I've made seventeen or eighteen films now, only two of which have been original screenplays, all the others have been based on short stories or novels, and I find the long short story ideal for adaptation.

In the sixties Ray visited Japan and took particular pleasure in meeting the filmmaker Akira Kurosawa for whom he had very high regard. It had the first kiss fully portrayed in Ray's films. Ray studied at Ballygunge Government High School Calcutta and completed his B.

Starting his career as a commercial artist Ray was drawn into independent filmmaking after meeting French filmmaker Jean Renoir and viewing Vittorio De Sica's Italian neorealist 1948 film Bicycle Thieves during a visit to London. Ray's first film Pather Panchali (1955) won eleven international prizes including Best Human Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival.