Pather Panchali greatest Indian film ever made, says FIPRESCI-India poll
The Indian chapter of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), through a secret poll conducted by it, has declared Satyajit Ray’s immortal classic, Pather Panchali as the best Indian film ever made.
The poll decided the top 10 all-time best films made in India. The 10 films, in order of their ranks, are as follows:
- Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955, Bengali)
- Meghe Dhaka Tara (Ritwik Ghatak, 1960, Bengali)
- Bhuvan Shome (Mrinal Sen, 1969, Bengali)
- Elippathayam (Adoor Gopalakrishnan, 1981, Malayalam)
- Ghatashraddha (Girish Kasaravalli, 1977, Kannada)
- Garm Hava (MS Sathyu, 1973, Hindi)
- Charulata (Satyajit Ray, 1964, Bengali)
- Ankur (Shyam Benegal, 1974, Hindi)
- Pyaasa (Guru Dutt, 1954, Hindi)
- Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975, Hindi)
Pather Panchali, released in 1955, was based on Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s 1929 Bengali novel of the same. It marked the auteur’s directorial debut.
The film drew from the Italian Neorealism Movement started by film-makers such as Vittorio de Sica, Michelangelo Antonioni and Roberto Rosselini, and is often regarded as one of the world’s greatest films. Among its countless admirers are some of Hollywood’s greatest modern directors like Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese and Wes Anderson.
