Ray's Pather Panchali - The poetic frame work of Indian Cinema

The most outstanding director of all time - Satyajit Ray, is considered the profound filmmaker in the history of Indian cinema. Pather Panchali is Ray's masterpiece, and the film does sound very deep and sensitive. The film is adapted from Pather Panchali novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. Ray changed some of the novel sequences to get the story into cinematic value. The story revolves around the family of Apu and their poor livelihood in the village. Some of the films make the story develop the characters, but very few movies make the characters construct the story, and Pather Panchali is one of them. Apu, Durga, Sarbojaya, Indir Takrun were the film's most important characters; notably, Durga and Apu play a significant role in this film. These characters help build the story within themselves, which brings out the distinctive way of delivering a solid narrative throughout the screen. 

Ray's distinctive storytelling is one of the strongest pillars of the film; he frames out the lives as near as close and makes us watch the characters play their roles. I experienced a lot of mixed emotions, and indeed this film made me cry at two points in the movie. The film is all about characters and their lives; in a sense, we can quickly connect with them and experience the same struggle, hope, pain, happiness, sorrow, and even take part in their meal. Durga's characterisation reflects the real artistic value of the film. She can be someone near our home, maybe a daily life character, but indeed I become inspired by her innocence. Durga expresses a typical nature of a girl where she gets fruits for Indir, the elderly cousin of Durga's father, and she reveals her fondness for her in that way. 

Durga's screen presence makes nourishment to the story in all possible ways. The story points out her feelings in a very veracious way - one of the scenes shows her longing and desire for certain things in life, for example, marriage and other essential needs as a girl. She is a poetic piece of celebration for the womanly nature in all the satire. She roots down the truth and deep sentiments, and her final act will be the very high point of the film. There are memorable scenes from the movie for Durga, including the scenes of Durga and Apu following the sweet seller and Durga stealing fruits for Tahir. In a particular scene, Durga's mother beats for the accusation of stealing the necklace. Still, later she gets her way of life, the scene of her friend getting married and Durga sitting aside longing for her life, and her hidden care for her brother shows her as an aesthetic nature of the film. 

Apu, on the other hand, remains subtle yet needful to the story. Pather Panchali shows how he evolved as a child in the village. This film is all about his childhood, and it gets around the corner with his cute little legs running and turning up in every spot of the village. Remarkably, the scene of Apu tracking down Durga and spotting the steam rail ride past them is one of the beautiful scenes from the film. Apu as a child remarked a strong innocence through his characterisation. His dazzling eyes would speak up every time and elevate the scene to a point. 

Indir's character is unique and pitches out very emotionally to this story. As an older person, she does an impressive and intense role. The song she sings over the scenes will bring down the hearts to a certain point of floating. The intense writing of the character is well executed on the screen, the bedtime horror stories she narrates to Apu brought back my old days, and that to the character's end act still haunts me so bad. When Indir dies, the song she sang rolls in the background, which petrifies the eternities and chills down the emotions - it is the most intense scene ever made in the cinema. Also, we can feel the same intensity in the final act of the film. The family issues have been remarked well with quite effective scenes between Sarbojaya and Harihar. Sarbojaya's care for her family leaves her dramatic over certain scenes, which we can easily connect to the woman of current society too. 

Subrata Mitra's work of cinematography is a splendid magical work for the film. He does an aesthetic treatment over the frames and does capture the genuine emotions from the actors. Even though it was his first film as a cinematographer, he didn't let the work down. The composition and blocking of the characters in the scene elevate the mood for the story, and it creates a massive impact on the audience. Some of the framing, compositions and lighting techniques make a magnificent impact on the scenes. He does masterly work with the poetic storytelling influence from Ray. Both combinations work out very well in the film, which we can experience evidently.

Most importantly, the lighting technique is the unique feature of the film. The nighttime shots are one of the examples of camera work in the movie. Also, the sound work of the film is quite impressive - in the quiet night, we can hear the sound of rail passing away in the distance in the background of the scene, which adds a unique mood for the scene. Ravi Shankar's music floats like a piece of a leaf slowly, which later drenches down in a  stream. The score for the film is another backbone. It creates a classic touch for the scenes and plays quietly with the emotions of the audience. 

Nonetheless, the film will significantly impact an individual, and that is the honour for the influential filmmaker 'Ray'. Ray creates a vast area for storytelling with the help of other technical aspects, and his every frame will narrate a story within itself. His magnificent world of Apu Trilogy delivers the same impact on the audience. He is not just a filmmaker. He is a storyteller and a pioneer of filmmaking with all possibilities of absolute sense.