‘Galpa Holeo Satyi’ to ‘Bhooter Bhabishyat’: Comedy films that hit home with serious social causes

A comedy film with serious social message comes once in a blue moon in Tollywood which tickles our funny bone and also forces us to reflect on something serious related to the society we live in. There are few of these beautiful films that we love to see again and again, be it the 1966 cult classic ‘Galpa Holeo Satyi’ or ‘Haami’ in recent times. These films point out our ironic everyday realities with simple yet mind-blowing concepts.

Take a look at some of Bengali cinema’s best comedy movies with a strong message to society.

It’s one of the classics that Bengali comedy genre has ever produced. ‘Galpa Holeo Satyi’ is hilarious at the same time comes with a strong social message. Directed by one of the finest directors of Bengal Tapan Sinha, the film had one of industry's comic geniuses Rabi Ghosh. It even makes people laugh loud, some of whom born after Rabi Ghosh’s demise. Several Indian languages have seen its remake, the most famous was Bollywood hit 'Bawarchi' starring Rajesh Khanna and Jaya Bhadhuri. The story is relevant to even today’s society. How a joint family can survive a crisis or how to work out on the family bonding despite so much hate - the narrative encapsulates so many burning social issues.

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. While Gargi Rowchoudhury as little Bhutu’s mother brings life to a woman 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 parenthood in a simple way.

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 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.

What will happen when a Bengali middle-class man scared of everything and everyone and repeatedly confronting his middle-class dreams, get’s his hand into Aladin’s magic lamp? Saswata Chatterjee delivers his amazing range of acting in both comic and serious scenes in this contemporary exemplum with elegance. Sreelekha Mitra as the cribbing wife Jhumur with her voluptuous look in transparent sarees literally shocked the audience. While her family goes through ups and downs and ultimately confronts the facets of middle class existence, Sreelekha was often seen in bold dresses to satisfy her daily needs and it somehow symbolized the agony of belonging to a middle-class family.

It was the last film of Uttam Kumar. Directed by Salil Dutta, ‘Ogo bodhu sundari’ released after the Bengali Matinee idol’s demise. The film starts with his easy charm that makes us laugh out loud. As his quarrelsome wife, Sumitra too holds the narrative strong. However, it’s Mousumi Chatterjee as Sabitri steals the show. Ranjit Mullick, Haradhan Banerjee, and Santosh Dutta all have shined in their respective roles. Dialogues from this film are memorable, such as "ami jate matal,tale thik"(i am drunk, but careful of my steps). This film too mocks the high standard lifestyle of the upper class in the society and sends a strong message about the faltering education system.

This Anik Dutta directorial sees a group of rejected future ghosts taking shelter in a refugee camp. Marginalized by their shrinking habitat in the real world, they conjecture whether they should find a place in the virtual world or cyberspace for their survival. However, they find a very novel solution to their existential crisis at the end. What happens next forms the crux of the film. This film created uproar when it was pulled down the day after it released at Kolkata theatres and multiplexes. The film is a dark comedy and explores the current political scenario with a touch of comic relief. Many believe the criticisms didn’t go down well with the political quarters and they allegedly coerced distributors and hall owners to stop screening the film immediately.