Death Anniversary Tribute: 6 stories of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay that were made into cine classics

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay – a figure of international proportions; one of those men who have that ability to single-handedly change history! His praise for his motherland gave birth to Vande Mataram and power of thousands to stand up for freedom.

We most lovingly remember Bankim Chandra as the teller of great tales. An extremely popular writer, he redefined the trend of literature of his time. Many of his stories have been made into plays and films. Even today one-and-a-half-century later, his stories appeal to us. His heroines and heroes are so impactful that they kind of evolve us.

On his 126^th death anniversary, here is a list of some of the iconic novels of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay that have been made into cine classics.

Who hasn’t read or seen Kapalkundala and wondered about the chilling tale – isolated jungles, scary storms and the creepy Tantrik?

Kapalkundala is perhaps Bankim Chandra’s most celebrated story. The story has been translated to seven languages at least – English, Hindi, Tamil, Telegu, Gujarati, German and also Sanskrit.

In Bengali cinema, there have been four films made on Kapakundala – 1929 & 1933 both starring Durgadas Banerjee, then 1952 and in 1981. Even today, Kapalkundala’s chilling story is unparalleled.

History, love triangle and war. A perfect plot and a one of a kind story. Durgesh Nandini was the first novel written by Bankim Chandra. It also got translated into numerous languages.

Durgesh Nandini was made into a Hindi film in 1956.

In Bengali, the first film was released in 1927 starring Durgadas Bannerjee, Kanu Bannerjee, Ahindra Choudhury and Indira Devi. Again it was in 1951 Manoranjan Bhattacharya, Chhabi Biswas, Bharati Devi, Chandrabati Devi and Kamal Mitra.

Anandamath is a landmark – in literature and in our cultural history. Anandmath was a mirror that reflected the true sentiment of the Indian freedom fighters and goes quite deeper than that. The story goes layers and layers deep. Historically it gave Indians our heartfelt Vande Mataram, and the power of this word energized many pure souls.

This story was made into a Bengali film in 1951 by Satish Dasgupta and then into a Hindi film in 1952 directed by Hemen Gupta.

Another heart touching story of love and treachery by Bankim Chandra. It was made into a film in 1978 starring Ranjit Mullick, Sumitra Mukherjee, Dipankar Dey, Sonali Gupta, Kajal Gupta, Geeta Dey and Chhaya Debi.

Bankim Chandra explored a different dimension in Krishnakanter Will. It was a different kind of a story than Kapalkundala or Durgesh Nandini. This story was one of greed and vice of the human mind.

Krishnakanter Will was first adapted as a successful film in 1932 starring Ahindra Choudhury, Santi Gupta, Nirmalendu Lahiri and Shishubala. Another film adaptation was made in 2007 staring Soumitra Chatterjee.

What does one simple village girl do when she has been deserted by all because she is poor? One would think of a piteous life ahead, but if your pure and strong, life will have something up for you. Like in the case of Prafulla, she became the most well known robber-cum-samaritan. This story hits hard the society that has plummeted so low on its morality that there is no place for the less privileged.

Devi Chaudhurani is one of the most memorable and loved stories of Bankim Chandra. Just as amazingly, Suchitra Sen brought this character to life in 1974. Along with Basanta Choudhury, Suchitra Sen simply dazzled as Devi Chaudhurani.