Sunday, 3 January 2016

Best Directors of Bengali cinema in 2015

2015 was a very good year for Bengali cinema, in terms of business as well as in terms of good quality films. Thanks to the new brigade of directors with interesting subjects and a fresh approach to tell the subject. Following is the list of the top five directors of Bengali cinema in 2015 based on their creativity.

1.Shiboprasad Mukherjee & Nandita Roy -  With their each and every film
Shiboprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy have proved that story is the main hero of their
film and with their 2015 release "Belasheshe" they have proved it once again. The main lead of the film were not any conventional super stars rather they were an old couple of more than 70 yrs age, but the story was the hero here which touches everyone's heart.The director duo had given us the very beautiful message through their film, that  how to make the bonding of a marital relationship more stronger. The screenplay had been written so skillfully providing enough scope for comic relief as well as for emotional connect too. With its engaging story with which everyone can relate and some heart touching performances the film got a good response from the audiences and became the biggest hit of 2015. In fact it is one of the biggest hits ever.

2.Srijit Mukherjee - From 2010 Bengali movie lovers have got an amazing director Srijit Mukherjee, who has changed the way of film making in Bengali cinema. Since 2010 he is
continuously giving us wonderful films every year. In 2015  he gave us two movies, two totally different movies from each other. First one was "Nirbaak" which was the most experimental film from the director till date. It was a film which combined four love stories together with a common theme where in each love story one partner was silent. It did not become successful at box office but hats off to the director for attempting a subject close to his heart without compromising for box office. The second release was the Puja release "Rajkahini", a story about a group of women's revolution against male dominated society in the backdrop of India Pakistan partition. It was more mainstrem compared to the earlier one with the common ingredients of a Srijit Mukherjee film an engaging story, a fresh approach to tell the story, a well sound technical crew, an appropriate ensemble cast. This movie made Srijit famous among some Bollywood heavy weight filmmakers too.

3.Arindam Sil - Before 2015 he was hardly there in scene as a director. He was just an actor turned director with one film experience that too was a box office failure. But by the
end of 2015 Arindam Sil proved himself as a successful director with not one rather two big hits. The year started as well as ended with his films "Ebar Shabor" and "Har Har Byomkesh". Both the films were detective thriller but in different backdrop and time frame. "Ebar Shabor" was a multi-starer set in Kolkata of 2015, revolving around a murder mystery. With this film Arindam Sil gave us a fresh look of urban Kolkata  with refreshing styling as well as production design. It was a big hit with more than 100 days successful run. "Har Har Byomkesh" was a Byomkesh Bakshy film set in Varanasi in pre-independent India. Here too he showed his skill as a director with choosing a fresh supporting cast which gave it a new look and feel and make it different in spite of having more than three Byomkesh film in just one year. This film got a good opening and still doing good business.

4.Kaushik Ganguly -  Kaushik Ganguly has done specialization in telling unconventional stories. He can choose a subject about which others can not even dream of. In 2015 too he
continued this with "Chhotoder Chhobi". It was a film about the dwarfs working as clowns in circus. We hardly think about their life and their struggle, this movie gave us an inner view of their life, their problems and their emotions. It take guts to make such a film where your lead pair are dwarfs. Another difficult task was to cast actors who are dwarfs but good actor too and Kaushik Ganguly did this wonderfully.For the film Kaushik Ganguly had chosen a set of brilliant actors and a talented technical team. Although it was not a box office success mostly because of the all new unknown cast and the depressing subject of the film. But it got great reviews at different film festivals and many awards including national award.

5.Anindya Chattopadhyay-  Anindya Chattopadhyay is already popular as the member of famous Bengali band "Chandrabindu". In 2015, he made his debut as a director with "Open
Tee Bioscope" and he scored a perfect 10 with his debut. The master stroke was choosing the subject which was actually his tribute to his own teenager-hood in the 1990's. The subject connected with audience too making them nostalgic about their growing up age. the small references of big events from 1990's were incorporated in the screenplay very intelligently. Another strong point of the film was its casting, which had no big stars but were extremely  talented actors perfectly cast in each role. The film got good opening and easily connected with the audiences and as a result it did good enough business of around 100 days to claim itself a hit.

**************************************************************************************
Apart from these extremely talented directors we also loved the following:

  • Suman Mukhopadhyay - Shesher Kabita
  • Aparna Sen - Arshinagar
  • Partha Sen - Anubrato Bhalo Achho

There were some debutante directors who impressed us:

  • Aditya Vikram Sengupta - Asha Jaoar Majhe
  • Churni Ganguly - Nirbashito
  • Bauddhayan Mukherjee - TeenKahon

Best Actresses of Bengali cinema in 2015

In 2015 Bengali Cinema favors more meaningful films over commercial remakes as a result, there is not many regular commercial movie heroines, in the list of powerful ladies of 2015. Here is the list of those ladies who left an impression in 2015 with their contribution in Bengali cinema .
Let's have a look how was the year for the leading heroines of Bengali cinema.


The actresses who topped in 2015.



Rituparna Sengupta - Compared to last few years this year Rituparna had lesser number of releases. She was featured in two big hits of the year "Belasheahe" and "Rajkahini". She was pretty much effective to stand out among an ensemble cast in movies like "Belasheahe" and "Teen Kahon". On the other hand she was outstanding in the lead role in "Rajkahini". Her portrayal of Begum Jaan was one of her career best and she utilized the opportunity very well. She even got an award for this performance.


Konkona Sensharma - She is not a regular actress of Bengali movies but in 2015 she was featured in three Bengali movies "Sajarur Kanta", "Kadambari" and "Shesher Kabita". In all these movies, she had performed brilliantly, specially in the last two she was too good. In the last two movies she had played some periodic characters and her acting as well as her look were very much appropriate for her on screen characters of Kadambari and Labanya. Among these movies "Kadombari" had got better response at box office too and it had became an average hit at the box office.


Swastika Mujherjee - She began the year with a better note with a big hit "Ebar Shabor".

In this movie she was very natural and impressive. Then she created buzz for her Bollywood debut, there too she got recognition. After that she appeared in the controversial movie "Family Album". Although it was not a hit at box office but she appreciation for her bold avatar as a girl with homosexual interest. Then she appeared in the movie "Anubrato Bhalo Achho" which was not a commercial hit but had got good feedback at different festival. Here she had played a much older woman than her real age with ease, which is commendable. Finally she once again impressed her with her periodic movie "Shesher Kabita", where she played a second lead with lesser screen time but she managed to grab our eyeballs with her power packed performance as well as her retro look.

Sudipta Chakraborty - She is not the conventional heroine but in 2015 she has once again proved her caliber as an actress in power packed performances. Whether it is her single mother act in "Open Tee Bioscope" or the physically handicapped but mentally strong girl in "Bheetu", she was too good in both the movies. Among these the first one was a big hit where the second one was an average earner. She was also a part of another big hit "Rajkahini" where she was very natural and effective in her brief appearance.

Parno Mitra - This lovely lady had two releases in 2015. In "Bheetu" she played an young professionals struggling to overcome her fear and disturbed past. This movie was an average hit. It was followed a big hit "Rajkahini". Here she had a strong supporting role. With her wonderful act she has managed to left impression in spite of such a huge cast.

Shrabanti - This beautiful actress had appeared in two big hits of 2015 "Sudhu Tomari Janno" and "Katmundu". Although
in "Katmundu" she was almost lost among the ensemble cast but in "Sudhu Tomari Janno", she did a very good job. Here she managed to play the transition from an young college girl to a mature married woman very well.

**************************************************************************************
Apart from these actors there were few other actors too who are not the Conventional heroes, but they impressed us with their wonderful performances. Such as:
  • Deblina Roy - Chhotoder Chhobi
  • Arpita Chatterjee - Bodhon
  • Susmita Sen - Nirbaak
  • Swatilekha Sengupta - Belasheshe
  • Basabdutta Chatterjee - Asha Jaoar Majhe
  • Churni Ganguly - Nirbashito
  • June Malya - Ebar Shabor
  • Deboleena Dutta - Anubrato Bhalo Achho?
  • Ananya Sen - TeenKahon
  • Jaya Ehsaan - Rajkahini
  • Mimi Chakraborty - Sudhu Tomari Janno
  • Sohini Sarkar - Har Har Byomkesh
  • Swgata Mukherjee - ArshiNagar
*********************************************************************************
The actress who flopped in 2015

Payel Sarkar
- The beginning of 2015 was good enough for Payel with "Ebar Shabor" but it was followed by flops one after another. Movies like "Larai" and "Jamai 420" were neither a box office hit nor it gave her any recognition for her performances. She was in not so significant roles in these movies. Her final release was "Jomer Raja Dilo Bar". She was very hopeful about this movie but destiny had decided something else and it flopped badly.


Best Actors of Bengali cinema in 2015

In 2015, in Bengali film industry many actors impressed us where some other disappointed too. Let's have a recap of how our favorite actors from Bengali film industry performed in 2015.

The actors who rocked in 2015.



Abir Chatterjee - The year started with Abir's last year's big hits "Badshahi Angti" and
"Byomkesh Fire Elo". His successful journey continued in 2015 with superhits like "Ebar Shabor", "Rajkahini", "Katmundu" and "HarHar Byomkesh". There were flops too like "Jomer Raja Dili Bor" and "Abby Sen" but he got good response for his performance in "Abby Sen". Performance wise he showcased his variation as an actor from doing negative role in "Rajkahini" as well as comedy too in "Katmundu". But we loved him most in his last release of the year "Har Har Byomkesh" where he played his most loved character, Byomkesh. 


Jishu Sengupta - There is no doubt 2015 was very much successful year for Jishu Smgupta. He was not much there throughout the year except for the experimental movie

"Nirbaak" which did not fare at box office. But he manged to leave impression with his three big releases in teh last quarter of 2015. He had his career best hit as a leading man in "Byomkesh Bakshy". We also loved him in a negative role in "Arshinagar". But the best of him we saw in "Rajkahini". In "Rajkahini",he played a negative character  for the first time in his career. It was an extended cameo where he hardly had 3-4 scenes but he was just awesome in those scenes. His performance as well as his physical transformation for the character was truly surprising. 

Dev -  From last few years, Dev is constantly trying to maintain balance in his choice of
movies ranging from mainstream south Indian remakes to subject oriented parallel cinema for multiplex going audiences. In 2015 he had acted in movies like "Herogiri" and "Sudhu Tomari Janno" which were remakes alongside an experimental parallel cinema "Arshinagar". Among these three only "Sudhu Tomari Janno" was a big hit in small centers as well as in urban theaters. We appreciate his attempt to work on a movie like "Arshinagar" and we also give him credit for his film selection for both type of audiences. Although he managed to give at least one hit at box office but performance wise he is yet to get that recognition.



Ritwick Chakraborty - He is definitely one of the best actors of Tollywood as of now. For an actor of his caliber the length of the on screen character does not matter and he has
proved that in 2015 with smaller yet impressive supporting acts in movies like "Ebar Shabor", "Nirbaak" and "Har Har Byomkesh". Apart from that he impressed us in leading roles in the movies "Asa Jaoar Majhe" and "Anubrato Bhalo Achho". In both these movies the he had played some really challenging roles and he was just too good. Also we loved to hate him in his negative role in "Bheetu". He had also tried his hands in comedy with movies like "Bitnoon" and "Cross Connection 2", but sadly it did not worked in his favor. No matter hit or flop, no  matter he is in lead role or supporting role when Ritwick Chakraborty is on screen he definitely mesmerizes us with his wonderful  acting.



Shashwata Chatterjee - Its obvious that Shashwata Chatterjee does not look like a conventional hero to play a lead role so mostly he continued giving wonderful performances in supporting roles but as a main lead he gave a big hit in the beginning of 2015. It was the crime thriller "Ebar Shabor" where Shashwata played the title role with perfection. Among the others he was very impressive in supporting roles in movies like "Nirbashito", "Rajkahini", "Katmundu", "Byomkesh Bakshy" and "Nataker Mato".There were some flops too but we can overlook that considering the success rate of this wonderful actor.


Jeet - While all his contemporaries are shifting towards parallel cinema, Jeet is the only Tollywood hero who is still consistent in Mainstream commercial cinemas. Not only that he is even making such movies a hit too. This year his only release was "Besh Korechhi Prem Korechhi" which was a full on masala entertainer and Jeet impressed us with his stardom. It became a big hit specially in small centers.
Once again he proved he is still the Boss of mainstream commercial cinema.
************************************************************************************** Apart from these actors there were few other actors too who are not the Conventional heroes, but they impressed us with their wonderful performances. Such as:
  • Riddhi Sen - Open Tee Bioscope
  • Rahul Banerjee - Ebar Shabor
  • Dulal Sarkar - Chhotoder Chhobi
  • Soumitra Chatterjee - Belasheshe
  • Mithun Chakraborty - Ek Nadir Galpo
  • Rajatava Dutta - Open Tee Bioscope
  • Kharaj Mukherjee - Lorai/Belasheshe
  • Sabysachi Chakraborty - TeenKahon
  • Joy Sengupta - TeenKahon
  • Barshan Shil - TeenKahon
  • Ashish Vidyarthi - TeenKahon
  • Rudraneel Ghosh - Katmundu
  • Koushik Sen - Rajkahini/Open Tee Bioscope
  • Harsh Chhaya - Har Har Byomkesh
*********************************************************************************The actor who flopped in 2015.

Parambrata Chatterjee - This year he started as a director with "Larai" which was a box office disaster.Then he came as an actor in movies like "Roga Hoar Sahaj Upay" and "Babar Naam Ghandhiji". Both the movies were complete washout at the box office, not only that even Parambrata's performance did not get any recognition in any of these movies. Mostly he looked repetitive in both the movies.


Saturday, 2 January 2016

Report card of Actresses of Bollywood in 2015

Unlike 2014 there was not much woman oriented movies in 2015. Still there were some leading ladies who impressed us with their powerful performances as well as they contributed to the box office success too.

Top actresses of Bollywood in 2015.



1. Deepika Padukone - This lovely lady continued to rule the box office in 2015. This year she had three releases and in all three she proved her versatility as an actress. In "Piku", she played an young independent working girl who is taking care of her father all alone. In "Tamasha", she played a girl who acted as a motivational force to his hero. In "Bajirao Mastaani", she played the character of an warrior princess Mastaani. In every film she performed exceptionally brilliant. Among these three two were big hits "Piku" and "Bajirao Mastaani". "Piku" which was made with very small budget make more than 70cr at box office, where "Bajirao Mastaani" was a 100cr club member with around 150cr. There is no doubt that right now she is the top actress of Bollywood at this moment.

2. Kangna Ranaut - Kangna Ranaut is the queen of Bollywood in true sense. Without
having any backup from any big banner or big co-star, she kept ruling the box office on her own. In 2015, she had two releases "Tanu Weds Manu Returns" and "Katti Batti". "Katti Batti" was a big flop and Kangna had not done anything significant here but we can overlook that because of her extraordinary performance in "Tanu Weds Manu Returns". It was a comparatively small budget movie which earned more than 150cr. In this movie she had played a double role, one married woman suffering from a bad marriage and another one was a young sportsperson who is in love with a married guy. Without any doubt it can be said it was one of the best double roles done by any Bollywood actor ever. The way she had created these two characters exactly different from each other that makes it the best act of 2015.


3. Priyanka Chopra - Priyanka Chopra rocked in 2015 not only in Bollywood but in
international Television too with her acting debut in English TV series. In Bollywood she impressed us with her two releases "Dil Dhadakne Do" and "Bajirao Mastaani". In both the movies she played two different characters which were poles apart. in 
"Dil Dhadakne Do" ,she was playing a modern day business woman balancing her family problems with her professional life and in "Bajirao Mastaani" she played a married woman confined in her rituals an relationships who is longing for her husband's love. Both the movies did good business at box office specially the second one was a big hit with earning more than 100cr.


4. Anushka Sharma -  It was not a 100% successful year for her. She became part of an
ensemble cast in not so significant roles in movies like "Bombay Velvet" and "Dil Dhadkne Do", but we can forgive her for those wrong career choices because of her another release of 2015 which was NH10. Anushka Sharma made debut as a producer too with these thriller. In this movie she did a brilliant job as a young urban lady struggling for survival. This was a small budget movie with a woman character in the lead but still it make it big at the box office with collections around 30cr. We appreciate her for backing an unconventional film like "NH 10" not only as a n actress but as a producer too.


The actresses who flopped in 2015.


1. Vidya Balan
- The bad phase continued for this talented actress in 2015. This year she had only one release, "Hamari Adhuri Kahani". She had performed quite well in this movie but people did not like this love story. It had very bad response at the box office.


2. Alia Bhatt - In 2014 she was a hot property, but luck did not favor her in 2015. This year she had only one release "Shandaar", which was one of the biggest flop of the year and unfortunately the first flop of Alia's career. She even did not get good appreciation for the thankless role. Only thing which was quite popular about her in this movie is was her bikini shot.


3.Katrina Kaif - This year she had only one release to her credit with his lucky director Kabir Khan, it was "Phantom" which failed badly at the box office. Her only saving grace was teh promotional song of the film "Afgan Jalebi".

4.Sonakshi Sinha - There was a time when Sonakshi was a guarantee for super hit south indian remakes but in 2015 her only release "Tevar" which was a also a south remake was a disaster at the box office. later she appeared in an item song "Nacha Farate" which was just average.

Mommies who made comeback in 2015


1.Kajol - Kajol made her much talked about comeback in 2015 with "Dilwale" along with her most loved on screen partner Shahruk Khan. It was a successful comeback, even at this age she managed to play a young girl convincingly. She looked stunning and once again proved her caliber as an actress. We wish to see her more in future.

2. Lara Dutta - She had never took retirement officially but she was missing from silver screen for a long time. She made a surprising comeback in 2015 with "Singh Is Bling". It was not a conventional leading actress type role rather it was a supporting act, but she impressed everyone with her superb comic timing with this funny character.

3. Aishwatya Rai Bachchan - This lovely lady tried to make a comeback in 2015 with "Jazzba" which was a big flop. Even her fans were surprised why she chose such a film for her comeback that too after such long wait. We are hopeful for her reattempt for a comeback in 2016 with Karan Johar' S next directorial.

Report card of Actors of Bollywood in 2015

2015 has just finished so its time to look back at the year and who were the leading men who ruled Bollywood in the year 2015. 

Top Actors of 2015


1.Salman Khan - In 2014 Salman Khan no releases but in 2015, he compensated that withtwo back to back hits on Eid and Diwali. First it was "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" on Eid which was the biggest hit of 2015 and second big hit of all time with a collection of 320cr. It was followed by yet another big hit "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo" on the occasion of Diwali. It made a box office collection of 207cr. In both these movies Salman Khan had played characters which were really different from his current image of an action hero still his fans accepted him in these movies and appreciated his performance. He got good recognition from critics too for his wonderful portrayal of Bajrangi in "Bajrangi Bhaijaan". Together Salman alone earned more than 500cr in Bollywood this year which is big enough to prove his stardom.


2. Akshay Kumar - He had not a single 100cr hit in 2015 but still he is on the second position because he kept delivering average hits constantly throughout the whole year with
each movie having an average collection between 80-90cr. He had four releases this year and coincidentally one movie per quarter. The first one was "Baby" a fast paced thriller with wonderful performance from Akshay, where he played an under cover agent. The next one was Akshay's fight against corruption in the South Indian remake "Gabbar". Here too his stunts and acting was well received. The third installment was "Brothers" an emotional drama about two estranged brothers in the background of a MMA competition. Once again he proved his acting capabilities but the main highlight was the superb martial arts performed by Akshay Kumar. The last one was "Singh Is Bling". In this one Akshay Kumar showed his funny side after a long time. It was a funny comedy with Akshay Kumar's wonderful comic timing. Together all four movies had made more than 300cr.


3. Ranveer Singh - This guy was definitely not in the race of big heroes in last few years
but in 2015 he has made a big jump towards stardom with two big movies "Dil Dhadkne Do" and "Bajirao Mastaani". At box office "Dil Dhadakne Do" was an average earner where "Bajirao Mastaani" made it to 100cr club and became fourth big hit of 2015. Performance wise Ranveer Singh was superb in both movies. Both the characters were poles apart and he managed to give life both the characters brilliantly. Where in the first one he played a rich brat confused about his goals in his life , in the second one he played a great warrior with a heart of gold. Not only acting , even his physical transformation for both the characters was also commendable.

4. Shahrukh Khan - It is quite strange but true that in 2015 King Khan was not ruling box
office the way his fans expect him to rule. His only release this year was "Dilwale" which had sky high expectations because it was the only release from the super star after one year and also because this time he had made a comeback with her most loved on screen partner Kajol. But the movie did not get that big opening and even it took one week to enter in 100cr club which was below expectations. Although people loved SRK and Kajol pair very much but in final run it was not that big hit to prove the power of Badshah Khan at the box office. It is high time for Shahrukh Khan to think about his movie selection.

5.Varun Dhawan - Varun Dhawan has proved it, that he is running much ahead of his
contemporaries. In 2015 he had three releases "Badlapur", "ABCD2" and "Dilwale". All three movies were hit at the box office specially the last two were 100cr club members. But the thing which have made Varun Dhawan a part of this list, is not only his box office success rather it is his selection of totally three different characters and his wonderful performance in those versatile roles. In "Badlapur" he proved his caliber as a powerful actor as an intense angry man on a mission to take revenge, it was very serious dark thriller and it was his best performance till date. In "ABCD2", he proved his dancing abilities and in "Dilwale", he remind us about his comic timing. This guy is really making a fast progress hope to see him in much better position in future.

Note- This ranking has been done with combination of Box office success and the actor's contribution towards this success along with his individual performance as an actor.
**************************************************************************************
Apart from these actors there were some other actors who are not in the race of conventional leading man but impressed us in different charter roles. Such as:

  • Nawazuddin Siddiqui - Badlapur/Manjhi - The Mountain Man/Bajrangi Bhaijaan
  • Ayushmann Khurrana -Dum Laga Ke Haisha
  • Gulshan Deveiah - Hunterr
  • Amitabh Bachchan - Piku
  • R. Madhavan - Tanu Weds Manu Returns
  • Irrfan Khan - Piku/Talvar
  • Deepak Dobriyal - Tanu Weds Manu Returns
  • Anil Kapoor - Dil Dhadakne Do/Welcome Back
  • Ranvir Shorey - Titli
  • Amit Sial - Titli
  • Darshan Kumar - NH10
  • Kartik Aaryan - Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2
  • Sunny Singh Nijjar - Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2

**************************************************************************************
The actor who failed at the box office in 2015.

1. Emraan Hashmi
- once again he failed to impress his fans. He tried to regain his luck once again with his home ground Vishesh films in movies like "Mr.X" and "Hamari Adhuri Kahaani", a thriller and a romantic movie respectively. Both the movies failed at box office very badly.


2. Ranbir Kapoor - He keep delivering back to back flops in 2015. First it was "Roy" in which he had an extended cameo. It was followed by his most ambitious film "Bombay Velvet" which was one of the biggest flop of this year. His last release was "Tamasha" which got comparatively decent feedback but could not became more than average at box office. Although his performance was highly appreciated in "Tamasha".


3. Shahid Kapoor - This year he was in news for his marriage and being a judge on a dance reality show but at the box office he was very much unlucky this year. In 2014 he has revived his career with "Haider" which helped him to bag many awards in 2015. But his only release in 2015, "Shandaar" became one of the biggest box office dud of his career. It definitely damaged his image at ticket windows.


4. Arjun Kapoor - This young rising hero had been proved very much successful in 2014 with back to back success but the good phase did not continued in 2015. This year he had only one release "Tevar" which was completely washed out at the ticket windows.


5.Saif Ali Khan - Badluck keep haunting Saif Ali Khan in 2015 too. In 2015 his only hope was "Phantom" but this film failed at the box office in spite of having good promotion, and successful director. The bad thing was many people blame the leading man Saif for the failure of the film.

************************************************************************************
The actors whom we missed in 2015.

Aamir Khan - He was very much in news for his controversial comments on national issues but as an actor we really miss him this year.


Hrithik Roshan - In 2015 he had no release at the box office. Only concession for his fans was the music video of the Honey Singh remix version of Dheere Dheere Se. 


Best Bengali movies of 2015

2015 was a good year for Bengali movies. From last few years the audiences were giving indication that they are no more interested in so called commercial movies which are nothing but a frame to frame copy of South Indian movies. Rather people are more interested in original subjects with good presentation. This year this trend continued even more prominently. From the audiences reaction it was quite clear, people are no more interested in South Indian remakes having mindless subject at the same time there are very few takers for too intellectual movies which are favorites in film festivals. The Bengali movie lovers now loves movies which have original concept with a engaging presentation without compromising with the entertainment quotient.
Here are some of the best Bengali movies of 2015 in order of their release dates. Not all of them were box office success but all were movies which had a good subject and nice presentation.


Ebar Shabor 
It was the first release of 2015. A crime thriller set in today's time based on a novel named
"Rwin". With this movie, Bengali movies get a new on screen sleuth Shabor Dashgupta which was played brilliantly by Shashwata Chatterjee. It was directed by veteran actor Arindam Shil and had an ensemble cast of some very talented actors like Swastika Mukherjee, Abir Chatterjee, Ritwick Chakraborty, Payel Sarkar, Rahul , June Malya,Dipankar Dey, Deboleena Dutta etc. The story was about a murder mystery where a lot of characters were the suspects and each of them have some deep secrets with them. How the detective from Kolkata police crime branch, Shabor Dashgupta, solved the mystery was the story.The music was composed by Vickram Ghosh and it has been used wonderfully in the movie. The technical team was brilliant. Special mention should be given to cinematographer Sirsha Ray for capturing the different locations of Kolkata in such a nice way. The over all impact of the movie was very nice. It got a good start and kept doing well at the ticket windows till the end of the quarter and  successfully completed around successful 100 days in the theaters. 

Open Tee Bioscope

Famous Bengali band Chandrabindoo's member Anindya Chattopadhyay wore the director's hat for the first time with the movie "Open Tee Bioscope". It was his own tribute to his
childhood memories , the memories of the mid 90's, the memories of para culture. It was a story of a teenager boy Fowara (Played wonderfully by Riddhi Sen), his childhood memories with his friends, his first love, how he became a part of the local para. The story was very heart touching focusing some very strong relationships like a relationship between a son and his mother, a relationship between a coach and his disciple. Moreover the favorite sports of Bengali culture football was also a part of the story. The whole cast had done wonderful job lead by Riddhi Sen, Sudipta Chakraborty, Rajatava Dutta, Ambarish Bhattacharya, Kaushik Sen and all the kids in Fowara's gang. The technical team had done an extraordinary job to recreate the 90's era authentically. As a director of course Anindya did a very good job. The music composed by Upal Sengupta and Shantanu Moitra was superhit. Box office performance wise also this film did very good. It did a good business from its first week and continued its success completing around 100 successful days. 

Chhotoder Chhabi

Master story teller Kaushik Ganguly came  back with yet another different story about the
life of some dwarfs who used to work as joker and entertainers in circus. He used to present their life beyond our regular thinking , he presented them as human beings. They are not just jokers , they have their own life, own emotions, own ambitions. The casting was a vital part for the movie as the most of the actors had to be dwarfs as per story's demand and at the same time they had to be good actors who can carry off the story on their shoulders. And as a extremely talented director , Kaushik Ganguly made this tough job possible by casting very good actors Dulal Sarkar and Deblina Roy as the leading pair. This movie got very good response at many National and International film festival. In one film festival Dulal Sarkar bagged the best actor award too. It also got the National award for best movie on social issues. Unfortunately the box office fate of the movie was not so good probably because of the lack of popular stars and the too much depressing tone of the story.

Nirbaak


"Nirbaak" , directed by Srijit Mukherjee was the most experimental film from the director so far. It was about four love stories connected together with a common theme of silence. The film got a good opening because of the expectations but after watching it, audience had mixed reaction. Some people liked the experimental step taken by the director while others were disappointed from this. On the final run though film got good response from critics but at the box office it did not performed well specially comparing to the previous success record of the director. The performances by Anjan Dutta, Ritwick Chakraborty , Jishu Sengupta and Susmita Sen were appreciated very much.




Belasheshe

"Belasheshe" was yet another gem from the director duo Shiboprasad Mukherjee and
Nandita Roy. Just like their previous films there was no big stars rather the story was the main hero of the film. The story was an unconventional tale about the bonding of post marital relationship. It was a mix of humor and emotion that touched the heart of critics and audiences. In the lead role Soumitra Chatterjee and Swatilekha Sengupta did a wonderful job. In the supporting cast Kharaj Mukherjee and Rituparna Sengupta were quite impressive.
Overall the positive feedback worked really well for the film and it became a winner at the box office. It run in theater almost till the end of the year and with a successful run of around 200 days it became the biggest hit of the year.

Kadambori


"Kadambori" had been directed by Suman Ghosh featuring very talented Konkona Sensharma in the Title role. This movie was a period piece based on the controversial relationship between Rabindranath Tagore and his sister-in-law Kadambori Devi. The movie was quite authentic in its presentation and the performance by Konkona Sensharma was too good.  In the main lead Parambrata Chatterjee was not that effective as Rabindranath Tagore, but Kaushik Sen was very much impressive as Kadombari's husband.All these worked for this film and it became average hit at the box office.


Asha Jaoar Majhe

"Asha Jaoar Majhe" was a film directed by debutante director Aditya Vikram Sengupta. It  featured very talented Ritwick Chakraborty and Basabdutta Chatterjee. It was a film that got good response at many film festivals and also have been loved by every critics. This film won several awards in different categories at different International film festivals. It was story revolving around a couple struggling to sustain in their relationship in an urban lifestyle. 
But unfortunately this film did not got a proper commercial release and could not became a box office winner. it could have been done better if it would have been promoted and released in a better way.

Nirbashito

"Nirbashito" was the directorial debut of talented actress Churni Ganguly. This movie was loosely based on the life of the controversial
Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin. Although it was  not a typical biopic rather it had focused on the loneliness and pain of the author once she was banished from her own country, own people and own literature. The movie was very well made and Churni ganguly has done a wonderful job as a director as well as a leading actress too. The film was highly appreciated at film festivals but the commercial fate of this movie was not so good.



Teenkahon

Teenkahon was director Bauddhayan Mukherjee's debut movie. It was yet another
festival favorite with a limited box office appeal, but whoever had seen the movie had liked it. It was a combination of three short stories which had covered 100 years of journey of  Bengali culture, language and socio-economic condition of Bengali's. It was movie with three different stories about three different themes of love. All these stories were set in different time frame beginning from pre-independent India to current time. The deatailing to create different time period was awesome, specially the first story which was shot in black & white was very effective to portray rural Bengal of before independence. This movie had some brilliant performances by Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Joy Sengupta, Ashish Vidyarthi and new comers Barshan Shil and Ananya Sen.

Raajkahini
A renowned director Srijit Mukherjee, a huge star cast of very talented actors and actresses,
a heart touching subject and a wonderful presentation all make it a big hit from the very beginning. Once again Srijit Mukherjee proved lucky for Puja release. People loved the story about the freedom fight of a group of women against the male dominated society in the backdrop of India Bangladesh partition. The movie not only get appreciation in Bengal only rather people from Bollywood also recognize the raw talent of the movie. Even there are talks of a Hindi remake of this one. Rituparna Sengupta got lots of acclaim for her leading performance. It became a big hit specially among urban centers.

Byomkesh Bakshy
Director Anjan Dutta came once again with yet another Byomkesh movie but this time with a brand new actor as Byomkesh. It was Jishu Sengupta who had stepped into the shoes of Byomkesh Bakshy. He was joined by Sashwata Chatterjee as Ajit and some television and film veterans who are almost regular in Mr. Dutta's films. This movie once again proved that sleuth films are here to rule Bengali film industry. Jishu Sengupta did a good job as Byomkesh but the story selection was not up to the mark. It was comparatively weaker story than other Byomkesh movies by Anjan Dutta.There was big hype created around the movie specially because the last Byomkesh movie by the same director was a big hit so it got a wonderful opening and completed a successful run of more than 50 days at theaters.

Har Har Byomkesh
So far we have seen only Anjan Dutta's Byomkesh movies in recent past but this time we got a new director narrating the story of Byomkesh on his own way. It was director Arindam Sil.Once gain we got Abir Chatterjee back as byomkesh but this time with a new Satyabati and Ajit which were played by Sohini Sarkar and Ritwick Chakraborty. This movie got a fresh look and treatment with the scenic beauty of varanasi as the backdrop of the story. The locations Varanasi and the North-Indian classical music in background also made us nostalgic about "Joy Baba Felunath". The casting of non bengali but bengali speaking actors in supporting role also gave the film a fresh look. It opened very well at the box office and doing good business till the end of the year.


Apart from these movies there were few other movies too which were good but could not not make it to the list of best of 2015.Such As
Bheetu, Nataker Mato, Anubrato Bhalo Achho, Ek Nadir Galpo, Shesher Kabita, Arshinanagr, Abby Sen.


As per commercial success here are some Box Office Hits of 2015

1. Belashsese 
2. Ebar Shabor
3. Open-Tee-Bioscope
4. Byomkesh Bakshy
5. Rajkahini
6. Sudhu Tomari Janno
7. Katmundu
8. Besh Korechhi Prem Korechhi


Friday, 1 January 2016

Box Office update of Bollywood movies in 2015

2015 was not that good for Bollywood in terms of business. It had one 300cr ,one 200cr movie and only four other 100cr movies, which is very less compared to last few years. Among the big stars no one could bring much business except for Salman Khan. There was no movies from Amir Khan and Hrithik Roshan which was also a reason for such cold response at ticket windows. But one good thing was in spite of having lesser big releases some small movies performed really well. The year was clearly divided in two halves where the first half was mostly ruled by small budget films with strong content, the second half saw more bigger movies in terms of production cost and star power. For obvious reasons the second half was better in terms of Box office business.

Here are the top 10 grosser of 2015 as per the business done in India.































Apart from these movies there some really small budget movies which actually did very well at the box office and gained much profit. Such movies are.
 

There were some movies which had big budget, big production values and big stars as well but still those movies could not live up to the expectation and became Big Flops of 2015. Such as:
  • Bombay Velvet
  • Shandaar
  • Roy
  • Phantom
  • Shamitabh
  • Jazzba
  • All Is Well
On this note we are saying Good Bye to 2015 , hoping for much better 2016 for Bollywood.