Bengali cinema: 2010 onwards
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Information regarding the previous decades is awaited
2011
Bengali film industry surprises with content-driven films in 2011
Dec 30, 2011
Kolkata: A string of art and experimental movies were commercial success as content-driven and thought-provoking films took centrestage in Bengali cinema this year.
The Bengali film industry remained in the limelight the entire year as the flops went overlooked because of active patronage from the new state government. '
Young director Srijit Mukherji got rave reviews and set the box-office on fire with his second film 22nd Srabon, which means the 22nd day of the Bengali month Srabon.
The Bengali film industry remained in the limelight the entire year as the flops went overlooked.
Director Goutam Ghosh changed hats for the film and delivered an electrifying performance as an eccentric poet in the thriller starring Prosenjit Chatterjee and Raima Sen.
Debutante Kamaleshwar Mukherjee's Uro Chithi, a contemporary love story on how old SMSes can unfold new tales, surprised everybody with a superb box-office report.
Anindo Bandopadhyay's Chaplin, debutante Shibaprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy directed Ichche and Haranath Chakraborty's Chalo Paltai were among the other films that led the trend of "middle of the road" cinema which is commercially viable but with off-beat stories.
Bollywood showman Subhash Ghai produced Rituporno Ghosh's Noukadubi, an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore's novel.
Aparna Sen's Iti Mrinalini, featuring her and daughter Konkona as an actress now past her prime, fared well at the box-office and won accolades at a number of international film festivals like Cairo, Dubai and New York.
Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Janala too travelled the film festival circuits and even won the best feature film award at the prestigious Asia Pacific Film Festival held in Taipei.
Paris-based Srilankan director Vimukthi Jayasundara went to Cannes with Bengali film Chhatrak as actress Paoli Dam made the industry proud by walking the red carpet.
In the 58th National Film Awards Goutam Ghosh's superhit Moner Manush (The Quest), which is based on the real life of a 19th century mystic poet, won two trophies including the Nargis Dutt award for best feature film on national integration.
The best English film award went to Memories in March, which was scripted by maverick director Rituparno Ghosh, who also played the lead role of a homosexual.
Young director Kaushik Mukherjee's bold documentary Love in India won the National Award for the best film on family values. His another critically-acclaimed and controversial film failed to get a theatrical release in India due to its sexually explicit content but was premiered at the famed Berlin Film Festival.
The legendary New Theaters Studio, which had given Indian cinema its icons like Prithviraj Kapoor and Bimal Roy, was revived with the innocent love story Ami Adu (I am Aadu).
Besides bagging the National award for best Bengali feature film, Ami Adu won the silver award for best film in SAARC Film Festival.
Anjan Dutt's rock musical Ranjana Aami Aar Ashbona pleased both the critics and the audiences.
Few run-of-the-mill movies like Tollywood superstar Dev's Paglu and Romeo, Jeet's Fighter and Shatru, Aniket Chattopadhyay's Bye Bye Bangkok, also attracted the masses.
With more than a hundred releases this year, only a handful of films can be counted upon.
2012
Top five Bengali films -2012
January 23, 2013
1) Hemlock Society
A very different story line where the protagonist runs an institute training aspiring candidate to execute their right to euthanasia! Writer/Director Srijit Mukherjee in his third venture after Autograph (A tribute to Satyajit Ray ) and Baishey Shrabon teamed up with Parambrata Chatterjee, Koel Mallik, Rupa Ganguly, Dipankar Dey and some wonderful actors to tell this unconvincingly true story. If you managed to miss the show, make sure you watch this as you are still alive in 2013!
USP: unique story, crisp dialogue, music by Anupam Roy, Photography and Parambrata’s acting!
2) Muktodhara
The director duo Nandita Roy and Shiboprasad Mukherjee penned a screenplay that was inspired from one of the famous theater with the same name that featured Rituparna Sengupta and prison inmates including Nigel Akara, a real time convict. The film although remains a shadow of the real drama played on the stage, tells an inspirational story about rehabilitation of criminals and life after imprisonment.
USP: Music by Surajit Mukherjee and Joy Sarkar, distinctive story and Nigel Akara.
3) Chitrangada
Rituporno Ghosh takes a deep insight in one of the dance dramas of Rabindranath Tagore with the same title. The screenplay, direction and metaphorical description of time and psych in the movie were awesome. Actors like Anjan Dutt, Dipankar Dey, Raima Sen and Jishu Sengupta along with the director himself did justice to their characters. The crowning of a hearts wish would rather be the bottom line of the film.
USP: Crisp dialogue, subtle camera works depicting time, Anjan Dutt and spectacular story telling.
4) Aboseshey
Debutant director Aditi Roy won my heart with her wonderful story telling technique. The story celebrates the love of a woman in true perspective. A son discovers his mother as a person after she passes away through her intimate acquaintances. The story itself rose to a new height as Rupa Ganguly did splendidly well to justify her character. Co-actors Ankur Khanna, Sen, Dipankar Dey and others were so well placed in the movie. This film demands poly-watch attention from every story lover of Bengal. How about naming the film differently, “Suchismita’s Diary!”?
USP: Tagore Songs by Rupa Ganguly, fabulous direction, apt time transition.
5) Dutta vs. Dutta
Veteran film maker, Anjan Dutt takes a magic wand to make an autobiographical drama and presented the audience a straight from the heart story. The celebration of life amidst all the worldly problems and victory of life remains the bottom line of the movie. The director stepped in the shoes of his father and introduced the very talented Ronodeep Basu as Dutta junior in the film. The story revolves in the city of Kolkata and brings in a lot of nostalgia along with the celebration of idiosyncratic Bengalis. Actors like Rupa Ganguly, Rita Koiral, Parno Mitra, Dipankar Dey, Kaushik Sen, Shankar Chakraborty, Srijit Mukherjee, Arpita Chatterjee and others were undoubtedly remarkable as the Director splendidly placed in the movie.
USP: Music by Neel Dutt, dialogues, profound story line and Anjan Dutt’s acting.
