Pather panchali: Seventy years on

Seventy years on, Pather Panchali remains a landmark of realism and humanism, shaping Indian cinema and inspiring generations. Explore Ray’s lasting legacy. Pather Panchali : Directed by Satyajit Ray. With Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Chunibala Devi, Uma Das Gupta. Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. Pather Panchali is a 1955 classic of Indian cinema, based on a novel by Bibhutibhusan Banerjee. It depicts the life of a rural Bengali family and their young son Apu, with neorealist influences and lyrical photography. Pather Panchali (Bengali pronunciation: [pɔtʰer pãtʃali] ⓘ, transl. Song Of The Little Road) is a 1955 Indian drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray in his directorial debut.