The Apu trilogy: Pather panchali/Aparajito/The world of Apu

Box set featuring all three films in Satyajit Ray's celebrated 'Apu Trilogy'. 'Pather Panchali' (1955) tells the story of a family living in the grip of poverty in a small Bengali village, focusing on the experiences of a young boy, Apu, and paying careful attention to a series of ordinary events: Apu's father sets off to the city in search of work, leaving his wife to take care of the children and an elderly aunt; a frugal meal is prepared; rains flatten the landscape; a train passes by; someone dies. 'Aparajito' (1956) sees Apu move with his family to the busy city of Benares, where they hope to build a new life after suffering a devastating family tragedy. But when Apu's father then dies, the young man decides to head out on his own and attend college in Calcutta, leading to a growing estrangement between himself and his widowed mother. Finally, in 'The World of Apu' (1959), the adult Apu hopes to become a writer, but his lack of finances force him to abandon his university studies. He meets an old friend Pulu and together they travel to the wedding of Pulu's cousin, Aparna. When the bridegroom turns out to be insane and the wedding is cancelled, Apu agrees to marry Aparna to save her from ridicule. They return to his Calcutta apartment to start a new life and Apu comes to love his wife, but his happiness is soon shattered by a tragic turn of events.

Cast

Soumitra Chatterjee, Punaki Sen Gupta, Sharmila Tagore, Kanu Bannerjee, Smaran Ghosal, Shapan Mukerji, Subir Bannerjee, Karuna Banerji, S Alke Chakravarty, Karuna Bannerjee

Genres

World Cinema

Language

Bengali