 In 1949 , Ray married Bijoya Das , his first cousin and long @-@ time sweetheart . The couple had a son , Sandip , who is now a film director . In the same year , French director Jean Renoir came to Calcutta to shoot his film The River . Ray helped him to find locations in the countryside . Ray told Renoir about his idea of filming Pather Panchali , which had long been on his mind , and Renoir encouraged him in the project . In 1950 , D.J. Keymer sent Ray to London to work at its headquarters office . During his three months in London , Ray watched 99 films . Among these was the neorealist film Ladri di biciclette ( Bicycle Thieves ) ( 1948 ) by Vittorio De Sica , which had a profound impact on him . Ray later said that he came out of the theatre determined to become a film @-@ maker . 
