Bengali films to be screened at 2019 Bengaluru Bengali Kannada Film Festival

A bucket of beautiful Bengali films will be screened at the third Bengaluru Bengali Kannada Film Festival, 2019, from June 21 to 23. What clicks with the audience is what only the audience understands! These films prove content is still the king. So, Bengali movie buffs in Bengaluru here’s your chance to watch some good quality Bengali cinema. Here’s a list of Tollywood films which will be screened at the festival.

Kaushik Ganguly’s ‘Nagarkirtan’ stars Riddhi Sen and Ritwick Chakraborty in the lead. While Riddhi Sen delivers a career-defining performance (one that earned him the Best Actor award at the 2018 National Film Awards), Ritwick exceptionally matches the young actor note for note. There are only a few actors in Bengali cinema who can bring such a delicate poignancy to dialogue as simple as ‘Is it really possible – this idea of a man falling in love with a man?’ the film created waves all around ever since it bagged 4 National Awards last year. The much delayed theatrical release earlier this year due to some legal hiccups couldn’t stop the film from receiving an overwhelming response from the audience.

Ranjan Ghosh directed Ahaa Re has ticked all the right boxes given an unconventional premise. A rich Bangladeshi Muslim (Bangladeshi actor Arifin Shuvoo), a middle-class Indian Hindu, and the medium of food, the fusion of Epaar Bangla and Opaar Bangla, to set the course of their love story. There are some noteworthy performances to savour as well. Rituparna Sengupta has delivered with considerable restraint right through. As the old patriarch bristling at being addressed as meshomoshai, who is keen to learn magic even at this ripe old age, Paran Bandyopadhyay is exceptional.

Indraadip Dasgupta’s ‘Kedara’ narrates the story of a feeble man Narasingha (Kaushik Ganguly) who lives in a decrepit ancestral house. He is alone without a kin or care and is separated from his wife, albeit undivorced. Scorned by the maid and neighbourhood ruffians, our docile protagonist whiles away his days by striking up fictitious dialogues with carefully chosen people from his past. To add credibility to his daily conversations, he mimics the voices of his imagined guests with remarkable accuracy. His friend Keshto (Rudranil Ghosh) presents him with an armchair, something he had always coveted to possess. The wooden armchair acts as a catalyst and brings about a transformation in his personality. It restores his confidence and adds bravado to his essence. But this transformation comes at the cost of his sanity, leading to a series of misfortunes and unexpected turns.

Churni Ganguly’s ‘Tarikh’ tends to focus on the positive outcomes of social media along with addressing issues of intellectualism, loneliness, and relationships. With a stellar cast of Saswata Chatterjee, Ritwick Chakraborty and Raima Sen, the relationship drama is something special. ‘Tarikh’ talks about using social media in a more responsible way. While trolling has become a vicious activity now, this film tries to shed light on the importance of spreading positivity through social media.

Starring Arpita Chatterjee, Adil Hussain, Anubhav Kanjilal and Anirban Ghosh in the lead, Arjunn Dutta directed ‘Abyakto’ is a touching story about the relationship between a mother and son. It revolves around Indra’s (Anubhav) life as he grows up from a disturbed child to a man. His mother Sathi (Arpita), father Kasushik (Anirban) and his father’s friend Rudra (Adil) serve the key part in shaping his life as the complex nature of relationship takes it to an unexpected path. Indra eventually grows into a man he never thought of. What happens next forms the crux of the film.

Shiladitya Moulik’s first Bengali directorial ‘Sweater’ has been lapped up by the audience. In the film Ishaa Saha plays Tuku who is an under-confident girl. Before marriage her would be mother-in-law places a condition that she has to be an expert in knitting. Tuku reaches out to a relative to learn the art and eventually it transforms her into a different person. It’s no surprise that the film has touched the core of audience hearts. Tuku is a shy, inhibited girl next door. Tuku even lacks any skill or talent to excel at. Still, she is in love but couldn’t manage to be skillful in that as well. Will there be at least one thing she can be successful at in life? That’s what Shiladitya Moulik’s ‘Sweater’ is all about.

Director duo Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha’s Sraboner Dhara sees Soumitra Chatterjee and Parambrata Chatterjee teaming up yet again after ‘Shonar Pahar’. Gargee Roychowdhury plays Soumitra Chatterjee’s on-screen wife. ‘Sraboner Dhara’ deals with the problems today’s generation faces and the issues pertaining to the older generation. It also tells the story of people who take care of patients suffering from dementia or Alzheimer and their emotional attachment. Soumitra Chatterjee is a history professor Amitava Roy, an Alzheimer’s patient in the film and Parambrata plays the role of a young doctor Nilabho Roy. There is also a suspense element in the story. The mystery prevails whether Gargee is actually Soumitra’s wife or someone else.

Starring debutante Ritwika Pal, Swastika Mukherjee and Joy Sengupta in the lead, Sudipto Roy’s ‘Kia And Cosmos’ touches upon the universal themes of parenthood, alternate education, class divisions and the thrill of mystery novels for teenagers. The film made with a shoe-string budget received appreciation from all around since its March 29 release despite not getting too many shows in Kolkata theatres.

Indrani Chakraborti’s ‘Ladakh Chale Rickshawala’ revolves around three journeys: the first one being a rickshaw puller's journey from Kolkata to Ladakh, traversing 3000 km through the heart of northern India, crossing the different cultures of the multihued country in his tri-cycle Rickshaw, the second one being a filmmaker and her team's journey to make a film on the rickshaw puller's unthinkable journey to Ladakh with very little financial resources and lastly the journey of the rickshaw puller's wife to survive with her daughter supporting her husband's tremendous wanderlust. How will they reach their destinations, that’s what forms the crux of the film.

Directed by Manoj Michigan, this film shows why Abir is called as the one-man army in Tollywood. He is certainly every director's delight. Although at the initial phase of the film, his character to some extent reminded us of his previous portrayal of 'Abby Sen', with the film’s progress his character starts to reform and transforms into a completely different one. Abir as Joy Chatterjee will no doubt compel you to reconstruct yourself. Jaya Ahsan too leaves her mark opposite Abir.

In ‘Nato­ker Moto’, the lead character Kheya (which means boat), played by Paoli Dam, is seen drowning in the very first shot and her dead body is fished out later. But the question remains, is it suicide or murder? That’s what the mystery an investigating officer tries to unspool as he reconstructs Kheya’s past and pieces together facts to seek the truth. This film that is based on a real-life incident of Keya Cha­kraborty who ruled the Bengali stage arena in the ’70s, is not a thriller. In this Debesh Chattopadhyay directorial, Paoli’s performance once again leaves us in awe.

In Orpheus Mukhoti’s ‘Akashi Pullover’ veteran actress Aloknanda Roy plays the central character in this film. Samadarshi Dutta, Rupa Bhattacharya also play key roles in ‘Akashi Pullover’. The story of the film revolves around a lonely aged woman (Aloknanda) who leaves alone in an old house. Her only companion, a young maid, gets married but the elderly woman doesn’t want to let go her maid, rather she wants the maid’s husband to stay in her house. What happens next builds the crux of the film.