Satyajit Ray, a graphic designer with no film experience, adapted Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay's novel about a poor Bengali family into his debut film. No producer would fund it because it lacked stars, songs and action, so Ray pawned his life insurance, sold his records and borrowed money, and shooting stalled for nearly a year. The West Bengal government lent money while recording it as a loan for roads improvement, misreading the film as a rural documentary. The Museum of Modern Art in New York helped finish it after John Huston saw footage and called it the work of a great filmmaker.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.