Karuna Banerjee
Karuna Banerjee (Bengali: করুণা ব্যানার্জী) was a Bengali actress best known for her role in Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959) as the long suffering mother, Sarbajaya. She was nominated for Best Actress at the 1959 BAFTA Awards for her performance in Aparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy. She appeared in a number of other films after that, including Ray's Devi (1960) and Kanchenjungha (1962). She graduated from the Jogamaya Devi College, an affiliated women's college of the University of Calcutta. Banerjee's acting career expanded over more than two decades in Bengali cinema and theatre. She is best known for her memorable performance as Sarbajaya, the mother in the first two parts of Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali (1955) and Aparajito (1956). Her performance in the latter earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 1959 BAFTA Awards. She acted in a few more films, including two more by Ray, two by Mrinal Sen, and one by Ritwik Ghatak that was never officially released.
Aparajito
(1956)
Slow movingBrilliantInsightfulReal
Aparajito picks up where the first film leaves off, with Apu and his family having moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Varanasi (then known as Benares). As Apu progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, ... (more)
Aparajito picks up where the first film leaves off, with Apu and his family having moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Varanasi (then known as Benares). As Apu progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, ... (more)
Devi
(1960)
The life of a woman happily married to the son of an upper-class family in 19th century Bengal is turned upside down when her father-in-law has a vision that she is the Goddess Kali returned to earth. He convinces her to fulfill her role as a living deity and ... (more)
The life of a woman happily married to the son of an upper-class family in 19th century Bengal is turned upside down when her father-in-law has a vision that she is the Goddess Kali returned to earth. He convinces her to fulfill her role as a living deity and ... (more)
Kanchenjungha (1962)
Played out in real time, several complex family dramas intersect in the landscape of the Himalayan foothills, allowing the Bengali auteur to examine the class and generational differences of postcolonial India while celebrating the hopes of a society in transition. (more)
Played out in real time, several complex family dramas intersect in the landscape of the Himalayan foothills, allowing the Bengali auteur to examine the class and generational differences of postcolonial India while celebrating the hopes of a society in transition. (more)
Pather Panchali
(1955)
TragicCharmingClassicHeartbreaking
Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. (more)
Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. (more)
Interview
(1971)
Ranjit is a young man who has been assured a lucrative job. All he has to do is turn up for the interview dressed in a western style suit, but all the city laundries are on strike that morning, and his only suit is dirty. (more)
Ranjit is a young man who has been assured a lucrative job. All he has to do is turn up for the interview dressed in a western style suit, but all the city laundries are on strike that morning, and his only suit is dirty. (more)
Calcutta 71
(1972)
The spirit of a condemned 20-year-old student wanders through time, linking together four stories of people struggling for survival in this gritty meditation on poverty, natural disaster and political strife in India. A middle-class family's home is no match for ... (more)
The spirit of a condemned 20-year-old student wanders through time, linking together four stories of people struggling for survival in this gritty meditation on poverty, natural disaster and political strife in India. A middle-class family's home is no match for ... (more)
Apur Panchali
(2014)
Arko, a film student, invites Subir Banerjee, who played the legendary role of Apu, to attend an award ceremony in Germany. But the old man hesitates to accept the invitation. (more)
Arko, a film student, invites Subir Banerjee, who played the legendary role of Apu, to attend an award ceremony in Germany. But the old man hesitates to accept the invitation. (more)
Headmaster
(1958)
The Creative Person: Satyajit Ray
(1967)
In 1967, Canadian documentarian James Beveridge traveled to Kolkata to film director Satyajit Ray at work. The resulting program, produced for the American public television series “The Creative Person,” features interviews with Ray, several of his actors and crew ... (more)
In 1967, Canadian documentarian James Beveridge traveled to Kolkata to film director Satyajit Ray at work. The resulting program, produced for the American public television series “The Creative Person,” features interviews with Ray, several of his actors and crew ... (more)