‘Pather Panchali’, marking a new genre in Indian cinema, was released 79 years ago

On August 26, 1955, ‘Pather Panchali’, which would go on to become one of the most iconic films in the history of Indian cinema, was first released in Kolkata’s “Basusree” theatre. The initial response to the movie was poor, but the theatre started filling soon as word spread that the film had a unique lyrical quality, never seen before in Indian films.

In the 9th Cannes Film Festival in 1956, ‘Pather Panchali’ contested in the feature film category and was given the “Best Human Document” award.

Several other memorable Hindi films — such as Guru Dutt’s ‘Mr and Mrs 55’, Raj Kapoor’s ‘Shri 420’ and Bimal Roy’s ‘Devdas’ — were released in 1955, but ‘Pather Panchali’ signalled the arrival of a new genre in Indian cinema. Those who were mesmerised by the masterpiece, shot in black and white, included Shyam Benegal, then a promising swimmer.

Benegal had gone to Kolkata to take part in a swimming championship. His uncle, who lived in the city, suggested that he should watch ‘Pather Panchali’, which was then running in the city. Benegal, who did not know Bengali, went to see the film and was stunned by what he saw. He gave up his ambition of becoming a champion swimmer and decided to become a filmmaker instead.

“Pather Panchali” is based on Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s novel of same name. It was Bandyopadhyay’s first novel and was instantly recognised as a masterpiece. It tells a story so sad that often, one has to close the book to give oneself time to recover from the heaviness of the heart caused by reading the story of Apu.

Satyajit Ray, though coming from a family reputed for producing some of Bengal’s finest writers, first read ‘Pather Panchali’ when he was asked to make illustrations for an abridged edition of the book. Ray, then a commercial artist with a leading advertisement firm in Kolkata, noticed the book’s visual qualities while drawing pictures for it.

One of the co-founders of the Calcutta Film Society, Ray loved films. ‘Pather Panchali’ gave fresh fuel to Ray’s dream of making a movie that could stand apart from the run of the mill movies made in India.

The filming of “Pather Panchali” was halted midway because Ray ran out of funds. The West Bengal government, then headed by CM BC Roy, provided the funding to help Ray complete the project.

The movie ends with the protagonist Apu and his parents leaving their ancestral village. BC Roy wanted the ending to be changed, to let the family continue to stay in the village by taking advantage of some rural development schemes launched by his government. The CM was persuaded to drop the idea on the grounds that the change could hurt the sensibilities of all those who had read the book and were touched by the story.