Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 11 wins & 2 nominations total
Kanu Bannerjee
- Harihar Ray
- (as Kanu Bandyopadhyay)
Karuna Bannerjee
- Sarbojaya Ray
- (as Karuna Bandopadhyay)
Subir Banerjee
- Apu Ray
- (as Subir Bandopadhyay)
Uma Das Gupta
- Durga
- (as Uma Dasgupta)
Runki Banerjee
- Little Durga
- (as Runki Bandopadhyay)
Haren Banerjee
- Chinibas, Sweet-seller
- (as Haren Bandyopadhyay)
Roma Ganguli
- Roma
- (as Rama Gangopadhyay)
Binoy Mukherjee
- Baidyanath Majumdar
- (as Binoy Mukhopadhyay)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHalfway through filming, Ray ran out of funds. The Government of West Bengal loaned him the rest, allowing him to complete the film. This loan is listed in public records at the time as "roads improvement", a nod to the film's translated title.
- GoofsAlthough the film is set in early 20th-century rural India (a time in which public health campaigns presumably did not exist), when Apu and Durga are shown hiding in the fields waiting to catch a glimpse of the train, a vaccination mark is clearly visible on the right arm of Uma Das Gupta, who portrays Durga.
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Century of Cinema: And the Show Goes On: Indian Chapter (1996)
Featured review
masterpiece
What a wonderful film. For those who have not watched any films from India or heard of Ray, I strongly recommend it. Full of sadness, hope, innocence, and despair, it is an emotionally evocative portrait of the life of an Indian family, their trials, and their courage and persistence throughout. They go on, not because they are exceptional, but because they must, because they are human.
Ray does a masterful job of capturing the simple joys of childhood, and the ambitions and dreams which make us all human, regardless of where we are. Simple scenes such as a disfigured elderly woman seated on a porch, singing of her approaching death, are very moving. I have never seen the basic elements of life treated with such an incisive yet soft touch as Ray has in this film. It is wonderful to watch in comparison to the broad writing strokes and vulgar generalities of most directing and writing today. At the risk of sounding trite, this is a film which is not merely entertainment or art, but one which reaches into your heart and makes a place for itself there. It belongs there.
Ray does a masterful job of capturing the simple joys of childhood, and the ambitions and dreams which make us all human, regardless of where we are. Simple scenes such as a disfigured elderly woman seated on a porch, singing of her approaching death, are very moving. I have never seen the basic elements of life treated with such an incisive yet soft touch as Ray has in this film. It is wonderful to watch in comparison to the broad writing strokes and vulgar generalities of most directing and writing today. At the risk of sounding trite, this is a film which is not merely entertainment or art, but one which reaches into your heart and makes a place for itself there. It belongs there.
helpful•335
- MrsRainbow
- Mar 20, 1999
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Pather Panchali: Song of the Little Road
- Filming locations
- Boral, West Bengal, India(entire movie)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $134,241
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $16,064
- May 10, 2015
- Gross worldwide
- $135,342
- Runtime2 hours 5 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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