Bengali women filmmakers who have made India proud

As we have seen in Bollywood, Bengali film industry is also opening up to more equal opportunities for women these days. Just like a rising sun, women too have risen with their heads high up. With their extraordinary contribution to the film industry, this elite class of film personalities is taking Indian cinema to a new horizon. Women now direct, own and even produce films at their best. Here we celebrate the six women directors who have successfully portrayed varied hues of our lives in Bengali cinema.

This Padma Shri awardee Bengali director, screenwriter and actress is an iconic figure in Bengali cinema. Aparna Sen has won three National Film Awards and nine international film festival awards for her outstanding works as a filmmaker. Her directorial debut came in 1981 with ‘36 Chowringhee Lane’ which received the National Film Award for Best Director and the Grand Prix (the Golden Eagle) at the Manila International Film Festival. Since then Aparna Sen never looked back and went on to direct hits like ‘Parama’, ‘Sati’, ‘Yugant’, ‘Paromitar Ek Din’, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Iyer’, ‘15 Park Avenue’, ‘The Japanese Wife’, ‘Iti Mrinalini’, ‘Goynar Baksho’ and garnered critical recognition. Her second National Film Award as a director came for ‘Mr. and Mrs. Iyer’. This film also won awards at the Locarno, Hawaii, and Manila film festivals. Critically acclaimed ‘Paromitar Ek Din’ (2000) went on to win several awards on the international festival arena and the National Award for Best Bengali Film.

Shonali Bose is best known for her debut directorial ‘Amu’ which deals with the suppressed history of the genocidal attacks on Sikhs in Delhi in 1984 which she had written, produced and directed. The 2005 film was premiered at the Berlin and Toronto Film Festivals amongst many other international film fests. The renowned director grabbed 7 national and international awards for 'Amu' including the FIPRESCI Critics Award, National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English and Gollapudi Srinivas Award for the best first-time director. In 2012, she wrote the script for ‘Chittagong’, directed by her former husband Bedabrata Pain which was about the Chittagong armoury raid of 1930. Her 2014 hit, ‘Margarita with a Straw’ featuring Kalki Koechlin, was screened at 2014 Toronto Film Festival. The script of this film won the Best Script award at the Sundance Festival Writer’s lab.

Sudeshna Roy has been a successful actor turned director who is an inspiration for the women in Bengali industry. Her directorial debut 'Sudhu Tumi' (2004) scored well at the box office. She then donned the director’s hat in films like 'Cross Connection' (2009), 'Teen Yaari Katha' (2012), 'Bapi Bari Jaa' (2012) and 'Biye Not Out' (2014), all of which were loved by the audiences. She has joined hands with co-director Abhijit Guha in making films on socially relevant issues with a simple comical twist. Her recent films ‘Bitnoon’ and ‘Mayer Biye’ received rave reviews both from the critics and audience.

Arundhati Devi is still regarded as one of the finest Bengali actors, film directors and writers. In 1967, she was honoured with the National Film Award for ‘Best Film Based on High Literary Work’ for the 1967 Bengali hit ‘Chutti’. Arundhati made her cinematic debut in ‘Mahaprasthaner Pathey’ (1952) which was later remade in Hindi titled ‘Yatrik’. Her first film as a director, ‘Chhuti’, also won a ‘Certificate of Merit’ at the 1967 National Awards. However, her most famous directorial work is ‘Padi Pishir Barmi Baksho’, based on a popular children's novel by Leela Majumdar.

Nandita Roy along with Shiboprosad has given us superhits like 'Bela Shese', 'Praktan' and 'Posto'. The director duo started their career in filmmaking with 'Icche' (2011), which became one of the most critically acclaimed hits of Bengal. Since then, they have found the blessing of the box-office, never failing to make the moolah. Nandita’s professional career kick-started in 1978 when she co-directed a short puppet film for children named 'Agadoom-Bagadoom'. She also worked as a glove-puppet operator in the same film. Her fabulous success story has been an inspiration for all the established and aspiring filmmakers.

Being a parallel cinema director, producer, actress, poet and social activist, Satarupa Sanyal has been a stalwart for introducing feminist social stances in her films. Working with noted director Utpalendu Chakraborty for seven years as an assistant director and associated scriptwriter in early years polished her cinematic excellence. Then in 1998, she made her first film ‘Anu’ which remains a path-breaking one portraying a progressive, leftist, humanist and her view towards feminism. She was a member of the Central Board of Film Certification for 4 years and also worked as the jury member of Indian Panorama, National Award for Feature Film, and National Awards for All India Radio and section committee jury in MIFF. After ‘Anu’, she made another film ‘Atatayee’ which captured the political scenario of the 1970s. The independent filmmaker remains an open-eyed dreamer with a flair for writing short stories and poems.