The Apu Trilogy 1955-59
- Pather Panchali (The Song of the Road), Aparajito (The Unvanquished) and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) tell the story of Everyman Apu from birth through boyhood, marriage and fatherhood. Visually poetic, this delicately crafted trilogy is a work of astonishing sensitivity.
Jalsaghar 1958 (The Music Room)
- Powerful study of crumbling feudalism through the eyes of a zamindar who refuses to accept that times have changed.
Mahanagar 1963 (The Big City)
Charulata 1964 (The Lonely Wife)
- Ray’s personal favourite. A neglected and sensitive wife finds solace and identity in a complex relationship with her brother-in-law.
Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne 1968
- Age-no-bar musical fairy tale about two travelling minstrels blessed by the King of Ghosts. It’s also a powerful anti-war parable.
Aranyer Din Ratri 1969 (Days and Nights in the Jungle)
- Four urban young men go for a short trip to the Palamau jungle. Three return, their lives changed forever.
Pratidwandi 1970 (The Adversary)
- Surrealistic and experimental in style; about unemployment, late-’60s Calcutta, the power and failure of the imagination, and an elusive birdcall.
Sonar Kella 1974 (The Golden Fortress)
- Delightful thriller about a little boy who remembers his past life and the treasure hunt that follows. Made then-unknown Jaisalmer a thriving tourist destination.
Jana Aranya 1975 (The Middleman)
- His darkest work. Juxtaposes the slow moral degradation of a young man trying to earn a living against the decay of Calcutta and Bengali society.
Shatranj Ke Khilari 1977 (The Chess Players)
- Ray’s only full-length Hindi feature film. Dissolute nobles spend their days in pointless leisure as the English annexe Awadh.
