These unexpected hits of Bengali cinema prove content is still the king

Tollywood as an industry churns out so many movies every year. Many of these come and go and people don’t even get an air of these releases. In fact, yearend lists merely mention the blockbusters; the names can actually be counted on finger tips! We can often draw a line between the big budget films that see superb promotional activities and the small budget ones which carry out promotions not in a big way. Still, what clicks with audience is what only the audience understands! We have already watched big banner films sink like recently ‘Noor Jahan’ and the small budget films like ‘Rainbow Jelly’ becoming big hits!

Directed by Arindam Bhattacharya, ‘Flat No. 609’ made it big at the Box Office. Starring Abir Chatterjee, Tanushree Chakraborty, Soumitra Chatterjee, Mamata Shankar, Rudranil ghosh, Kharaj Mukherjee in key roles, the horror thriller revolves around a couple Arka and Sayantani who seek a broker's help to rent a property in Kolkata. After going through a number of houses, the newly-wed couple finally decides to rent a well-furnished flat in Rajarhat. While the husband works in an IT company, his wife is on a sabbatical and excited to settling down in their new flat. But after a shocking turn of events, the couple gets acquainted with their new neighbors who have some mysterious traits. What happens next forms the crux of the film.

The word of mouth promotion did wonders for ‘Maacher Jhol’. The Pratim D Gupta directorial 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.

The box office success of Manas Mukul Paul’s ‘Sahaj Paather Gappo’ surprised everyone. The story follows two young brothers, Gopal and Chhottu, who are always optimistic despite the hardships their family undergoes after their father meets with an accident. The original story by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay is only of three pages and adapting it into a script for a feature film was not an easy task. The film also utilizes a Bengali dialect that’s only spoken in the West Bengal-Bangladesh border area. The film comes with a contemporary touch to the legendary Bengali author’s story.

This one is a surprise hit directed by Mainak Bhaumik. After the back to back success of two rom-coms ‘Bibaho Diaries’ and ‘Ghare nad Baire’, Mainak Bhaumik churns out a social satire which stars Ritwick Chakraborty, Parno Mittra, Sohini Sarkar and Mir in the lead. The plot revolves around Siddhartha and his invention of a mysterious pill for happiness. Ritwick plays Sidhartha Chawdhury, a brilliant student who dropped out of medical college because of unfortunate circumstances and now runs a sweet shop. One day he claims to know the formula of making happy pills. The whole story revolves around his discovery. Parno Mittra plays Rini, Sidhartha’s younger sister, a middle-class teenage girl who is obsessed with not being pretty. Sohini Sarkar essays Indrani, a journalist with immense self-doubt who is getting bogged down by her boss. Mir as a middle-aged salesman adds the cherry on top.

Directed by debutant Abhishek Saha, ‘Uronchondi’ enjoyed a decent business at the box office. Touted to be the first road movie in Bengali cinema, it narrates the story of four different people who embark on a journey together. The plot follows three female protagonists from three different generations - Chitra Sen, Sudiptaa Chakraborty and newcomer Rajnandini Paul, and a young lorry driver Chottu played by Amartya Roy. There are so many instances in our society in which women from a very young age confront oppression, torment and debauchery. The characters Chitra Sen, Sudiptaa and Rajnandini are playing portray the faces of such women who eventually stand apart after facing years of abuse and repression.

What makes ‘Projapoti Biskut’ interesting is the unique subject director Anindya Chatterjee picked up. It’s a love story of an incompatible couple in an arranged marriage. It narrates the story of Antor Sen (Aditya Sengupta), a gawky, reserved young lad from a ‘bonedi’ south Kolkata (Bhowanipore) family. Shaon (Ishaa Saha), with whom he is married for two years belongs to a simple middle class family from Howrah. The necessary bonding is somehow absent in their life and one fine morning, under influence of family, they start believing a child will make everything perfect. How their relationship gradually evolves from this stage is what the film is all about.

Story wise the Mainak Bhaumik directorial comes with nothing new to offer, it’s the same age old tale of a couple who after their love marriage get the reality check. They realize how the romantic equations change when the lovers become husband and wife. The responsibilities of a married life raise so many questions. It’s an over exposed subject but the film is not at all boring due to the refreshing screenplay, the quirky dialogues and riveting performances by the protagonists. Right from the opening credit you would get an idea about the refreshing narrative while random couples are asked about their opinion on marriage. The opening credit itself sets the mood for a comic caper. ‘Bibaho Diaries’ is about the pre and post married love saga of Pratyay (Ritwick Chakraborty) and Royona (Sohini Sarkar).

Sayantan Ghosal’s directorial debut ‘Jawker Dhan’ turned out to be a major box office hit. The story starts with Kumar (Rahul Banerjee) who finds a black skull with puzzles etched inside it from his grandfather’s belongings. To solve the puzzles he reaches out to his close friend Bimal (Parambrata Chatterjee), a professor of Anthropology. Together they decode it and discover that it is actually a map of an ancient Tibetan treasure hidden somewhere in the Neora Valley jungles. This treasure is guarded by a secret force named ‘Jawk’ and that’s why it is called ‘Jawker Dhan’. Bimal’s archaeologist cousin Hiranmoy (Kaushik Sen) and an evil businessman Karali (Sabyasachi Chakraborty) play a key role in the narrative.

Soukarya Ghoshal's children fantasy drama ‘Rainbow Jelly’ surprised everyone with its unique content and went on to win several awards in international film festivals. It narrates the story of an underprivileged child Ghoton (played by Mahabrata) who stays with his angry uncle played by Kaushik Sen. His uncle rebukes him every time, so the kid is left with no other choice but to take refuge in the fantasy. One day, an angel named Pori Pisi (Sreelekha Mitra) visits him and says if the uncle is fed food of seven colours, he will become a different person. Pori Pishi prepares a rainbow jelly for the child and life is never the same for him again.