Oscar and Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road)

A foreign director Danny Boyle, comes to India and shoots a film, Slumdog Millionaire, that depicts considerable cruelty, poverty and squalor and takes some of the same truths, dramatizes and exaggerates them inside a fantastical story – in which a slum boy jumps into an oozing latrine, for the autograph of Amitabh Bachchan. It wins four Golden Globes and 10 Oscar nominations. Most of India is delighted; while some are outraged about the western filmmakers obsession of depicting India as "poverty porn" which is damaging the image of a country on the brink of becoming a superpower.

While at the same time domestic filmmakers are chided for the timidity of their vision and mindless escapism of their output and most importantly their inability to get an Oscar. But is Oscar the ultimate recognition of the genius of a film or a filmmaker… Not really. Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali put Indian cinema on the world map and is now considered a monument to humanism. But in 1955 its account of an impoverished family in Bengal drew a hostile response in some government circles and Ray was accused of "exporting poverty". Pather Panchali has a universal humanist appeal. Though the film deals with the grim struggle for survival by a poor family, it has no trace melodrama. What is projected in stead is the respect for human dignity. The film develops its characters and the atmosphere slowly and resolutely. The narrative builds up to a powerful climax as we begin to empathies with the character.

In the USA, Pather Panchali played at the 5th Avenue Playhouse for a record 36 weeks, breaking the previous record held by The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The film went on to get many accolades like

• President's Gold & Silver Medals, New Delhi, 1955
• Best Human Document, Cannes 1956
• Diploma Of Merit, Edinbugh, 1956
• Vatican Award, Rome, 1956
• Golden Carbao, Manila, 1956
• Best Film and Direction, San Francisco, 1957
• Selznik Golden Laurel, Berlin, 1957
• Best Film, Vancouver, 1958
• Critics' Award - Best Film, Stratford, (Canada), 1958
• Best Foreign Film, New York, 1959
• Kinema Jumpo Award: Best Foreign Film, Tokyo 1966
• Bodil Award: Best Non-European Film of the Year, Denmark, 1966

But it failed to won an Oscar, although the Academy of Motion Pictures recognized the contribution of Satyajit Ray to world cinema and awarded him a lifetime achievement award on his deathbed. So even if Rehman or Gulzar sahab doesn’t wins the Oscar, no one can doubt their cinematic genius.

Source:satyajitray.org