Mani Kaul and Kumar Shahani are 'scholar filmmakers'. The scholarly aspect is as important as the film in which the visuals are embedded. Satyajit Ray was a scholar too but he wore it lightly and didn't burden his films with academic tedium. This could explain why the films of the former are so heavy and laden with semaphores, references and visual leitmotifs, oozing with symbols and pregnant with meaning. Ray's ouevre on the other hand is lighter in texture, more accessible and direct in its overtures to the viewer. Pather Panchali [Ray, 1955] remains perhaps the greatest debut of all time. (And if you want to extend the list, other pretenders to the throne ought to include Uski Roti [Kaul, 1969] and Court [Tamhane, 2014].)
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