Satyajit Ray
A still from Satyajit Ray's 'Pather Panchali'.
FIPRESCI-India, the India chapter of Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique (The International Federation of Film Critics), has released its list of top 10 Indian films ever made. Legendary film director Satyajit Ray's 'Pather Panchali' has topped the list, while Ritwik Ghatak's 'Meghe Dhaka Tara' is the runner-up. Mrinal Sen's 'Bhuvan Shome' is the second runner-up Ray, Ghatak, and Sen were part of the legendary foursome, with Tapan Sinha completing the quartet, that led the parallel cinema movement in the 1950s and 1960s India, infusing realism and naturalism in their stories.
Also Read:Ray’s 'Pather Panchali' the only Indian film to feature in 100 best foreign language films list
'Pather Panchali', which was the first in 'The Apu Trilogy', was based on Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's eponymous 1929 Bengali novel. It was Ray's directorial debut. While Ray went on to create a body of work that remains unparalleled in the country, 'Pather Panchali' remainsarguably his best-known film. The film has received praise from international filmmaking bigwigs like Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Richard Attenborough, Wes Anderson, Francis Ford Coppola, and more.
Ray's 'Charulata' is also part of the list, at the seventh position.
Also Read:Opinion: 100 cheers for Satyajit Ray
Also part of the list are Adoor Gopalakrishnan's 'Elippathayam' (fourth), Girish Kasaravalli's 'Ghatashraddha' (fifth), M. S. Sathyu's 'Garm Hava' (sixth), Shyam Benegal's 'Ankur' (eighth), Guru Dutt's 'Pyaasa' (ninth), and Ramesh Sippy's 'Sholay' (tenth).
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Interestingly, none of the films are from the 21st century. And only one film, 'Sholay', can be called commercial fare. Rest are to some degree touched by elements from parallel cinema.
FIPRESCI has existed since 1930. It was founded on June 6 of that year in Brussels, Belgium. Its members are from 50 countries in the world. To recognise great talent in filmmaking, the organisation hands out awards in film festivals like the Vienna International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival, the Warsaw Film Festival, and the International Film Festival of Kerala.