The Apu Trilogy 1995 film "My Family", the final scene is duplicated from the final scene of "Apur Sansar". Similar influences and references to the trilogy can be found, for example, in recent works such as "Sacred Evil", Key's 2004 visual novel "Clannad", Paul Auster's 2008 novel "Man in the Dark", the "Elements trilogy" of Deepa Mehta and even in films of Jean-Luc Godard. The technique of bounce lighting pioneered by Subrata Mitra, to recreate the effect of daylight on sets, has also had a profound influence on the development of cinematography. Ravi Shankar's soundtracks to the films were also a major influence
Satyajit Ray for his first film. The semi-autobiographical novel describes the maturation of Apu, a small boy in a Bengal village. Ray gathered an inexperienced crew, although both his cameraman Subrata Mitra and art director Bansi Chandragupta went on to achieve great acclaim. The cast consisted of mostly amateur actors. He started shooting in late 1952 with his personal savings and hoped to raise more money once he had some passages shot, but did not succeed on his terms. As a result, Ray shot "Pather Panchali" over three years, an unusually long period, based on when he or his production manager Anil