Published By: Sayan Paul

Birth Anniversary Special: Satyajit Ray's Top Achievements - From Oscar to National Film Awards

Ray's debut film, Pather Panchali, won eleven international prizes - did you know?

Recently, I was watching an interview of Aamir Khan with Anupama Chopra, where the actor-producer said, "I sincerely feel that if you want your stories to travel, you should become more local. The more local you are, the more global you become." It's not a new idea though—filmmakers like Mira Nair, Ramin Bahrani, and even Bong Joon-ho have often spoken about the power of rooted storytelling. And nothing proves it better than the cinema of Satyajit Ray, the most globally celebrated Indian filmmaker to date. Ray barely had to step out of Bengal to tell stories (let alone shoot in exotic foreign locations), and yet his works touched people across the world. The canvas in his films was mostly Bengal - sometimes a humble village in Midnapur (a West Bengal district), other times the chaotic lanes of Kolkata. Within those local landscapes, he captured emotions so universal that they traveled across languages and cultures. As Akira Kurosawa famously said, “Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.” Today, countless filmmakers, including legends like Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, and Wim Wenders hold him as a guiding light.

As we celebrate the 104th birth anniversary of the maestro, let's have a look at some of his biggest achievements.

Pather Panchali: The Film That Changed Everything

Satyajit Ray’s journey began not in studios, but in the streets and fields of Bengal. His debut film, 'Pather Panchali' (1955), was made on a shoestring budget, with a largely amateur crew, and without the glamor of commercial cinema. Yet, what it captured—poverty, innocence, resilience—was universal.

At the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, it won the prestigious Best Human Document award. One jury member reportedly said they had never seen anything so “genuine and heartbreakingly beautiful.”

And that was just the beginning. The film went on to win:

The OCIC Special Mention (Cannes)

The Vatican Award (Rome)

The Golden Carabao (Manila)

The Diploma of Merit (Edinburgh)

And others.

At India’s 3rd National Film Awards, it won both Best Feature Film and Best Bengali Feature Film.

Aparajito and The Apu Trilogy: Global Domination

If 'Pather Panchali' announced Ray’s arrival, 'Aparajito'—the second part of the 'Apu Trilogy'—cemented his place in world cinema.

It became the first film ever to win both the Golden Lion and the Critics’ Award at the 1957 Venice Film Festival. The trilogy’s concluding part, 'Apur Sansar', starring a young Soumitra Chatterjee and Sharmila Tagore, also received global acclaim. Together, these films told a deeply personal coming-of-age story that resonated from Bengal to Berlin.

 

(Credit: TOI Student)

As critic Roger Ebert once wrote, “The Apu Trilogy is one of the great cinematic experiences of my life.”

A National Treasure: 36 National Film Awards

Over his lifetime, Ray received 36 National Film Awards, the highest by any filmmaker in India to date.

His films were frequently awarded for: Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Music Direction, and Best Feature Film.

 

(Credit: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting)

The Honorary Oscar: A Tribute Long Overdue

The Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award is reserved for those who have left a permanent mark on world cinema. For Ray, this moment was deeply symbolic. He was the first Indian to receive this honor.

That was March 1992. Ray’s health was failing, and he couldn’t travel to Los Angeles. Yet, the Academy made sure to honor a man who had redefined storytelling on screen—not with spectacle, but with soul. Clutching the golden statuette with a gentle smile (from a Kolkata hospital), the legendary filmmaker said: “It is a magnificent award, certainly the best achievement of my movie-making career.”

(Credit: Oscars)

Introducing him at the ceremony, actor Audrey Hepburn said Ray’s work was “profoundly human” and had inspired generations of filmmakers.

Other International Recognition: A Lifetime of Global Honors

Ray’s recognition abroad was steady and enduring. Here are just some of his international achievements:

Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, Venice Film Festival (1982)

Hommage à Satyajit Ray, Cannes Film Festival (1982)

Legion of Honour, the highest civilian award in France (1987)

Honorary Doctorate from Oxford University (he was only the second filmmaker after Charlie Chaplin to receive it)

Akira Kurosawa Lifetime Achievement Award, San Francisco Film Festival (posthumously, 1992)

 

(Credit: India in France)

*And of course, in 1992, the Indian government awarded him the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honor.

Ray passed away on April 23, 1992. But more than three decades later, his films are still studied, remade, and revered. In 2021, legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese received the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Film Festival of India and said: “Ray is one of cinema’s truest treasures… a quiet, lyrical, powerful storyteller.”