Satyajit Ray with Ravi Sankar recording for Pather Panchali cropped Ray

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

(1921–1992), a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, is well known for his contributions to

Bengali literature Bengali literature () denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time and dynastic patronization or non-patronization. Bengali h ...

. He created two of the most famous characters in

Feluda Feluda is a fictional detective, private investigator created by Indian director and writer Satyajit Ray. Feluda resides at 21 Rajani Sen Road, Ballygunge, Calcutta, West Bengal, India. Feluda first made his appearance in a Bengali childre ...

the sleuth and

Professor Shanku Professor Trilokeshwar Shonku (Bengali language, Bengali: প্রফেসর শঙ্কু) is a fictional scientist and inventor created by Satyajit Ray in a series of Bengali science fiction books of the same name published from 1965 on. ...

the scientist. He wrote several short

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s and stories in addition to those based on these two characters. His fiction was targeted mainly at younger readers, though it became popular among children and adults alike. Most of his novels and stories in Bengali have been published by Ananda Publishers,

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

; and most of his screenplays have been published in Bengali in the literary journal ''Ekshan'', edited by his close friend Nirmalya Acharya. During the mid-1990s, Ray's film essays and an anthology of short stories were also published in the West. Many of the stories have been translated into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and published.

Feluda stories

Feluda, whose real name is ''Pradosh Chandra Mitra'', is a fictional

-based

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigat ...

. He is usually accompanied by 2 sidekicks: ''Topshe'' (his cousin–''Tapesh Ranjan Mitra'') and ''Lalmohan Ganguly'', usually described as ''Lalmohan Babu'' (who himself writes under the pseudonym of ''

Jatayu Jatayu (, ) is a demigod in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'', who has the form of a vulture. He was the younger son of Aruṇa and his wife Shyeni, the brother of Sampati, as well as the nephew of Garuda. He was also an old friend of King Dashara ...

''), a bumbling writer of crime fiction. Satyajit Ray wrote thirty-five Feluda stories, most of which were extremely popular, and made two of the Feluda stories into films: ''

Sonar Kella ''Sonar Kella'', also ''Shonar Kella'', is a 1971 mystery novel written by Bengali writer and filmmaker Satyajit Ray. In 1974, Ray directed a film adaption of the book, also named ''Sonar Kella'', starring Soumitra Chatterjee, Santosh Dutta, ...

'' (The Golden Fortress) (1974) and '' Joi Baba Felunath'' (The Elephant God) (1978).

Professor Shanku stories

Professor Shanku (Professor Shonku), or ''Trilokeshwar Shanku'', is a fictional scientist appearing in a series of science-fiction books. He lives in

Giridih Giridih is headquarters of the Giridih district of Jharkhand state, India. The city of Giridih is known for its industrial and health sectors, as well as its scenery. Giridih houses the Giridih Coalfield which is one of the oldest coalfields to ...

beside the river Usri. He has a male servant named Prahllad and a cat named Newton living in the house. He was a child prodigy and achieved several academic distinctions. He has his own laboratory in his house, where he does research for many new and fantastic inventions. He is world-renowned for the armory of these diverse inventions. The adventures of Professor Shanku are set in several countries throughout the world.

Tarini khuro stories

Tarini khuro (Tarini Uncle) is an aged bachelor (khuro is an old Bengali term meaning uncle) who can tell interesting stories based on his weird experiences. Many of these stories border on being horror stories or spooky stories, while some of the stories depict the smartness and quick wit of Tarini khuro.

Bankubabur Bandhu

''Bankubabur Bandhu'' (''Banku Babu's Friend'' or ''Mr. Banku's Friend'') was a

Bengali science fiction Bengali science fiction ( ''Bangla Bigyan Kalpakahini'') is a part of Bengali literature containing science fiction elements. It is called ''Kalpabigyan'' ( ), or stories of imaginative science, in Bengali literature. The term was first coine ...

story Ray had written in 1962 for ''

Sandesh Sandesh may refer to: *Sandesha Kavya, Sanskrit genre of messenger poems *''Sandesha'', a 1940 Indian film *Sandesh (confectionery), a Bengali sweet prepared in Bangladesh and India * ''Sandesh'' (magazine), a children's magazine in West Bengal * ...

'', the Ray family magazine, which gained popularity among

Bengalis Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym and exonym, endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divi ...

in the early 1960s. What differentiated ''Bankubabur Bandhu'' from previous

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

was the portrayal of an alien from outer space as a kind and playful being, invested with magical powers and capable of interacting with children, in contrast to earlier science fiction works, which portrayed aliens as dangerous creatures. Several

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

s were inspired by the story, including Ray's own script for ''The Alien'' (which was eventually cancelled in the late 1960s),

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

's ''

Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film, science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François ...

'' (1977) and ''

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...

'' (1982), and

Rakesh Roshan Rakesh Roshan (born 6 September 1949) is an Indian film producer, director, screenwriter and actor who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. He appeared in 84 films in the 1970s and 1980s. As an actor, he is mostly known for his supporting roles in ...

's '' Koi... Mil Gaya'' (2003), which itself inspired the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n television series ''Si Yoyo''. The story of ''Bankubabur Bandhu'' itself was eventually adapted into a

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

by Satyajit's son

Sandip Ray Sandip Ray (born 8 September 1953) is an Indian film director and music director who mainly works in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the famous Indian director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray. Life and education San ...

alongside

Kaushik Sen Koushik Sen (born 19 September 1968) is an Indian actor in film, television, OTT and theatre, based in Kolkata. He is the founder and director of the theatre group Swapnasandhani. He won the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for best ...

in 2006.

Poetry

Satyajit Ray translated and wrote some

limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

s that were published in a collection–''Toray Bandha Ghorar Dim'' (A bunch of Horse-Eggs!). He was also the translator of Lewis Carroll's ''Jabberwocky''. In translation, the poem is renamed 'Joborkhaki'.

Mullah Nasiruddin

A collection of very short stories based on Mullah Nasiruddin (a fictional character from the Middle East known for his witty and comic character) was collected by Satyajit Ray and published as ''Mullah Nasiruddiner Galpo'' (Stories of Mullah Nasiruddin).

Fatik Chand

''Fatik Chand'' is a dramatic mystery about the adventures of a kidnapped

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

schoolboy, written in Bengali. The book was made into a film in 1983 entitled '' Phatik Chand''.

Others

''Sujan Harbola'' (Sujan the Mimic) is a collection of fables. ''Ekei Bole Shooting'' is a collection of Satyajit Ray's experiences and reflections during the making of his films. ''Jakhon Choto Chilam'' is a memoir dealing with his childhood days. ''

Our Films, Their Films ''Our Films, Their Films'' is an anthology of film criticism by noted Bengali filmmaker, composer and writer Satyajit Ray. Collecting articles and personal journal excerpts, it was first published in India in 1976; an English translation was ...

'' is an anthology of film criticism. ''Bishoy Chalachitro'' is another book by Ray on films.

By Satyajit Ray

* * * *

General

* * * * * * * * *

Individual films

;Apu Trilogy * * * * * *

Explanatory notes

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

*
SatyajitRay.org

Satyajit Ray Film and Study Center: University of California - Santa Cruz
* {{Satyajit Ray Ray, Satyajit Bengali-language literature * Bibliographies of Indian writers