Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali tops FIPRESCI list of 10 best Indian films

Acclaimed filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali has topped the list of 10 best films in the history of Indian cinema, drawn up from a poll conducted by the Indian chapter of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI).

At least three Bengali films including two by Ray himself, five Hindi films, and one in Malayalam and Kannada each find place on the list.

The list was filed on the basis of results of a secret poll in which 30 members of FIPRESCI-India voted, a press release said.

Pather Panchali, which was a film adaptation of Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhayay’s 1929 novel, was Ray’s debut project as director. It starred Subir Banerjee, Kanu Banerjee and Karuna Banerjee in the lead roles.  It was the first of Ray’s Apu triology of films, the other two being Aparajito and Apur Sansar. The film often features in the list of greatest films ever made.

The film was influenced by Italian neorealism and works of filmmakers such as Vittorio De Sica, Roberto Rosselini and Michelangelo Antonioni.

The other films that have been adjudged as the best in Indian cinema are Meghe Dhaka Tara (Bengali; Ritwik Ghatak), Bhuvan Shome (Hindi, Mrinal Sen), Elippathayam (Malayalam, Adoor Gopalakrishnan), Ghatashraddha (Kannada, Girish Kasaravalli), Garm Hava (Hindi, MS Sathyu), Charulata (Bengali, Satyajit Ray), Ankur (Hindi, Shyam Benegal), Pyaasa (Hindi, Guru Dutt), Sholay (Hindi, Ramesh Sippy).