Best Directors of Bengali Cinema in 2016

Year 2016 is over now and it is the time to look back for a quick recap of the Bengali movies in 2016. Of course a good movie is combined effort of the whole team but for a well made movie we must give the maximum credit to the captain who manages the whole team to deliver a good film and that captain is the director of the film.Let's have a look at the best directors of Bengali movies in 2016.

Best Directors of Bengali Cinema in 2016

1. Shiboprasad Mukherjee & Nandita Roy (Praktan)

For last few years this director duo has became a sure shot guarantee of success. The best part about their movies is, they choose an emotional story about human relationship and present it in a simple way which can connect with audiences easily. In 2016 they came with the movie #Praktan. It was about two ex-lovers who meet each other after a long gap, during a train journey. The master stroke this time was the casting of Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta as the lead pair. They worked with each other after long gap of 14 years and the audiences will remain thankful to Shiboprasad and Nandita for making this possible with the perfect subject. There was no doubt it was one of the best movies of the year and got positive feedback from each and everybody.

2. Arindam Sil (Eagler Chokh & Byomkesh Pawrbo)

In 2016 Arindam Sil was the only director who delivered two successful movies #EaglerChokh and #ByomkeshPawrbo. Both were thrillers but completely different from each other in terms of subject and treatment. #EaglerChokh was an urban psychological thriller set in today's Kolkata and #ByomkeshPawrbo was a crime thriller based on Byomkesh Bakshi story which was set up in the forest areas of Dooars during the time of 1948. Arindam Sil being a good visionary presented both the stories in an engaging way which made both the movies gripping thrillers. Also one must praise his perfection for every minute detailing to create the characters and situations looking authentic on screen. For a director, to make two movies with such perfection, in the short period of one year is really commendable.

3. Srijit Mukherjee (Zulfiqar)

In 2016, Srijit Mukherjee pushed his boundaries to make a movie on a larger scale which anyone has ever attempted. It was #Zulfiqar, a larger than life drama featuring almost half a dozen of stars in main lead. The story idea of a Srijit Mukherjee film is always a highlight this time too there was no exception. He merged two Shakespeare plays "Julius Caesar" and "Antony & Cleopatra" that too in the backdrop of the mafia system operating in Khidderpore Doc area. It was one fresh and interesting concept. Also to manage the cast with so many big names in the industry and doing justice to each of their character was not an easy task and Srijit Mukherjee managed it quite well.  Though some people think it was more commercial approach of film making compared to his earlier works but this way he reached towards a bigger section of audience and it is one kind of achievement on his part as a director.

4. Kaushik Ganguly (Bastushaap & Cinemawala)

There is no doubt Kaushik Ganguly is a film maker who always comes with unusual yet interesting story. In 2016 he had two releases #Bastushaap and #Cinemawala. Both were wonderful films having solid performances. #Bastushaap was drama revolving around the equation of dysfunctional family members and one Bastu guide who comes to solve their problems with his Bastu tips. Though the inner meaning of the film was more meaningful which says to deal with your problems first you need to organize your inner self. #Cinemawala was an attempt to bring attention to the poor condition of single screen theaters. Day by day such theaters are losing their existence.Both the movies were well received by the target audiences. #Cinemawala got huge appreciation in different film festivals too.

5. Pratim D Gupta (Saheb Bibi Golaam)

This critic turned director is comparatively younger than the other Veterans in this list but he has proved himself as a fine director at this young age only. Though his directorial debut was mostly unnoticed but in 2016, he got all the attention with his second directorial venture #SahebBibiGolaam. It was refreshing as well as brave concept for Bengali cinema. It was a thriller about three different characters from different social background whose lives got interconnected with each other after an unexpected twist. The film has to fight a lot with censor board for the bold content but once it released the audiences gave a huge thumbs up to it and proved that audience are mature enough to accept this subject. Hats off to the director, for choosing such a brave subject and raising voice against the social injustice against women.

6. Anjan Dutta (Hemanta & Byomkesh O Chiriyakhana)

He is one director who was never bothered with box office failure, he believes he is a storyteller and will keep doing that. This year he came with two movies. First one was his highly ambitious project #Hemanta and second one was his guaranteed successful movie #ByomkeshOChiriyakhana. #Hemanta was one of his most ambitious projects to adopt Shakespeare's "Hamlet" in Bengali. It was really a good effort the way he had adopted the story in contemporary Kolkata with keeping most of the main characters of the play with the same basic emotions.  Though his screenplay seemed little hurried and lost towards the climax and it was a flop at the ticket windows but we should give him credit for attempting such a complex subject and taking awesome performance from the whole cast. #ByomkeshOChiriyakhana was a comparatively safer bet as it is almost a guaranteed success. He made it wonderfully keeping it simple yet engaging thriller that too in a very limited budget.