Ranjan Ghosh Archives - Cinema Forensic

Best Bengali Films 2012 – 2014.

We the Bengalis! The self-proclaimed intellectuals!

We have to watch films, especially Bengali Films and then give a detailed analytical review of them. Yes, we have to!

In our infamous ‘adda’ sessions, along with politics and football we Bengalis are also keen to show off our critical knowledge of Cinema. We proudly rate our favourite movies and passionately defend our preferred directors – believe me, these loud yet friendly squabbles can go on for months!

Mostly we time travel to the memorable glorious past of Bengali Cinema – the days of Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak and then coming back to the present we proudly allude to the likes of Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadev Dasgupta, Gautam Ghose, Aparna Sen.

Such legendary directors and their invaluable contribution to World Cinema make us feel honoured and content, and why not?

However this current list is of more recent times, the last three years to be exact (2012 – 2014), a list of the best Bengali films from exceptionally talented directors who are very much the present and the future of Bengali Film Industry!

Let the countdown begin!

10. Ramdhonu (2014)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV5ipEs1_zk

A fun-filled story of a 5-year old kid’s struggle or rather his parent’s struggle to get him admitted in a decent school.

The director duo Shiboprosad Mukherjee, Nandita Roy has done it again. Brilliant acting by Shiboprosad and Gargi Roy Chowdhury.

A serious issue addressed with a comic touch. Entertaining.

9. Hrid Majhare: Live in my Heart! (2014)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrcoSaBZsl0

With the perfect essence of a Shakespearean tragedy this is a film that weaves a beautiful tale of love, jealousy and destiny.

(click for the review)

Writer-director Ranjan Ghosh creates a terrific psychological drama; very well supported by Abir Chatterjee and Raima Sen.

This film will make you think twice before falling in love.

8. Hemlock Society (2012)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9KCaYzHYG0

Is there such a society that teaches the right techniques to commit suicide?!

The concept itself is unique enough and on top of that brilliant performance by Parambrata Chatterjee and Koyel Mallick.

Writer-Director Srijit Mukherji is one of the best in this business and he proves it time and again.

7. Apur Panchali (2014)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxKylESYoa0

Hat’s off to Kaushik Ganguly for this brilliant theme; the film is based on the child actor who played the iconic role of Apu in Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali.

(click for the review)

Inspired by Subir Banerjee’s real life story, Parambrata Chatterjee, Ardhendu Banerjee and Parno Mitra gives their best. And then the in-between montages from Pather Panchali makes us nostalgic.

6. Aparajita Tumi (2012)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aerJCfbckGw

Director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury creates another enticing drama, a plot that involves both love and betrayal, loneliness and friendship.

Prasenjit Chatterjee utilized to his full potential, Padmapriya, Kamalinee Mukherjee perfectly suited in their respective roles.

A slow paced film that absorbs you into the story, beautiful camera work and edited.

5. Chotuskone (2014)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uNrGCBIgo0

The latest from director Srijit Mukherji, a perfect mystery, four directors, four stories, all blending in at the end!

(click for the review)

When old friends reunite and discuss their stories – four stories but with a common theme – death. Outstanding performances by Parambrata Chatterjee, Chiranjit, Goutam Ghose and Aparna Sen.

4. Phoring (2013)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TWCydqcJ7w

A relatively less known film but one of the best i have recently seen.

Indranil Roychowdhury has successfully created the world of an adolescent boy, his thoughts, his dreams, his innocence and his lust.

Both Akash Adhikari and Sohini Sarkar did great. Phoring has received many international awards and believe me the film deserves all the applause.

3. Bhooter Bhabishyat (2012)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg7OYuc7a5I

Probably the most popular film of recent times, a superb comedy, uniquely crafted and built up.

Swastika Mukherjee, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Samadarshi Dutta, Mumtaz Sorcar, Paran Banerjee, Mir Afsar Ali, Kharaj Mukherjee and many more.

A variety of characters and intelligent dialogues – director Anik Dutta gives us a super hit.

2. Shabdo (2013)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miTB-lIAwQ4

A professional foley artist – who creates sound effects for films seems to be too engrossed in his world of background sounds.

Not only the concept is unique but also the execution is superlative. Brilliant acting by Ritwick Chakraborty (his best till date) and also well supported by Churni Ganguly and Raima Sen.

Kaushik Ganguly‘s best till date.

1. Meghe Dhaka Tara (2013)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT5UEzQeDGg

Director Kamaleswar Mukherjee teamed up with talented actor Saswata Chatterjee to create a masterpiece; a film on the life of acclaimed Bengali film director Ritwik Ghatak.

Shot in black and white, a film so well crafted and executed, it gives us a new perspective on the life of the legendary filmmaker.

One of the best film of the last decade – a must watch!

and (The ‘+1′ film is not necessarily the best but certainly the most innovative one. A must watch)

+1. Chitrangada (2012)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7prDTZhwA8U

A tribute to the master director Rituparno Ghosh who unfortunately passed away last year.

The film won the Silver Lotus Awards in the National Film Awards. It is the story of a dancer and his wishes, his unfulfilled dreams.

Rituparno himself acted as the lead, supported by Jishu Sengupta, Anjan Dutt and Dipankar Dey.

Written by – Abhikendu Deb Roy.

“Iss dil se bachke rehna, ajeeb aur gareeb khel khelta rehta hai yeh zaalim” – These words resonate in your mind with every passing frame of Hrid Majhare.

The story line remains linear in the beginning but as the film progresses, the complexities develop in many underlying layers. At a night of inclement weather Abhijit (Abir Chatterjee), a Mathematics Professor encounters Debjani (Raima Sen), who is a cardiologist, and predictably enough they soon fall in love. But fate has something else written for them, the doomsday arriving soon.

For the first time director Ranjan Ghosh, Hrid Majhare was the test of his life. To be a visionary and to execute the vision on screen are two very different jobs, which the Whistling Woods pass-out handles quite amazingly.

The casting has been apt and looks appealing on screen. Abir and Raima complement each other beautifully; this being their second film together, post Baishe Srabon.

Abhijit and Debjani’s love flows on the undercurrent of a prophecy, examining their togetherness, questioning their endearments every now and then. The constant conflict between fate and logic which goes on in Abhijit’s mind is portrayed with a certain sense of calmness by director Ranjan Ghosh.

As their love in the film is testified and goes through several ups and downs, the moments of stress are notably plausible.

Indrasish Roy looks highly endearing with his tall dark handsome looks with such a conceivable baritone.

Sohag Sen with hardly five minutes of screen time is the one to look out for. This master of acting, who conducts acting workshops for veteran actors of T-Town, can never go wrong and you so want her to be there for some more time on screen. You cannot simply forget her character, even after the film has ended – such is her impact, such is her charisma.

Barun Chanda is as usual impressive with his voice and powerful acting.

Hrid Majhare is extensively shot both in Kolkata and Andaman.

Correctly addressed as the real hero of the film by the director himself, Sirsha Ray, the Director of Photography gifts us with a visual treat. Collaborating with the art director Nafisa Mondal, Sirsha Ray helps us get a picturesque view of the many indoor scenes in the film.

As for the outdoor scenes which are few in number, Sirsha brings to us a totally different Andaman to what has been generally portrayed in films. The nooks and corners of the busy streets of Port Blair captured in a time lapse, the never ending beaches with the sunlight emanating from the horizon – experimentations have been carried out successfully in this 2 hours 2 minutes feature film.

The editing, by Bodhaditya Banerjee, could have been crisper, which could have helped to portray the distress more effectively.

What works wonders for this film is the background music. The film would not have left such an impact without it. Thanks to Mayookh Bhaumik.

The songs have been used pretty intelligently without being typical song-and-dance sequences in a romantic pot-boiler.

Overall Hrid Majhare is a decent film to watch, especially for the fans of the on-screen couple Raima and Abir.

Film trailer link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrcoSaBZsl0

Cinema Forensic

Tag Archives: Ranjan Ghosh

Best Bengali Films 2012 – 2014 (10+1list)

Hrid Majhare (2014)

For the love of cinema