When Satyajit Ray got panicked during ‘Pather Panchali’ shoot!

The iconic character of

Indir Thakrun

, the very old grandmother, in ‘

Pather Panchali

’ was played by the outstanding octogenarian Chunibala Debi. During one shot she had to act dead. After the shot Satyajit Ray called her but she didn't respond. Ray panicked, thinking that she might have fainted, or worse, died. But to his relief

Chunibala Debi

opened her eyes after one more call, telling she didn't hear the 'cut'. Sounds weird, nah!

‘Pather Panchali’ (A Song of the Little Road) marked Satyajit Ray’s debut as a director. This 1955 masterpiece from Ray is a social drama inspired by a famous novel of the same name by

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay

. ‘Pather Panchali’ plots a young boy ‘Apu’ from a poor family and his daily life in a rural Indian village. The film was produced by the then West Bengal government as the legendary filmmaker ran out of money after only shooting half of the movie. ‘Pather Panchali’ is also the first film in ‘

The Apu Trilogy

’.