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Pather Panchali (Song of the Road)
| Year | 1955 |
|---|---|
| Producer | Govt. of West Bengal |
| Distributor | Govt. of West Bengal (NFDC, Mumbai for overseas distribution) |
| Screenplay | Satyajit Ray |
| Based on | The novel Pather Panchali by Bibhutibhushan Banerjee |
| Photography | Subrata Mitra |
| Editor | Dulal Dutta |
| Art Director | Bansi Chandragupta |
| Music | Ravi Shankar |
| Sound | Bhupen Ghosh |
| Length | 115 min. |
| Black & White |
Cast:
| Harihar | Kanu Bannerjee |
|---|---|
| Sarbajaya | Karuna Bannerjee |
| Apu | Subir Bannerjee |
| Durga | Uma Das Gupta/Runki Bannerjee |
| Schoolmaster | Tulsi Chakravarty |
| Mrs. Nilmoni | Aparna Devi |
| Indir | Chunibala Dev |
| Rich Neighbor-Woman | RajLaksmi Devi |
The story revolves around a poor Brahmin family in early years of the century in Bengal. The father, Harihara, 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 aunt 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.
Life, however, is a struggle, so Harihara 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.
In spite of poverty and death the film leaves one not depressed but moved, filled with the beauty, and subtle radiance of life. The film suggests an intimate relationship between loss and growth or destruction and creation.
Ray's comment on this film: "It is true. For one year I was trying to sell the scenario, to peddle it... since nobody would buy it, I decided to start anyway, because we wanted some footage to prove that we were not incapable of making films. So I got some money against my insurance policies. We started shooting, and the fund ran out very soon. Then I sold some art books, some records and some of my wife's jewelry. Little trickles of money came, and part of the salary I was earning as art director. All we had to spend on was raw stock, hire of a camera and our conveniences, transport and so on... I had nothing more to pawn."
The original negative of this film was lost in a fire.
