Best Bengali movies of 2013

Just like any other year Bengali film industry continues to produce two different categories of movies, in 2013 also. First category was of totally commercial movies which were made combining big superstar, copied story from south Indian movies, stylish action sequences and hit music. Second category was of meaningful cinemas which were made with a good appealing story, good acting and a good technical team.

But the good thing is that nowadays actors are trying to balance themselves in both types of movies as well as audiences are also showing interest in both types of movies.

Here are the Top Five movies which did well at the box office in 2013:

1.       Rangbaaz – This Dev and Koyel starrer movie came in during the festive season of Durga puja and easily makes its way to the audiences’ hearts. The USP of the movie was of course its leading pair. Apart from that the superhit music by Jeet Ganguli and deadly action sequences designed by Allan Amin , also helped the movie to get a 9 crore plus collection at the box office.

2.       Khoka 420 – The second position is also occupied by none other than superstar Dev. This time he was accompanied by two lovely ladies Subhashree and Nusrat. This was the sequel to 2012 hit film Khokababu which was also produced by the same banner Eskay Movies. This action comedy made around 8 crore at the box office.

3.       Mishawr Rawhoshyo – Just like his last three movies director Shrijit Mukerjee again hits the jackpot with his modern take on Kakababu. Prasenjeet Chatterjee once again proved that he is the new superstar of the multiplex going audiences. This Venkatesh films production was meant to be made for city audiences, but this did good business at small centres too. It was the third time that Venkatesh films, Shrijit and Prasenjeet’s combination delivered a big hit on Durga puja. This film collects around 7 crore plus at the box office.

4.       Boss – With the success of Boss, Jeet also proved his stardom. This time he also showed that he can make a successful movie without the backing of two top most production houses of Tollywood. A new fresh pairing of Jeet and Subhashree was also the highlight of the movie. This was the directorial debut of successful choreographer Baba Yadav. The music by Jeet Ganguly was a superhit and the high intense action was also superb. This movie made around 6.75 crores at the box office.

5.       Chander Pahar – Probably this was the best movie of the year and will maybe the highest grosser in its lifetime. This movie was the last big release of this year and within one week’s good collection it made to the list of top five with a huge collection of around 5 crores. This movie has the highest budget so far for any Bengali movie which is 15 crore. This movie has been made by Venkatesh films production house and has been directed by talented Kamaleswar Mukherjee. This is the adaptation of famous novel by the same name, written by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. This adventurous movie has been shot in a large scale in the deadly locations of South Africa. Another highlight of the movie was commercial superstar Dev’s entry to the world of meaningful cinema and he succeeded in that with good marks.

Apart from these movies the other commercially successful movies were Deewana, Kanamachhi, Hawa Bodol,Machh Mishti n More, Ami Ar Amar Girlfriends, Goynar Baksho, Shabdo, C/O- Sir, Alik Sukh, Khiladi, Majnu etc.

So this was the box office figures which were mainly dominated by the commercial entertainers now coming to some good movies which may or may not make it to the box office but touched our hearts with their engaging plot and acting. (The below list is done by the release order of the movies not by their box office performance or their excellence.)

Machh Mishti n More – This Mainak Bhaumik directed movie shows a journey of three brothers and their different ambitions from their lives. This movie was not totally impressing but it has its moments and some wonderful acting by Swastika, Anubrata and Parambrato. Another good thing about the movie was the music by Neel Dutta.

Hawa Badol – It was the second film as a Director by Parambrato Chatterjee which was very much inspired from the 2011 Hollywood film “The Change-Up”. But Parambrato has managed to copy the movie in the background of Kolkata very well. The best things about the movie was the male bonding of the two lead actors Parambrato and Rudraneel, the extremely funny dialogues and the soulful music by Indradeep Dashgupta.

Goynar Baksho – This Aparna Sen directed movie was a perfect gift to the Bengali movie audiences on the occasion of Poila Baisakh. This movie was presented very well with a social message about women rights but without being too serious. The best things about the movie were of course the acting by Maushumi Chatterjee, Konkona Sensharma, Shaswata Chatterjee and Shrabanti. The only thing which we did not like was the ending of the movie which was not there in the original story.

Shabdo – This movie surprisingly became the talk of the town after receiving the National award for best Bengali movie. Director Kaushik Ganguly again came up with a unique story which deals about a foley artiste and his obsession with sounds. Acting wise Ritwick Chakraborty was brilliant; Raima Sen, Churni Ganguly and Shrijeet Mukherjee also gave good support. After watching the movie maximum of the cine goers came to know about the sound designing concept in movies and we are thankful to Kaushik Ganguly for making a movie on this subject.

Ami Ar Amar Girlfriends – Mainak Bhaumik came up with a bold subject with this movie and he has to face lot of controversies for showing her female protagonists with a bold and brave attitude. We saw Swastika in a very good form in this movie. Though the controversies made around the movie pushed its release by two weeks but finally it got good appreciations from the audiences.

Meghe Dhaka Tara – Director Kamaleswar Mukherjee made this brilliant film based on the life of the legendary film maker Hritwick Ghatak. Shaswata Chatterjee’s portrayal of Neelkantha Bagchi was extremely superb. There is no doubt this is the best acting of his career. The other superb actors were Ananya chatterjee and Abir Chatterjee. This movie could not make money at box office but it was well appreciated in many national and international film festivals.

C/O Sir – With this movie Kaushik Ganguly again proved his abilities as an unconventional story teller. This movie told a story of a blind school teacher and his attachment with his school. This was a good mix of emotion and suspense with awesome performances by Shaswata Chatterjee, Raima Sen, Sudipta Ganguli and Indrneil Sengupta. The backdrop of North Bengal was superbly captured by the cinematographer.

Alik Sukh – The successful director duo Nandita Roy and Shiboprasad Mukherjee team up again to make a movie based on the novel by Suchitra Bhattacharya with the same name. This movie shows the negligence of the doctors to their profession in the competition to make more money. In the lead role Debshankar Halder was wonderful. Also two talented actresses Rituparna Sengupta and Sohini Sengupta shared screen space together after a long time and their bonding was superb. The only negative thing was that the movie diverts from its main focus sometimes with some unnecessary subplots and songs.

Half Serious – Director Utsav Mukherjee made a good comedy without making it too loud. The fictional story was a funny take on the communication between the human beings from earth and the gods and goddesses present at heaven. The acting by the ensemble cast was very good.

Kangal Malsat – This movie was an uncompromised adaptation by director Suman Mukhopadhyay, from the novel written by Nabarun Bhattachraya with the same name. Just like the novel the movie was also very brave in its approach. Though the movie has to face some controversies for its subject and use of cuss words but after its release it got good response from the target audiences.

Proloy – After doing a number of South Indian remakes director Raj Chakroborty first time made a movie on an original story. The movie was loosely based on the story of real life character Barun Biswas and his protest against rapists. There was some good acting by Paran Bandopadhyay and Shaswata Chatterjee. The music by Indradeep Dashgupta was also very nice.

Tasher Desh – On paper it was very surprising that director Q will do a film based Tagore’s work, but when we watched the movie we realized that Q has done a full justice to the subject. Without tampering the soul of the dance drama written by Tagore Q has presented it in his own vision. The film was visually very captivating. The way the music was done recreating the Tagore song was also innovative.

Rupkatha Noy – Director Atanu Ghosh once again gave us a very beautiful film about an old man who goes out on his way to connect with people from next generation. Through his eyes the audiences watch three different relationship tales which criss-crossed each other at a point. The best thing about the movie was that after a long time audiences got a chance to see the veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee in a lead role. Also it was a good pleasure to see Radhika Apte(of Antaheen fame) after a long time in a Bengali movie.

Satyanweshi – The main highlight about the movie was that it was the last directed film of the very talented filmmaker Late Rituparno Ghosh. Though the film has very different approach comparing to other Rituparno films, but still the care for every minute detail in all technical departments shows Rituparno’s signature in every frame. There was some good performances by Indraneil Sengupta, Arpita and Anindya Chatterjee(of Chandrabiondoo). The only disappointing thing about the movie was Sujoy Ghosh in the title role of Byomkesh Bakshi.

Bakita Byaktigato – This movie was made with a very low budget and without any pre release publicity but thanks to Shrijit Mukherjee who backed such a nice movie. This was about a documentary film maker who is searching for true love. As the leading man Ritwick Chakraborty has done a wonderful job. Although the film got very less number of audience at the theatres but whoever have watched it they must have liked it.

Phoring – It was a film about a teenager and the changes he is going through physically as well as mentally at this age. The plot has some similarities with the Italian movie Malena, but still the director Indranil Roychowdhury has adapted the story very well to make it suitable for Bengali movie audiences. The young actor has done very well acting as well as the cinematography by Indranil Mukherjee was eye-catching. Whoever has watched the film must have revisited their own stories of their growing up age.

Mishawr Rawhoshyo – The trio of director Shrijit Mukherjee, production house Venkatesh films and actor Prasenjeet Chatterjee made a hattrick of delivering a successful film on this Durga Puja. After a long time anyone adapted the story of Kakababu on silver screen and it got a very good response. Although the response was mostly for the pre-release hype created around it because of the team behind the movie. The film lacks a good story but the locations of Egypt were a visual treat to the audiences. Prasenjeet does well as Kakababu so does Indraneil Sengupta in the negative character.

Ashchorjyo Prodeep – Undoubtedly it was one of the highly awaited movies of this year as it was the second film made by Aneek Datta after the super success of Bhooter Bhabisyat. This time the director made a black comedy to give a message that money can’t buy everything. The two leading men Shaswata Chatterjee Rajatava Dutta were brilliant and their bonding was superb. The hilarious dialogues penned by the director himself, were the heart of the movie.

Hanuman.Com – After making the critically acclaimed movie Shukno Lanka director Gaurav Pandey made another movie on an unconventional subject of online friendship and cyber crime. The story had good potential to be a good movie but the film loses its grip in the second half while it changed from a sweet relationship story to a funny crime thriller. The pre release buzz was of course created for the presence of Prasenjeet Chatterjee. Another highlight of the movie was that it was the only Bengali movie to be shot in Iceland. But after watching the film which catches our eyes was the brilliant acting debut of the director Gaurav Pandey.

Chander Pahar – This is biggest ever Bengali film made so far. The film’s budget is around 15 crore. The way the film has been shot it looks much more costly and no doubt the success of this movie will make a fresh start of making good quality cinema in Bengali movie industries without compromising for the budget. Director Kamaleswar Mukherjee has proved that he is good visionary and the commercial movies heartthrob Dev has proved that he can act well too provided he get support of a brilliant team. The locations of South Africa were very well captured by the DOP Soumik Halder.