Neorealism originated from a generation of young filmmakers who wished to break of the conventions of Italian cinema. Spurred by both foreign influences and ‘indigenous traditions," this trend originated in the postwar period whereby filmmakers aimed at revealing contemporary social conditions. Although the famous Neorealists - Di Sica, Visconti and Rosselli were all experienced filmmakers, they created a unique film style which came to be categorized as Neorealism. The result of depleting finances forced filmmakers to use cheaper equipment within a structure with short supply of studio settings and sound equipment. Using non-actors, and shooting on location with smaller crews and adopting handheld camera movement, this style created narratives with characters whose personalities were a reflection of the levels of poverty and unemployment whereby they progressed towards an unknown future. This "slice of life" plot construction became typical of Neo-realist films.

In Pather Panchali, Ray seems to be greatly influenced by the Neorealists as he creates a film that shows the lives of an ordinary Bengali family living in a village in postcolonial India. His movie was a strict deflection from typical films made in India at the time. Like the Neorealist directors, Ray too cast non-actors for the major roles. Other than the character of Indir who was played by a theatre actress, Ray used first time actors to play the roles in his film. Additionally, given that this was his first film, Ray did not have the finances to shoot on a movie set with high tech cameras or a large crew. He scrambled finances and shot on location, and also resorted to shooting parts of the film in 16mm as opposed to 35mm, which would have increased his budget for film stock. Greatly influenced by the Italian neorealist directors, Ray's film is almost a tribute to the great Italian filmmakers of that time.

The author, Cerulo, goes on a discovery that questions the formation of one's personal identity based on social interactions within a community. He speaks of the influence of society and social organizations in molding a sense of self. Through a study of social psychology that has transferred its subject from individuals to groups, and by addressing technology as a catalyst that has changed the concept of ‘I' from a physical co-presence to cyberspace identities, the author covers vast grounds to explore the meaning of identity. His theory also speaks of gender and age within a social structure that deeply influence a persons identity, and he goes on to further argue the importance rituals and symbols play to form an entity.

The characters in the movie have personalities that have been profoundly influenced by the caste system they grew up in, as well as their immediate families. The movie is an exploration of their personalities, and tends to draw audiences in as we go on a journey along with these characters. The protagonist, Apu, is a young boy whose identity is a loose combination of facets seen in his sister Durga, as well as in his father. Durga and her father on the other hand, seem to have personalities that match their neighbor's; this alludes to the idea of identity existing in accordance with one's social surroundings. This further goes to show the importance generated by a community on one's personal identity. Durga's overpowering sense of self, along with her father's unusually quiet persona translate beautifully onto Apu, showing the importance of age, and gender in shaping one's identity.  

This essay analyses the formula driven, stereotypical tendencies of Hindi cinema that emerged in the late 1940's. The author claims that the reason for the development of a formula driven narrative is that audiences were constantly searching for an outlet, specifically an escapist outlet  "excess of post colonial capitalism." He thus suggests that the whole purpose of creating film in the largest film industry in the world was for market manipulation and commoditization. He proposes that it is also due to the fact that India has a number of written mythological tales and epics that influence the story telling style, that the popularity of these traditional elements tend to add to the formulaic constructions of Hindi cinema.

Satyajit Ray's debut film was one that stood out when it was released due to the fact that it failed to follow a specific formula. Although it is a Bengali film, and not a Hindi film, Indian audiences (specifically) still expected it to adhere to traditional cinematic story telling styles. His story is a very real depiction of a poor family living in a village, and its humane aspect steers clear from typical song and dance escapist films Indian directors tend to gravitate towards. Additionally, this film does not reflect upon religion either implicitly or explicitly in its narrative; another point that the author of the article claimed was almost inevitable in Hindi films. It is due to this atypical storyline that the movie took a while to rise to popularity for a domestic audience, but won international acclaim almost immediately. Thus, Pathar Panchali stands out as an anomaly to the films that were created in India during that specific time period.

This is a study of the concerns associated with the economic development in certain service sectors in India. The objective of the article is to bring to light the necessity of improved transport and communication in India, especially due to its rapid rate of growth. The author addresses the lack of mobility options within India, a necessity in these booming times. An example he provides explains that a third of the half a million villages in India, which are a minimum of 5 miles apart have no dependable road connections, thereby making the only mode of commute by foot. This problem is being exacerbated by the fact that the government is not paying due attention to this economic sphere. For example, when India's gross income rose by 58% in the late 1950's, road and rail fright rose by 170%; yet the government did not take any adequate measure to compensate for this growth, leaving the transport industry in dire need of reformation.

Neither Apu nor Durga had ever seen a train while they lived in their village. One might argue that the highlight of the movie is when they run through the fields waiting in anticipation for the train to arrive, as they share a moment of awe in silence. Although the movie was made in the 1950's, right after India's independence, it is shocking to note that half its population had not even seen what a train looked like. Apu's father in the film traveled by foot, and then by bullock cart when he needed to make his way to Benaras or another nearby town. But, with the coming of the train was ingrained a ray of hope for Durga who also wished to explore and move out of her village. Unfortunately, this dream was never fulfilled as she died due to a fever she caught while playing out in the fields in the rain. This exemplifies the level of underdevelopment and need for change within India, especially for the villagers who form a majority of India's population.

This article remembers Satyajit Ray as a "lyrical chronicle of rural poverty" and reflects upon Ray's accomplishments as a master in his field. The importance placed by Ray on the story and plot of a film elevated him to be the sole representative of Indian cinema for the Western world. Although this might have been a false representation of all films being churned out by the Indian movie industry, Ray truly stood out as an anomaly in the sea of directors from his own home country. The author speaks of Ray's ideas of "feminism" and how his movies were the perfect combination of a traditional Indian woman with moral bales and the contemporary strong willed independent woman who fought for her rights. The author also mentions Ray's final film, The Stranger, alluding to the transformation Ray underwent as a director and the renewal of humor in this film, which had always been a strong element of Ray's sensibilities. This film was ‘lighter' that his previous works, prompting critics to believe that it gestures a renewal of his personal self and health. Finally, paying the due respect to Ray by calling him "The Last Great Man of the Indian Renaissance" the author respects the elegance with which he left the world - on his death bead, smiling, while accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award.

After watching Pather Panchali, and reading an article like this, it becomes evident that a Satyajit Ray injected aspects of his own personality when molding characters for his movies. The elegance and calmness with which he viewed the world seems to be reflected in the father's character in the movie. Also,  Durga seems to be the quintessential example of Ray's view of Indian women of the time, as he shows a young girl full of life, yet extremely responsible towards her family. Therefore, in order to understand Ray as a person, it is of paramount importance to watch his first, and possibly last film.

This is a news article that focuses on the so-called benefits of being born into a rung of the existing caste system in India, the Brahmin caste in particular. The article illustrates the emphasis placed on caste in rural India and compares the lifestyle one might live based on whether they are from a village or a metropolitan city such as Chennai. Focusing on a young Brahmin who was extremely privileged in his village faces reversal of fortune as he makes his way to Chennai. A law was passed in the state of Tamil Nadu where as of 1950, 70% of government jobs became reserved for people from a lower caste. Given this situation, due to the fact that he is from a high casts, he has been turned down form jobs in the city and is living a frugal life earning under $100 a month; an amount that doesn't even pay his rent thereby causing him to sleep in the classroom where he is an English teacher.

Apu's father in the movie is faced with a similar situation, whereby he is living an impoverished life. A man, who is greatly respected by fellow villagers due to the fact that he is educated and wishes to be a poet, is given no respect when he travels to the city in search of a job to earn a living to feed his family. In the movie Harihar Ray wishes to be a writer because he is born into a family of writers, because he belongs to the Brahmin caste. But, given the lack of jobs in the village itself, he wonders to a nearby city where he is ill-treated, firstly because he is looked upon as a villager, and secondly is unable to get jobs that ‘villagers' would get because they are all reserved for ‘villagers' from a lower caste. Given that this movie was made in 1958, it goes to show that people all over India suffered from such problems post independence as well. And although the movie is set in Bengal and not in Tamil Nadu, Brahmin's around the country seemed to live lives similar to the ones articulated by Satyajit Ray in this film, as well as ones written about by Bellman in the newspaper article.

This is an article written as a tribute to one of India's greatest filmmakers, written on the 50 year anniversary of his directorial debut and his most critically acclaimed film, Pather Panchali. It is written by Andrew Robinson, also the author biographies on Ray titled, Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye and Satyajit Ray: A Vision of Cinema. The author speaks of the likes of Akira Kurosawa who claimed to be one of Ray's greatest admirer's among his fellow directors. He goes on to discuss the making of one of Ray's films titled The Home and The World, written by Rabindranath Tagore. Robinson creates a very distinct, yet down to earth persona of Ray as he talks about the director himself running from pillar to post to organize sets, props and costumes for this particular film. Robinson claims that no director, even Chaplin "was more personally responsible for his own films" and stresses on the nuances that are given special attention to by Ray in each of his films. Recounting an incident when Robinson went to visit Ray on a movie set, there was an incident where a hurricane destroyed most of Ray's set leaving very little for the director to work with. Yet, Ray remained calm and unperturbed as he responded, "We are proof against all hazards. After all, we do have the bare essentials -and the rest is here, in my head. I don't think you need any more than that really."

This article not only shows Ray's global appeal and appreciation as a filmmaker, but also gives examples as to why he reached that status. His debut film Pather Panchali seemed to shake the world of Indian cinema, as well as put Indian cinema on a global platform. The kind of nuances and details Ray stresses upon are very visible in Pather Panchali. In the scene when the family's house gets broken down due to a storm as Apu's father returns from Benaras, yet his reaction to the broken house was not as startling as one would expect it to be. He takes it within his stride and realizes that he needs to take his family and leave for another village - a very practical decision to make in such harsh times. This is representative of Ray's own calmness and elegance with which he handled even the toughest situations.

This article stresses upon the differences between the portrayal of women in Indian popular cinema and India's art film circuit. The author has used examples of films made by Satyajit Ray, and particularity those that were adaptations of short stories by Rabindranath Tagore. She suggests that Bollywood uses its women as metaphor's for suffering of the downtrodden or for India, or alternatively as the stereotype of a restricted Indian woman's life. Art films, she claims stray from this stereotype and revert back to classic Indian literature and try to explore the themes of marital relationships and steer clear of motherhood. She argues that Indian audiences in the past have preferred the stereotypical image of a woman and her ‘place' in society. But recently a growing appreciation has begun for the realistic portrayal of modern women in popular cinema. Finally, she argues that over time, women have adopted the dominant ‘subject' in all types of Indian films.

This article is very pertinent to Pather Panchali because although it is meant to be a story about a young boy Apu, the dominant characters of the film are played by two women - Durga and her mother. Apu is brought up in a household of three women who are at different stages in their lives. Thus overall the movie has a very comprehensive and real take on women of all ages, living in poverty in a small village in Bengal. Ray's depiction of women here is a mixture of the two ideas of the portrayal of women in Indian cinema. Although the mother seems to be more wary of her relationship with her husband, she is the sole caretaker of her two children, thereby stressing her role as both mother and wife. This is a realistic depiction of women in cinema, and came about at a time where people (Indian audiences) were not ready to accept such a strong reality. Thus, the movie was termed as an art-house film in India, although it received worldwide recognition.