The Apu trilogy is the most celebrated work of Satyajit Ray, the greatest filmmaker ever to have emerged from Indian cinema. Pather Panchali (1955), Ray's extraordinarily accomplished debut feature, begins the story of Apu, a young boy born into a poor but loving family in rural Bengal, and continues in Aparajito (1957), when adolesence and his growing independence bring both joy and sorrow. The World of Apu (1959), the final and most profoundly moving chapter in the trilogy, encompasses the extremes of joy and despair, ultimately reaching a conclusion that is among the most uplifting and life-affirming in cinema.