Celebration all around! Bengali films to binge on this Poila Baishakh

Poila Baishakh marks the first day of the Bengali calendar. The first working day of the week has coincided with Poila Boishakh this year and it has turned out to be a blast as it always does. It’s time to spend the day with family, close ones, loves ones. It’s the perfect time to binge on your favourite movies. Scroll down to have a look at these Bengali movies which beautifully captures the spirit of Bengal, more specifically the spirit of Bengali culture.

‘Maacher Jhol’ travels beyond food to highlight the complex nature of modern relationships. It focuses on ambitions which often faces wrath from old school thoughts and traditions. Ritwick essays his role of a Paris-based chef with consummate ease, shifting gear from being a popular chef, to a responsible child of his mother and lastly a puzzled son while facing his father. What stands out in this film is the lack of unnecessary melodrama, a compact screenplay and editing, straightforward dialogues and a much-needed essence of nostalgia.

Though Bong may sound politically incorrect slang for all things related to Bengali, in ‘The Bong Connection’, director Anjan Dutt transforms self-irony into a visually soothing, light-humored satire. In the two alternating stories, a young Indian musician from New York returns to his roots in Kolkata, while an ambitious computer engineer leaves Kolkata to grab a big job in Houston. Perfectly interwoven with sweet love stories, these two comic yet sad image of the Indian diaspora manages to strike a resonant chord and makes the two-hour-plus running like a time fly. You can binge on this entertaining piece far from the Bollywood groove, especially if you are a Bengali.

'Open Tee Bioscope' is worth a watch if you grew up in Kolkata during the 80's and 90's. It is not a film, rather some sort of time travel that takes you back to your sweet childhood days. The story sees Fowara (Riddhi Sen) returning to his north Kolkata home after he was expelled from the school hostel, only to make new friends and enjoy the sweetest time of his life. But life eventually turns on its head following a series of incidents, only to get back into groove towards the end. Above all, this film beautifully explores the troubled days of every Bengali teenage boy while growing up in a metro city.

A great family movie, 'Bela Seshe' gives us many learning experiences. It highlights the values of a relationship and the bonding between family members. ‘Bela Seshe’ gave a serious message about how we depend on our family to lead a healthy and happy life. No one could have played the challenging role better than Soumitra Chatterjee. His presence made the Shiboprasad Mukhopadhyay directorial a really special one.

Director Arindam Sil's family drama, narrating the story of Durga Puja has a significant message for the society. A long lost belief that says, the goddess lives inside every woman, is what the film is all about. It's simply the courage of 'Durga,' a young lady from Sundarbans that stops the robbery in the Basak family on Dasami night. Going against the social limitations and prejudices, Durga turns out to be the reflection of Goddess Durga, who protects everything good in this world.

The unique bonding between a grandkid and his/her grandparents is beautifully portrayed in Nandita Roy & Shiboprosad Mukherjee’s 'Posto'. No doubt Soumitra Chatterjee, Lily Chakraborty, Mimi Chakraborty and little Arghya Basu Roy gave stellar performances. But the show stealer was none other than Jisshu Sengupta, portraying the alcoholic and struggling painter who tries to be a good son and a good father at the same time. After all, it’s not easy to play a man who ‘dances to his wife’s tunes’ or is ‘dependent on his wife’s income’.

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.

Truly one of the best things Bengali cinema has witnessed in recent times is this particular movie. The narrative carefully builds up with every minutest detail thoroughly checked and continues till the end. The simple storyline revolves around a haunted mansion in Kolkata. The characters and their display by excellent actors with amazing one-liners turn out to be the essence of this movie. The cinematography, editing, and its simple presentation are the USP. The story carefully deals with the adverse effects of an alarming rise of multiplexes and high-rise buildings. The ghosts are here used as a metaphor. Replace them with the common man, the struggling middle class of the society and you would get to see the actual message hidden inside the comic elements.

A blind school teacher once gets trapped into a criminal conspiracy. There are many elements for 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 a must watch. The two women in this film you would happily fall in love with are Susmita (Raima Sen) for her utter vulnerability and Meghna (Sudiptaa Chakraborty) for her throughout restrained uprightness. While Raima, as usual, exudes her customary charm, Sudipta too excels in her role.

Despite being a comedy film primarily, ‘Haami’ revolves around the burning issues that plague the younger generation today. Directed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee, it shows how minor issues are often blown up by overly concerned parents and suspicious school authorities. An innocent kiss between two cute kids fuels a whirlwind of controversies which reflect recent disturbing incidents in schools. Gargi Roychoudhury as little Bhutu’s mother brings life to a woman's character who is aggressively protective about her family. On the other hand, Shiboprosad Mukherjee as Bhutu’s father with his diluted expressions, witty dialogues, and funny antics portrays the ultimate middle-class parent in a simple way.