India is a diverse country. It cannot be defined by a singular commonality running throughout the region. You go from North to South and you will be surprised to see the variety that this place has to offer in terms of culture, language, geography, literature and other vitals that define a place. Similar, if you go across from the East to the West. Each place has its own distinct flavor.
Same can be said for Indian Cinema. The problem that has arisen with Indian Cinema and its image internationally is that it is thought to be synonymous with Bollywood, or the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai. But if you have any slight idea about the demography and geography of the country, you would know that it is a very limiting definition.
Indian Cinema is much bigger than Bollywood, or the elaborate song and dance routines that it is identified with all over the world. The melodrama and the over-the-top action sequences do form a major part of commercial Bollywood films but Indian Cinema has got a lot more to offer to students of films.
The vast differences in the social and cultural milieu of the common Indian person gives rise to a similarly varied bank of stories and experiences. Also, the history of India informs us that it has always mingled with foreign cultures and that intermingling at the grassroot level has given birth of completely unique and hybrid forms of art and literature. It has stories concerning the nitty-gritties of the most aristocratic families to the everyday struggles of the poorest individual.
Even the linguistic differences that are present here are so vast that there are entire industries running parallelly, making movies after movies day in and day out. Films are one of the most common mediums of mass entertainment in the country and they are loved by people of every region.
Thus, there are many industries running here on the basis of language and culture who make films concerning their own specific issues and also issues which are pan-Indian. Some of the major industries based on language and region are as follows – Hindi (Parts of North and Central India), Gujarati (Gujarat), Marathi (Maharashtra), Malayalam (Kerala), Tamil (Tamil Nadu), Telugu (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), Kannada (Karnataka) and Bengali (West Bengal) among others.
To know more about the Indian Films which made a mark at international film festivals, do check this article out –
We are bringing you the best and hidden gems of these regional film industries so that it can help you as well as us in recognizing the true scale and magnitude of Indian Cinema and to get to know the real cinematic beauty of the largest filmmaking industry of the world.
Bengali Cinema
Internationally, one of the most respected and awarded film industry of India, Bengali films have always been artsy in their own way. It has also given us the greatest of auteurs that this country has seen in the form of Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Riwik Ghatak, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Bimal Roy to name a few.
It had a prolific period where directors from this region came and dominated the Hindi film industry and also laid the foundation for the Parallel Cinema Movement in the country, also known as the Golden Age of Indian Cinema. But the sad truth is that even though we have an idea about the directors who made their way to the Hindi Film industry, the Bengali industry has a plethora of artistic directors who have made noteworthy independent art films which are milestones in itself, who we have very less information about.
This here is a list celebrating those unsung films of Bengali Cinema which deserve a place in any of the best films list coming out from the country. Also, these films will have a profound impact on the audience watching it and will be an immersive and educative experience for filmmaking students around the globe.
Let’s just jump right into it.
1 Kabuliwala
- Director – Tapan Sinha
- Year Released – 1957
- Major Awards / Nominations – National Award for the Best Feature Film, Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize (For Best Film Music) by the Jury at Berlin International Film Festival, Golden Bear Nominee at Berlin International Film Festival
- Other Films by this Director – Hatey Bazarey, Atithi
This is based on the famous story by Rabindranath Tagore, where we follow a middle aged fruit-seller from Afghanistan who has come to Calcutta to hawk his goods. This story deals with the delicate and pure relationship between a father and a daughter and treats it with a lot of love and tenderness.
Tapan Sinha was one of the most prominent Indian film directors of his time forming a legendary quartet with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. He was an acclaimed proponent of Parallel Cinema who worked both in Hindi cinema and Bengali cinema straddling genres from social realism, family drama, labor rights, to children’s fantasy films.
2 Sagar Sangamey
- Director – Debaki Bose
- Year Released – 1959
- Major Awards / Nominations – National Award for the Best Feature Film, Golden Bear Nominee at Berlin International Film Festival
- Other Films by this Director – Seeta, Bhagwan Shri Krishna Chaitanya
It is a heart wrenching story of a mother and daughter who are travelling to a pilgrimage on a boat. It shows their love and the hardships that they face across the way in a poetic manner.
Debaki Bose, also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was an Indian director, writer, and actor who is recognized for his contribution in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema. He is known for his innovative use of sound and music in Indian Cinema.
3 Mahanagar
- Director – Satyajit Ray
- Year Released – 1963
- Major Awards / Nominations – Silver Berlin Bear (Best Director) and Nominee of Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival
- Other Films by this Director – Pather Panchali, Aparajito, Ashani Sanket
The film examines the effects of the confident working woman on patriarchal attitudes and social dynamics. This was the first film directed by Ray set entirely in his native Calcutta, reflecting contemporary realities of the urban middle-class, where women going to work is no longer merely driven by ideas of emancipation but has become an economic reality.
What to say about the great Satyajit Ray? He is one of the greatest and most recognized filmmaker from Indian, period.
4 Dakhal
- Director – Gautam Ghose
- Year Released – 1982
- Major Awards / Nominations – National Award for the Best Feature Film, Grand Jury Prize at the International Human Rights Film Festival in Paris
- Other Films by this Director – Moner Manush, Abar Aranye
Based on a short story called Amma by Sushil Jana, this film is about a woman belonging to nomadic tribe from Andhra Pradesh, known as crow hunters, who elopes and moves to south Bengal and makes a living by occult practices. It deals with the issue of exploitation of tribal people by the deceitful landlord.
The only Indian to have received the “Vittorio Di Sica” Award, Gautam Ghose is an Indian director, actor, music director and cinematographer who has made a number of critically acclaimed documentaries and feature films.
5 Chokh
- Director – Utpalendu Chakrabarty
- Year Released – 1983
- Major Awards / Nominations – National Award for the Best Feature Film and Best Direction
- Other Films by this Director – Post Mortem, Chandaneer
With veteran actor Om Puri in the lead role, this film is a document of time set in 1975 and is based on the oppression and exploitation of jute mill workers in Bengal. It touches on the human aspects of both the oppressed and the oppressor.
An eminent Indian filmmaker and theatre personality Utpalendu Chakrabarty has an array of documentaries and feature films to his name. He had varied life experiences as he was involved in politics in his youth and lived with the tribals and started his career as a teacher.
6 Charachar
This film deals with the story of a bird-catcher, for whom it is his family business but he questions the value of it. What happens when he tries to change the age old traditions and what are its implications of doing that is what this story is about.
An Economics professor Buddhadev Dasgupta is an Indian poet and filmmaker who made socio-political films inspired by the films of Satyajit Ray. He is a multiple award winning filmmaker who is respected worldwide for his hard-hitting cinema.
7 Dahan
- Director – Rituparno Ghosh
- Year Released – 1997
- Major Awards / Nominations – National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali
- Other Films by this Director – Choker Bali, Bariwali
Based on Suchitra Bhattacharya’s story of the same name, this story shows the exploitation that women face in Indian society even after standing up for themselves and how the power structure favors the men in all matters, completely ignoring women and their problems.
Rituparno Ghosh was an Indian film director, actor, writer and lyricist who along with his contemporaries Aparna Sen and Goutam Ghose heralded contemporary Bengali cinema to greater heights. He is also the recipient of 19 National Awards and multiple international awards.
8 Shabdo
- Director – Kaushik Ganguly
- Year Released – 2012
- Major Awards / Nominations – National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali
- Other Films by this Director – Cinemawala, The Enunch and the Flute Player
The film revolves around the life of Tarak, a foley artist of the Bengali film industry. Tarak’s job is to create ambient sounds for films, but, he gradually gets trapped in his own world which is a world full of sound.
Multiple National Film Award winning actor, director and screenwriter Kaushik Ganguly is known for making films that explore various aspects of life like sexuality and the unsung heroes of the film industry.
9 Bakita Byaktigato
- Director – Pradipta Bhattacharya
- Year Released – 2013
- Major Awards / Nominations – National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali
- Other Films by this Director – Rajlohki o Srikanto
A film about a film, this film follows a young director who embarks on a journey to make a documentary film about love, to seek answers to his own questions on the subject and his revelations about it.
A young and upcoming director and editor, Pradipta Bhattacharya is among the new crop of Bengali filmmakers who are carrying on the legacy of the old masters and making meaningful art cinema which can make a difference in the society and in the mindset of the youth of the country.
10 Asha Jaoar Majhe
- Director – Aditya Vikram Sengupta
- Year Released – 2014
- Major Awards / Nominations – Best Debut Film at National Film Awards, Best Director of a Debut Film (Fedora Award) at Venice Film Festival, Honorable Mention at BFI London Film Festival
- Other Films by this Director – Jonaki, Once Upon a Time in Calcutta
This film is about an unnamed married couple and follows their life and the hardships that they face during a crumbling economy. The entire film has no dialogues.
Aditya Vikram Sengupta is also one of the rising stars of Bengali Cinema, especially someone who believes in keeping the Parallel Cinema movement still intact and running. He is one of the directors we should be on the lookout for new, exciting and impactful art films.
This rounds up our list of underrated films from the Bengali film industry. These comprise of some of the gems that are not as much in the public eye, but Indian Cinema is a treasure trove filled with such examples. This can be a good jump off point if you want to foray into the depths of Bengali cinema, and watching all these films and directors will definitely guide you in the direction you would want to take after that.
If you liked this, and are looking for more hidden gems of Indian regional cinema, do check these lists out –
Please do tell me in the comments below if you know of some brilliant but obscure films that I have missed. Until then keep reading and watching films. Adios!