Top 5 Bengali movies with the highest opening weekend of 2018 so far

How a film scores at the box office is the most significant criteria in decoding a movie’s performance. While very few impress the viewers by their performances or story par excellence, it’s always the box office numbers that stand out at the end of the day. Here is a list of 5 Bengali movies which have enjoyed the most successful opening weekend in 2018 so far.

The word 'Haami' loosely means a kiss. That words and actions are transformed into different perspectives to different people are quite evident in this Shiboprasad-Nandita directorial’s early scenes. There are sweet moments of a father-son kiss, a father-daughter kiss, a teacher kissing a young boy and a boy accidentally seeing his parents who are about to kiss. But in 'Haami', the debate on child sexual abuse in an educational environment is further put in context by referencing recent events. With the brilliant execution of the script and power-packed performances from all the actors made this film a huge hit and it turned out to be one of the first blockbusters of 2018 after its release on May 11 and earned approximately Rs 77,20,931 from its first week collections.

Evan Leversage from St George in Canada was suffering from cancer and had only a few days left to live. To fulfil his wish of celebrating Christmas, the community of St George staged a grand Christmas ahead of its actual time in December. The story of this unbelievable gesture of humanity became a phenomenon titled ‘The boy who moved Christmas’. Like anyone else, Srijit Mukherji too was moved by the incident and took the decision to narrate this story by adapting it to his own culture. The film, titled 'Uma', released on June 1 and instantly became a huge hit at the box office. As the audience shower love on the film with teary eyes, it makes director Srijit so happy. So far, it’s going pretty well for ‘Uma’ and according to industry sources and the ongoing trend, it’s on second position considering the first week box office collections. However, the exact numbers are yet to be known.

Kaushik Ganguly’s ‘Drishtikone’, released on April 27, is all about the story of Srimoti (Rituparna Sengupta), who loses her husband to a car accident and Jiyon (Prosenjit Chatterjee) — a partially blind lawyer she appoints to probe the suspicious circumstances related to the accident. There are so many plot elements inside the main plot and each represents its own distinct essence, and the best thing is they ultimately come together to create one wholesome delectable meal, leaving the audience fully satisfied in the end. The narrative, with matured dialogues, really tugs at the heartstrings despite being an interesting thriller. The way Kaushik Ganguly treated the storyline and brilliant performances from all the artists made this Bengali drama a must watch and it collected a whopping Rs 68,86,262 from its first-week outing.

Releasing on the same day ‘Drishtikone’ released, Dhrubo Banerjee’s treasure hunt adventure possessed all the elements needed to be a crowd pleaser. The debutant director followed his audience’s psyche just like the back of his hand, and he used those sentiments of their likes and dislikes superbly. Featuring Abir Chatterjee as Sona Da, the film takes us on a rollercoaster ride that appears with no pretence of being intelligent, rather it’s completely unabashed fun. At its core, 'Guptodhoner Sondhane' comes with that exact spirit which used to thrill us in our childhood, when simple yet fantastic findings put us in awe and when a treasure hunt remained more important to us than all the logic. It earned approximately Rs 54,48,850 from its first week collections.

'Asche Abar Shabor' is the third film in Arindam Sil’s Detective Shabor series and the effort to bring the surprisingly underrated character to screen is quite commendable. Based on the popular story Prajapatir Mrityu O Punorjanmo (The Death and Reincarnation of a Butterfly) by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, the film managed to create a sense of intrigue. Saswata Chatterjee is an absolute treat to watch in this film also. His hard-as-nails detective character Shabor Dasgupta is quite believable. The poker-faced appearance with wry humour, laced with just the right blend of sarcasm and critique is the one true winner of this flick. Released in January, the Arindam Sil directorial managed to win millions of hearts with a Box Office collection of Rs 45,32,643 approximately.