Ten Bengali films that make Saswata Chatterjee a class apart

Saswata Chatterjee has often been regarded as a one-man army in Bengali industry. Be it as a protagonist, antagonist, or even a comic character, he has the reputation to pull off any critical character with accuracy and control. While India may know him as the cold-blooded killer Bob Biswas from 'Kahaani', but as any Bengali movie lover would tell you, Saswata has been delivering unbelievable performances for years now. Arguably the most talented contemporary actor Tollywood has ever seen, Saswata Chatterjee is as a byword for a reel chameleon. Throw him anything, and he would deliver a character to remember.

What happens when a Bengali middle-class man scared of everything and everyone and while repeatedly confronting his middle-class dreams, get’s his hand into Aladin’s magic lamp? Saswata delivers his amazing range of acting in both comic and serious scenes in this contemporary exemplum with elegance.

A blind school teacher once gets trapped into a criminal conspiracy. There are so many elements of melodrama if you look at the patterns. But Saswata, playing Jayabrata Ray, gives a unique calmness, maturity, and passion to the character that makes this romantic-thriller above average.

Byomkesh Bakshi never goes out of circulation in the history of Bengali cinema and now, there are two different series, directed by different directors. Saswata as Byomkesh’s sidekick Ajit is a treat to watch. Playing the role of a narrator-author, loyal friend and to some extent, the sleuth’s inner voice, these films have shown what Saswata can deliver in character roles.

Famous sleuths never die in Bengali literature and obviously in films. And amazingly enough, Saswata has played companions in both Feluda and Byomkesh series. But with the Goyenda Shabor series, he came into his own form as a stone-cold detective. In all three Shabor films released so far, Saswata wows the audience as the hands-on and sharp ACP Shabor Dasgupta. This is a series nobody should miss.

Inspired by legendary Bengali filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak, the black and white melodrama ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’ utilised Saswata at his superlative best. Even the popular actor later admitted he feels portraying the passionate, political and alcoholic filmmaker Nilkantha Bagchi is his most challenging and fascinating stint. While Saswata is physically nowhere near Ritwik Ghatak, his performance amazes the audience with such superficialities and successfully attracts them towards the talented and troubled maestro’s mind.

Anjan Dutt's screen adaptation couldn't get an ideal Claudius than Saswata Chatterjee. In this movie, Chatterjee was seen as Kalyan Sen, uncle of Hemanta who has a production house that gives remakes and potboilers to deliver box-office hits. Saswata as a cold, calculated and manipulative antagonist added a new dimension to this classically inspired drama.

Anyone who has seen ‘Kahani’ still remembers the unpredictable and canny Bob Biswas whose humble figure showed great contrast to his true self of a professional killer. In Manoj Michigan's '89', he is once again a killer, but this time he is different than Bob. His portrayal of an irrational, violent psyche will give a chill down your spine. He delivered a stellar performance as a psycho serial killer.

In 'Proloy', Saswata Chatterjee appears as Animesh Dutta, a realistic cop fighting against the crime-prone suburb area. He gets to know a name Barun Biswas, who was brutally killed for protesting the corrupt politicians in the small town. While Animesh plans to control the entire situation but suddenly the serial killing of the criminals gives him a new challenge. Saswata simply bamboozled the audience in a never-seen-before smart officer avatar.

You can’t just call Anik Dutta's debut movie 'Bhooter Bhabishyat' a laugh riot. It will be an understatement. The film became one of the most watched Bengali movies ever and Saswata's character ‘hatkata Kartik’ received a huge response from the audience. It was a limited scope in a special appearance but the powerhouse actor’s presence takes this social satire to another level.

In this out of the box comedy film, Saswata was cast as an ad writer who one day discovers he can’t write anymore in Bengali. While the film didn’t do well at the box office, Saswata Chatterjee's performance as Roopchand Sen was welcomed by the critics and audience. The interesting part is, from a toddler to a 40-year-old man, Saswata played all the ages of Roopchand Sen. As usual, the noted actor played every part with sheer genius.