his zone of filmmaking, working not just as a director and script-writer but also as a cameraman and music scorer. He ventured forth trying new and different themes in his films.
In 1961, together with Subhas Mukhopadhyay, he revived children’s magazine, Sandesh. The magazine, informative and entertaining in content, helped him initiate a career in writing and illustration that stayed with him for the better part of his later life.
It was in 1964 that he came up with his most accomplished and acknowledged film, ‘Charulata’. Labelled as the magnum opus film of his career, it received wide appreciation by critics and audience.
From 1965 to 1982, he ventured into varied genres of filmmaking, trying his hand at fiction, fantasy, detective films and historical dramas. He even took up issues of contemporary India and portrayed them on-screen.
After a failed attempt for a US-India co-production of the film ‘The Alien’, he came up with a musical fantasy ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’. It went on to become his commercially most successful film to date. The success of the film led him to come up with a sequel of the same titled, ‘Hirak Rajar Deshe’, which mocked at the Indira Gandhi’s implemented emergency period.
‘Ghare Baire’ released in 1984 marked his last film before he was struck with medical illness. The film, which lined on Rabindranath Tagore’s novel on the danger of fervent nationalism, received average critical acclaim.
With medical complications and health issues to be addressed, his career graph slowed down. In the last nine years of his life, he came up with only three films, ‘Ganashatru’, ‘Shakha Proshakha’ and ‘Agantuk’, all of which were not at par with his earlier productions.
Major Works :
His debut movie, ‘Pather Panchali’ was a ground-breaking film in all aspects and received a cult status. A semi-autobiographical, the movie won eleven international prizes. The success and grand reception of the film led to a trilogy, with the release of ‘Aparjita’ and ‘Apur Sansar’.
His 1964 released film, ‘Charulata’ became the most accomplished film of his career. The film received wide critical recognition and audience appreciation. The film has been considered as a magnum opus of his career.
Awards & Achievements :
Over his life, he was bestowed with 32 National Film Awards and numerous international honors such as Silver Bear, Golden Lion and Golden Bear.
In 1982, he was awarded the Golden Lion Honorary Award. Same year, he received the ‘Hommage a Satyajit Ray’ Award at the Cannes film Festival.
He is the second ever film personality after Chaplin to receive the honorary doctorate from Oxford University.
In 1985, he received the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award and two years later received France’s most prestigious award, ‘Legion of Honor’.
The Government of India bestowed him with the highest civilian honor, ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1992. Same year, he received an Honorary Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science just days before his death.
Personal Life & Legacy :
- In 1949, he tied the nuptial knot with his long-time sweetheart Bijoya Das. The couple was blessed with a son Sandip, who too went on to take up a career in filmmaking.
- In 1983, he first suffered from a heart attack which only worsened his medical and health condition. In 1992, he suffered from major heart complications from which he never completely recovered.
- He breathed his last on April 23, 1992.
- Ray was no less a hero to the Indian cinematic audience, therefore, his legacy is ubiquitous around the nation.
- He has a Satyajit Ray Film and Study Collection and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute to his name.
- The London Film Festival adopted Satyajit Ray Award in his honor to recognize the budding talent in debutant directors who have beautifully adopted Ray’s work, art and vision.
Trivia :
He was ranked as the 25th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
In 1961, he was made a Member of the jury of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Not many know that this ace filmmaker was a fan of Tintin comics and even incorporated some of its shots in his books and movies.
He was the second Indian to have been felicitated with the Academy Award.
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