Ray, the cinematic poet depicted the magic by portraying the simple life of Apu in the three movies of the “Apu Trilogy”. He has shown the struggles and tragedies of a boy in the simplest manner in this story. These are the artistic cinemas that have been crowned internationally. But we don’t know the struggles behind the masterpieces. In this part of the blog, we are gonna trace out how Ray struggled to provide us with such a spectacular movie ” Pather Panchali” and also we will find out the godsends that Ray achieved and reached the peak.
The challenges involve being unable to find a producer. Ray couldn’t make it to earning the funds for making his first film. He had to take loans from banks and even had to sell his wife’s jewelry. It was not that easy to make a low-budget film. It took two years and a half to complete the film due to the lack of resources, camera, etc. Lastly, the State government of West Bengal provided the funds to make this awestruck film. He had amateur crew members too. But all his hardships had not gone in vain. He received immortality, and lifetime honor for his trilogy.
Now, let’s talk about the awards of the trilogy. “Pather Panchali” released in 1955 won the Festival of Cannes twice. Also, it was nominated for Palme d’Or. “Aparajito” (the Unvanquished) won thrice in Venice Film Festival. “Golden Lion” was one of them. “Apur Shangshar” was rolled in the theatre in 1959 and had a nomination in the Faroe Islands International Film Festival. There’s a misconception that Ray had been awarded an Oscar for “Pather Panchali”.
He actually received an Honorary Academy Award in 1992 for his wondrous contribution to world cinema. He was the first Indian to receive an Oscar. But he indisputably brought recognition to the Bangla cinema in front of the world through the series of these three films, Apu Trilogy. Actually, in 1993, the original negatives that is called the reel of Apu trilogy burnt in a massive nitrate fire in the laboratory of London. After that, the Academy of Motion Pictures Art and Science, known as the Oscars, preserved the burnt films, and later with new technologies they restored them.
Ray is one of the most essential figures in the golden age of international cinema. Apu Trilogy played the most important role in his career as it was the start of his career and had been recognized internationally. As a movie fanatic, the journey of the trilogy will move you to tears. This piece of art brought the Bengali cinema to the world’s map to be recognized globally.
Actually, the beauty of the Apu Trilogy lies in its simplicity. There are no thrills, but detailed & realistic. It is the specialty of this masterpiece. The direction, screenplay, cinematography of the trilogy were so fine that after so many years it has been immortal in people’s hearts. At last this writing about the awe-inspiring “Apu Trilogy” ends with the Western critic Pauline Kael’s judgment on one of the movies in the trilogy, “Apur Sansar felt as if it were the world’s first love story.”
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Writer,
Adri Sen
Intern
Content Writing Department,
YSSE