Films to watch out for at Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival

A bunch of beautiful Bengali films will be screened at the sixth Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival from June 19 to 21 at the Prasad Film Labs. What clicks with the audience is what only the audience understands! These films prove content is still the king. So, Bengali movie buffs in Hyderabad here’s your chance to watch some good quality Bengali cinema.

Kaushik Ganguly’s ‘Nagarkirtan’ stars Riddhi Sen and Ritwick Chakraborty in the lead. While Riddhi Sen delivers a career-defining performance (one that earned him the Best Actor award at the 2018 National Film Awards), Ritwick exceptionally matches the young actor note for note. There are only a few actors in Bengali cinema who can bring such a delicate poignancy to dialogue as simple as ‘Is it really possible – this idea of a man falling in love with a man?’ the film created waves all around ever since it bagged 4 National Awards last year. The much delayed theatrical release earlier this year due to some legal hiccups couldn’t stop the film from receiving an overwhelming response from the audience.

Pratim D Gupta’s ‘Ahare Mon’ can fill your heart with warmth while bringing back a smile to a tired soul’s face. Deliberation in the design of four stories and the unpredictable equations between the lead characters has elements that right away inspire us to feel lucky for the little joys in life. The film doesn’t raise intellectual questions, neither has it a happy ending. The film only tells the stories often hidden in social norms and the realities of a mundane life. Pratim D Gupta not only delivers his finesse in storytelling but also surprises with the vibrancy in each of the characters.

Ranjan Ghosh directed Ahaa Re has ticked all the right boxes given an unconventional premise. A rich Bangladeshi Muslim (Bangladeshi actor Arifin Shuvoo), a middle-class Indian Hindu, and the medium of food, the fusion of Epaar Bangla and Opaar Bangla, to set the course of their love story. There are some noteworthy performances to savour as well. Rituparna Sengupta has delivered with considerable restraint right through. As the old patriarch bristling at being addressed as meshomoshai, who is keen to learn magic even at this ripe old age, Paran Bandyopadhyay is exceptional.

Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s ‘Urojahaj’ starts as a fable fantasy but soon turns out to be the allegory of how an oppressive state suppresses individuality and thought to ensure uniformity. It revolves around a a garage mechanic Bacchu Mondal (Chandan Roy Sanyal) who spends most of his time dreaming of flight. When he discovers a crashed World War II plane in the jungles outside his town, he is keen to see it fly. Will he succeed? That’s what forms the crux of the film.

Churni Ganguly’s ‘Tarikh’ tends to focus on the positive outcomes of social media along with addressing issues of intellectualism, loneliness, and relationships. With a stellar cast of Saswata Chatterjee, Ritwick Chakraborty and Raima Sen, the relationship drama is something special. ‘Tarikh’ talks about using social media in a more responsible way. While trolling has become a vicious activity now, this film tries to shed light on the importance of spreading positivity through social media.

Starring Arpita Chatterjee, Adil Hussain, Anubhav Kanjilal and Anirban Ghosh in the lead, Arjunn Dutta directed ‘Abyakto’ is a touching story about the relationship between a mother and son. It revolves around Indra’s (Anubhav) life as he grows up from a disturbed child to a man. His mother Sathi (Arpita), father Kasushik (Anirban) and his father’s friend Rudra (Adil) serve the key part in shaping his life as the complex nature of relationship takes it to an unexpected path. Indra eventually grows into a man he never thought of. What happens next forms the crux of the film.

Indraadip Dasgupta’s ‘Kedara’ narrates the story of a feeble man Narasingha (Kaushik Ganguly) who lives in a decrepit ancestral house. He is alone without a kin or care and is separated from his wife, albeit undivorced. Scorned by the maid and neighbourhood ruffians, our docile protagonist whiles away his days by striking up fictitious dialogues with carefully chosen people from his past. To add credibility to his daily conversations, he mimics the voices of his imagined guests with remarkable accuracy. His friend Keshto (Rudranil Ghosh) presents him with an armchair, something he had always coveted to possess. The wooden armchair acts as a catalyst and brings about a transformation in his personality. It restores his confidence and adds bravado to his essence. But this transformation comes at the cost of his sanity, leading to a series of misfortunes and unexpected turns.