‘Shonar Bangla’ Bioscope

Realism, aesthetics and socio-cultural depiction were the most important facets of post Independence Indian cinema. And it is noteworthy that Bengali cinema too had its share of contribution to that period. The pioneers of Bengali cinema, popularly termed as Bangla cholochitro namely Satyajit Ray, Bimal Roy, and Bangladeshi cinema namely Khan Ataur Rahman, Ritwik Ghatak and others, through their experience of knowing the inside out, seeing the highs and lows, were able to build the pedestal on which Bengali mainstream and parallel cinema stands now. And from what comes to mind after witnessing the works of new age directors like Rituparno Ghosh, Kaushik Ganguly, Srijit Mukherjee, Syed Wahiduzzaman Diamond and many more is that Bangla cinema has been successful in carrying that legacy forward. A glimpse of this was witnessed when Bengali Association organised ‘Padma Jamuna Bangla Cine Utsav’ recently. The three-day festival was inaugurated on Friday in the national Capital.

The journey to an amazing cinematic experience, which kick-started amidst an elated audience at the Capital’s Muktadhara auditorium, is the first-of-its kind platform to watch, discuss, appreciate films and interact with the directors and actors. The first day of the festival was graced by Bengali cinema’s iconic actor, superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee as the chairman of Bangla Cine Utsav 2016. Also present on the occasion were Dr Surajit Mitra and Tapan Sengupta from Bengal Association; Prof Indranath Chowdhury, President, Comparative Literature Association of India, Ranjan Chatterjee, Expert Member, National Green Tribunal and Ranjan Mukherjee among other dignitaries.

Day one of Cine Utsav saw the screening of a short film titled “Musallam Iman” by Amitabha Gupta. Later in the afternoon, “O Amar Desher Mati” by director Ananta Hira was screened. Prosenjit Chatterjee shared his views on his journey, his experiences and efforts to take Bengali cinema amidst common populace and reach out to a wider audience. Reminiscing his early days, he said, “When I had just started acting, all I got to hear that Bangla cinema will not be able to survive much longer. I was in my teens at that time but had then decided that I’d make this my profession. And I knew that I will grow only when the industry will grow with me.”

Emphasising on the need to work towards imbibing Bangla culture in the Gen X, he further added, “If the youth does not learn about Bangla culture, watch Bangla movies, listen to Bangla music, read Bangla poetry, novels etc, then how can we expect our culture to grow and prosper? So in order to make this a possibility I’ve made every single effort and am still working towards making Bangla films and film watching accessible to all. What I’m currently working on is that Bengalis based outside of Kolkata will not have to wait to watch Bangla movies in theatres or get the latest Bangla music album CDs and Bangla movies can be released on the same day all over the country and abroad as well.”

An interaction session was also organised with the audience where he very willingly tackled the questions put across him and on demand, wooed the audience by singing in his mesmerising baritone. Tapan Sengupta, General Secretary, Bengal association said, “Apart from this initiative another effort is being made towards establishing a Bangla academy in the Capital as there are various regional academies except Bangla academy. This will be a positive step not only in maintaining our rich heritage but will also be a great platform for youngsters to experience and learn about Bangla culture.”

The ceremony, which started off with the screening of films, concluded with the screening of Prosenjit Chatterjee starrer “Shankhachil” directed by Gautam Ghosh.