Low-budget film popular 1992 film "El Mariachi", in which the director Robert Rodriguez was unable to afford second takes due to the $7000 budget. Despite this, it was a success both critically and commercially, and started the young director's career. Some of the most critically acclaimed micro-budget films were by the Bengali film director Satyajit Ray, his most famous being "The Apu Trilogy" (1955–1959). The first film in the trilogy, "Pather Panchali" (1955), was produced on a shoestring budget of Rs.200,000 ($3000) using an amateur cast and crew. The three films are now frequently listed among the greatest films of all time.
Pather Panchali Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years" in 1999, ""The New York Times" Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made" in 2002, the BFI Top Fifty "Must See" Children's Films in 2005, and BFI's "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time. It was included in NDTV's list of "India's 20 greatest films", and in 2013 in CNN-IBN's list of "100 greatest Indian films of all time". The Apu trilogy as a whole was included in film critic Roger Ebert's list of "100 Great Movies" in 2001 and in "Time"s All-Time 100 best movies list in 2005. "Pather Panchali" was