Who is the father of Parallel Cinema?
Satyajit Ray is known as the "Father of Parallel Cinema". Ray was a bengali filmmaker, writer, illustrator, and composer who is considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors in history. Ray was born in calcutta in 1921 and died there in 1992. He studied at a government school, Presidency College, and Kala Bhavan, an art school at Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan.
If we give credit to any one filmmaker for the beginning of parallel cinema, it is Satyajit Ray. He introduced a completely new approach in Indian cinema in the 1950s. His film Pather Panchali (1955) proved to be a milestone in the history of indian cinema. This film not only gave a new direction to Indian cinema, but also laid the foundation of realistic cinema.
Satyajit Ray's films were based on the truth of real life and the problems of society. His films showed deep human emotions and real events that were happening within indian society. A film like Pather Panchali showed that cinema cannot be just a flight of imagination, but it can also show the real issues, struggles and lives of common people of the society.
Although Satyajit Ray started this new direction, this cinema got popularity on a large scale by Shyam Benegal and his contemporary filmmakers. Shyam Benegal took parallel cinema to new heights in the 1970s and 1980s. His films proved that cinema could not only be a means of entertainment but also an effective means of bringing about change in society.
click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel