Chropher Nolan calls Satyajit Ray ‘one of the greatest filmmakers’; praises Pather Panchali | Hollywood News

4 min readMumbaiJul 25, 2026 03:35 PM As Chropher Nolan’s The Odyssey continues to make hory at the global box office while earning widespread critical acclaim and audience appreciation, the filmmaker recently visited the iconic Criterion Closet, the famous storage room at the Criterion Collection in New York that houses more than 1,000 of the world’s greatest films.
‘Ray, one of the greatest Indian filmmakers’
In a nearly five-minute video shared the Criterion Collection on X, Nolan is seen browsing the shelves and picking some of his all-time favourite films while reflecting on the impact they have had on him as a filmmaker. Among his selections, what particularly caught the attention of Indian audiences was his decision to pick The Apu Trilogy legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray.
Speaking about Ray’s work, Nolan said, “And then there’s the Apu Trilogy Satyajit Ray, one of the greatest Indian filmmakers. The trilogy starts with Pather Panchali, which is an absolutely incredible film. It just blew my mind. I haven’t yet seen parts two and three of the trilogy, so I’m pretty excited to get this and complete the story.”
For those unfamiliar, The Apu Trilogy comprises three acclaimed Bengali-language films, Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956), and Apur Sansar (1959). Adapted from Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s novels, the trilogy follows the life and coming-of-age journey of Apu, tracing his path from an impoverished childhood in rural Bengal to adulthood.
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Among the other films Nolan picked was Martin Scorsese’s collection of short films. Sharing his excitement, he said, “Scorsese shorts, I’m going to have to grab that. I’ve seen The Big Shave, but I haven’t seen the other ones, so that’s pretty exciting.”
The Oscar-winning filmmaker also revealed that Fritz Lang’s The Testament of Dr Mabuse served as an important creative reference while developing The Dark Knight. “Fritz Lang’s The Testament of Dr Mabuse, an amazing mastermind criminal. My brother and I looked at Dr Mabuse a lot when we were making The Dark Knight, particularly for the character of the Joker.Story continues below this ad
Some of the other titles Nolan selected included Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, David Lynch’s Lost Highway, the Qatsi Trilogy, among several other classics.
Chropher Nolan’s connection with India
Nolan recently visited India as part of the promotional tour for his IMAX epic The Odyssey, marking his third official visit to the country. His previous trip came in 2019 during the filming of Tenet, when he spent around ten days shooting key sequences alongside John David Washington and Robert Pattinson. Before that, in 2011, Nolan travelled to Jodhpur to film portions of The Dark Knight Rises at the horic Mehrangarh Fort.
During his latest visit, Nolan spoke warmly about his long-standing admiration for India’s film culture.  He said at a press conference: “I first came to India years ago for a conference on the future of film culture. My friend Shivendra Singh Dungarpur brought me here. I met a lot of filmmakers and got to know a little bit about the film culture here. I’ve never been anywhere else in the world with such an appreciation of what movies can be and what they should be for audiences.”
He added that the country had left a lasting impression on him and that returning had been on his mind for years. “We actually intended to come here for the premiere of Tenet, which we filmed here, but we couldn’t because of the pandemic. So, coming to India has really been on our minds for a very long time.”