Mumbai 2 May 2020 .On Satyajit Ray’s 99th birth anniversary, many renowned celebrities and netizens remembered him and his work. He was the first Indian filmmaker who was awarded an honorary Oscar for his contribution to cinema. Born on May 2, 1921 in a family of litterateurs in Bengal, he was considered to be the man who changed the face of Indian cinema forever. His approach in dealing with his subjects and skillful representation of characters earned him a spot among the best filmmakers in the world. Ray died April 23, 1992 at the age of 71 . Also Read – Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali placed at 15 in BBC’s 100 best foreign language films list
Starting his career as a commercial artist, Ray was drawn into independent filmmaking after meeting French filmmaker Jean Renoir and viewing Vittorio De Sica’s Italian neorealist film Bicycle Thieves (1948) during a visit to London. He directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. He was also a fiction writer, publisher, illustrator, calligrapher, music composer, graphic designer and film critic. Also Read -New web series based on Satyajit Ray’s short stories
In 1983, while working on Ghare Baire, Ray suffered a heart attack; it would severely limit
his productivity in the remaining 9 years of his life. Ghare Baire was completed in 1984 with the help of Ray’s son (who operated the camera from then on) because of his health condition. In spite of rough patches due to Ray’s illness, the film did receive some critical acclaim. It had the first kiss fully portrayed in Ray’s films. Also Read -Now Satyajit Ray’s Prof Shonku to be adopted for film.
In 1992, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded him an Honorary Academy Award. Ray is the first and the only Indian, yet, to receive the honor. Twenty-four days before his death, Ray accepted the award in a gravely ill condition, calling it the “Best achievement of movie-making career.
