The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) has released a list of ten best Indian films of all time, based on a 'secret poll' by members of its India chapter.
The list is topped by Satyajit Ray's humanist masterpiece Pather Panchali (1955). Based on Bengali writer Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's eponymous novel, Pather Panchali was Ray's directorial debut and the first installment in his seminal The Apu Trilogy.
Pather Panchali is followed on the list by two more classics, namely Ritwik Ghatak's Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960) and Mrinal Sen's Bhuvan Shome (1969). At No. 4 stands Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Malayalam drama Elippathayam (1981).
Other mentions in the list include Parallel cinema classics like Girish Kasaravalli's Ghatashraddha (Kannada, 1977), M.S. Sathyu's Garam Hava (Hindi, 1973), Satyajit Ray's Charulata (Bengali, 1964), Shyam Benegal's Ankur (Hindi, 1974), Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (Hindi, 1957) as well as Ramesh Sippy's commercial blockbuster Sholay (Hindi, 1975).
In all, the list includes five Hindi films, three Bengali films, one Kannada film and one Malayalam film. There are no Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Assamese or Odia mentions in the list. Furthermore, the list spans films from the 50s to the early 1980s, omitting both contemporary and pre-Independence era films.
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) is an umbrella association of several national organisations of film critics and journalists.
The India chapter of FIPRESCI was founded in 1992. Its current president is film critic VK Joseph.