Happy Birthday Koel Mallick! Top 5 films of the beautiful actress you can’t just miss!

Not only has Koel Mallick played key roles in successful big banner movies but has also appeared in smaller films with relatively new talented filmmakers over the past few years. Known for portraying strong characters on screen, the actress has managed to carve a niche of her own in an industry where most of the actresses end up as the glam quotient of a big-budget film. On Koel’s birthday, we take a look at 5 of her best performances.

The film follows the ill-fated story of the royal family of Dhulibari. Mishti (Koel), the first daughter born in the family in two decades, visits her ancestral home before her marriage. There, she comes to know that she is the spitting image of her great-grandmother, Arundhati, who was once the reigning queen of Dhulibari. She also learns that Arundhati gave her life to protect her people from the evil Rudra (Indraneil), whom she had buried alive. After many violent and mysterious turns, Mishti realizes that she is the reincarnated avatar of Arundhati and she has to deal with the evil that returns from the dead. Before you start poking holes in the story, it should be kept in mind fantasy films are best enjoyed if you leave your logical mind back at home. Koel as queen Arundhati aka Manima looks majestic and acts likewise.

Pragya Paromita, fondly called Mitin (Koel Mallick), is appointed by a Parsi couple (played by Vinay Pathak and June Malia) to investigate their eight-year-old son’s kidnapping. Mitin has done economics from Presidency and balances her detective and homemaker lives equally well. The film is based on Suchitra Bhattacharya’s story on the same character, Mitin Mashi. Koel is mature in her portrayal of the central character. From looking fit to appearing relatable, she pulls of one of her career best roles with élan.

What happens when a certain bohemian Amit (Jisshu) returns to Kolkata after a corporate stint in Mumbai only to come face to face with his childhood friend Labanya (Koel) whom he avoided all these years? Ghare & Baire has no resemblance to Tagore’s classic Noshtoneer that was later adapted by Ray for Charulata, the film. It’s a romantic comedy without over-the-top comic situations. The film manages to be quite fascinating, proving to be commercially viable cinema with good content that appeals to the ‘self-proclaimed thinking man’ and draws Kolkata’s non-Bengali communities to a packed south Kolkata multiplex on the opening weekend.

Koel plays a tomboy, as much as a young and beautiful Bengali girl can be, casual yet appealing in sight. She portrays the firebrand bongo nari with zest, waits for her ‘spineless’ friend to propose and marries for love. She effortlessly changes persona during her interactions with Jisshu and Joy, never overdoing it.

For those who are apprehensive that a film on assisted suicide can be too morbid, this is a complete pro-life movie. The issues of a lonely daughter (Koel) unable to accept her stepmother (Roopa) and deal with breakup and office blues could have turned Hemlock Society into a very dark movie. Of course, the film dwells on some serious concerns regarding relationships, life and living. But it’s also quite funny. The dialogues are laced with wit. And just when you are very amused, Srijit punches in a comment that makes you wipe the smirk off the face.

Koel had a tough job at hand since she had always played this bubbly girl before Hemlock Society. It’s nice to see Srijit reinventing her image and she pulled off the character of a lonely daughter quite impressively.

The film begins in the post-demonetisation scenario. NRI documentary-maker Maya (Churni Ganguly) is making her first Bengali feature film, which is produced by her father (Barun Chanda). Superstar of commercial Bengali films, Rai Chatterjee (Koyel Mallick), is the female lead of Maya’s film. She comes and takes centrestage, outshining other actors during the shoot, including her fiancé and the film’s male lead, Arindam (Abir Chatterjee), and co-actor Mou (Priyanka). Demonetisation woes hit the shoot and get more difficult when Rai suddenly disappears. In the meantime, the actress, who’s an alumnus of a Darjeeling private school, rediscovers her childhood during her escapades accompanied only by her driver Jeetu (Ritwick Chakraborty).

Koyel looks stunning in the film and portrays the loneliness of a superstar comfortably. The more complex side of Rai has also been enacted well. However, she looks a bit too loud when reacting to Mou’s allegations against Jeetu.