Classic Bengali Films
Collation of the old Bengali films I've watched. These can be found with subs on YouTube.
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- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsUtpal DuttDipankar DeyMamata ShankarA well-off family is paid an unexpected, and rather unwanted, visit by a man claiming to be the woman's long-lost uncle. The initial suspicion with which they greet the man slowly dissolves as he regales them with stories of his travels.A masterpiece tackling human psychology, civility and numerous topics with its intelligent script, layered characters and brilliant dialogue. Satyajit Ray's last and his finest. This man will always be a legend.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsUttam KumarSharmila TagoreBireswar SenEn route to Delhi to receive an award, a Bengali film star reevaluates his success through his fellow passengers, dreams, and past experiences.A film depicting the ultimate dilemma everyone faces once in their life - fulfilment vs commercial success. This one doesn't give you the answers, but it takes you on a journey that changes both the protagonist and the viewer forever.
Subtly acted by the fantastic Uttam Kumar and brilliantly directed by the one and only Satyajit Ray. - DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeMadhavi MukherjeeShailen MukherjeeThe lonely wife of a newspaper editor falls in love with her visiting cousin-in-law, who shares her love for literature.
- DirectorRitwik GhatakStarsSupriya ChoudhuryAnil ChatterjeeGyanesh MukherjeeA selfless young woman (Supriya Choudhury) sacrifices her own happiness for her unappreciative family.
- DirectorAgragamiStarsSikharani BagKali BannerjeeMolina DeviA homeless boy fell in love with his owner's girl.One of Uttam / Suchitra's finest together. A star-crossed love story of two souls who couldn't become one.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsChhabi BiswasGangapada BasuPadmadeviDepicts the end days of a decadent zamindar (landlord) in Bengal, and his efforts to uphold his family prestige even when faced with economic adversity.A unique story that is centred around the feudal lord who couldn't come to terms with the fact that he can no longer afford his extravagant lifestyle. Watch it for the legendary Chhabi Biswas who makes you both hate and feel sorry for his character, the wonderful score, and for Satyajit Ray's direction and screenplay.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsAnil ChatterjeeMadhavi MukherjeeJaya BachchanLife at home changes when a house-wife from a middle-class, conservative family in Calcutta gets a job as a saleswoman.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeSharmila TagoreAlok ChakravartyThis final installment in Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy follows Apu's life as an orphaned adult aspiring to be a writer.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSharmila TagoreSoumitra ChatterjeeChhabi BiswasA young woman is deemed a goddess when her father-in-law, a rich feudal land-lord, has a dream envisioning her as an avatar of Kali.A hard-hitting film depicting the way blind faith and worship destroys a woman's life; turning her from a mere human to a goddess, and from a fun-loving woman to a deranged soul. A film way ahead of its time and as relevant as ever.
- DirectorAshutosh BandyopadhyayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeTanuja SamarthPadmadeviA street romeo stalks a girl, highly educated and above in social ladder. She falls in love, marries, and changes him, forcing him to study and leave his friends. He feels suffocated. He reaches top, and gets a chance to break free.,A realistic presentation of a mismatched couple that fell in love ignoring the red flags, and yet worked through their relationship. Soumitra Chatterjee in a role like never before; this man could do romance. His chemistry with Tanuja was absolutely passionate and beautiful; hands down his best! And that album, probably the best amongst all the Bengali classics I've seen.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeMadhavi MukherjeeHaradhan BannerjeeA chance meeting rekindles old memories between a screenwriter and his ex-girlfriend, who is by now married to a well-to-do man.A simple film about two ex-lovers meeting again. Watch it for the amazing acting, brilliant direction and engaging screenplay. They tell you almost nothing, and yet convey a million emotions and leave you to interpret what it all meant. Satyajit Ray is a genius.
- DirectorAjoy KarStarsKhitish AcharyaShishir BatabyalParijat BoseA lady doctor rescue an amnesiac patient and fells in love with him.Damn that angst and their chemistry! Loved it so much! Despite the amnesia plot and the ethical issues with Suchitra's character marrying Uttam Kumar who is her patient, Uttam / Suchitra were absolutely fantastic in making every moment believable. A classic for all those who love romances.
- DirectorRituparno GhoshStarsShakuntala BaruaNirmal Kumar ChakrabortyChandniOn her way home the newly wed Romita is molested by five men. The only one who has the courage to help is the young female teacher Jhinuk. Because of that she becomes a heroine and is on all papers' front page. But the page is turning: As not only the police but also neighbours begin to ask embarrassing questions the two women are eventually intimidated and the five man are getting free with the help of corruption and male domination.
- DirectorAjoy KarStarsSuchitra SenUttam KumarKhitish AcharyaSet in World War II, the reverend Krishnendu runs a military hospital in Bankura. A drunken Anglo-Indian woman soldier is brought to him for treatment and he recognized her as his former love Rina Brown.One of the most iconic Bengali films ever. A must watch for all Uttam / Suchitra fans, and all those who love romances. It's all about the way they look at each other, yearn for each other and never give up on love. You can't help but be moved by the ending and secretly wish you could experience a love like theirs once.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSharmila TagoreKaberi BoseSimi GarewalA group of Calcutta city slickers, including the well-off Asim (Soumitra Chatterjee), the meek Sanjoy (Subhendu Chatterjee) and the brutish Hari (Samit Bhanja), head out for a weekend in the wilderness.
- DirectorTarun MajumdarDilip MukherjeeSachin MukherjeeStarsSuchitra SenUttam KumarSudhir BasuRajat, a young man, meets Manju, a rich girl whose father is looking for her. Though Rajat initially slyly tells her father her whereabouts, he lands up falling in love with her.
- DirectorAgradootStarsUttam KumarSuchitra SenChandrabati DeviThis story revolves around a young couple - Kiriti and Tapasi. Tapasi's mother could not accept her daughter's wedding and brought her home. Tapasi's father dies of shock. Tapasi being well educated goes to a hill station for holidaying and meets a rich young man, named Kiriti. They fall in love. However Tapasi had wedded Bulu, a teenage village zamindar boy. A guilty feeling chases her every day because she cannot forget her past. She decides to get married again, but her brother reminds her about her past though her mother wants the marriage to happen. Tapasi approaches her grandmother for help asks her what she ought to do. Her grandmother reminds her about Sita's "Agni pariksha" in Ramayan. Sita triumphed over every obstacle by the test. She hopes Tapasi would also emerge victorious after going through a similar test. Tapasi is determined to face the truth and she cames to the old village. She tries to meet Bulu, but sees Kiriti in front of her. She comes to know that Kiriti is Bulu, her long lost love. She thus wins back her lost love and triumphs over her guilt.Definitely not the best from Uttam / Suchitra but they carried the film. The film dragged a bit too much after she remembers her first marriage. I might have loved it had the ML not tested the FL and agonized her that way.
- DirectorKamal MajumdarStarsKishore KumarMala SinhaAnita GuhaTwins navigate love and chaos in Mumbai. Hilarity ensues as they juggle relationships with sisters, leading to a heartwarming conclusion.
- DirectorNirmal DeyStarsDeben BandopadhyayBhanu BannerjeeGurudas BannerjeeThe owner of Annapurna boarding house faces trouble for letting a girl stay at the boys hostel.Contrary to majority opinion, I didn't enjoy this much. I barely felt any connect with the characters who were too loud and caricaturish. Uttam / Suchitra clearly stood out from the lot with their restrained performance.
- DirectorAgragamiStarsSuchitra SenUttam KumarJamuna SinhaA medical student falls in love with a junior but pursues his career and because of an accident becomes blind which threatens his entire life.This one is melodramatic. I don't recommend it unless you're a fan of either or both Uttam / Suchitra and wish to see all the films they've done.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsKanu BannerjeeKaruna BannerjeeSubir BanerjeeImpoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsCharuprakash GhoshRabi GhoshPrasad MukherjeeA devout Hindu family falls victim to a charlatan posing as a holy man.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeVictor BanerjeeSwatilekha SenguptaWhen the movie opens, a woman is recalling the events that molded her perspective on the world. Years ago, her husband, a wealthy Western-educated landowner, challenged tradition by providing her with schooling, and inviting her out of the seclusion in which married women were kept, to the consternation of more conservative relatives. Meeting her husband's visiting friend from college, a leader of an economic rebellion against the British, she takes up his political cause, despite her husbands warnings. As the story progresses, the relationship between the woman and the visitor becomes more than platonic, and the political battles, pitting rich against poor and Hindu against Moslem, turn out not to be quite as simple as she had first thought.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeUtpal DuttSantosh DuttaThis is the second film about the detective Feluda (Soumitra Chatterjee) set in the holy city of Benares, where he (along with his cousin, Topshe and friend, Lalmohan Ganguly) goes for a holiday. But the theft of a priceless deity of Lord Ganesh (the Elephant God) from a local household forces him to start investigation. Feluda comes in direct confrontation with Maganlal Meghraj (Utpal Dutt), a ruthless trader. Maganlal makes the mild-mannered Lalmohan a knife-thrower's target and threatens Felu to stop investigation. But there are several other suspects as an innocent artisan is brutally murdered, a shady 'holy man' holds court on the banks of the Ganges and an adventure-loving little boy (and his grand-father), brought up on crime thrillers. The climax is a shoot-out on the Ganges, followed by the unraveling of the mystery.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeDhritiman ChatterjeeDipankar DeyIn this adaption of the Ibsen stage play, an idealistic physician discovers that the town's temple waters are dangerously contaminated. But with the community relying on the holy attraction for tourist dollars, his warnings go unheeded.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsTapan ChatterjeeRabi GhoshAjoy BanerjeeGoopy wants to sing, and Bagha wants to play the dhol. They meet accidentally and are helped by King of Ghosts. With newly endowed abilities, they land in kingdom of Shundi, where their adventure begins.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsAnil ChatterjeeChandana BanerjeeAparna SenBased on popular Indian stories of the great writer Rabindranath Tagore, these short films reveal definitive moments in the lives of three young girls.The Postmaster
The Lost Jewels
Sampati - 8/10 - DirectorSatyajit RayStarsPinaki SenguptaSmaran GhosalKamala AdhikariFollowing his father's death, a boy leaves home to study in Calcutta, while his mother must face a life alone.
- DirectorTapan SinhaStarsChhabi BiswasOindrila TagoreRadhamohan BhattacharyaRahmat a middle-aged fruit seller from Afghanistan, comes to Calcutta to hawk his merchandise and befriends a small Bengali girl called Mini.
- DirectorAjoy KarStarsSamit BhanjaSoumitra ChatterjeeUtpal DuttBijoya, the daughter of a zamindar, falls in love with a learned doctor, Naren.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsPradip MukherjeeRafique AhmedS. BagchiA bright and idealistic young man steels himself for the dog-eat-dog business world, only to flounder in a job market packed with thousands of other hopefuls.
- DirectorNiren LahiriStarsSuchitra SenUttam KumarBiman BannerjeeUnemployed and lower caste sudarshan meets and marries indrani,a brahmin and employed girl. Hismanlihood and indranies selfrespect falls into obstacles fighting continuously withthe society.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsDhritiman ChatterjeeAsgar AliArabinda BanerjeeA young college graduate is struggling to find a job. He lives in a flat with his younger, employed sister, revolutionary brother and widowed mother. The strain of the situation ultimately causes him to hallucinate.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsChhabi BiswasKaruna BannerjeePahadi SanyalAn upper-class Bengali family is on vacation in Darjeeling, a popular hill station and resort near Kanchenjungha.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeWaheeda RehmanRuma Guha ThakurtaA taxi driver attempts to introduce his cab service in rural Bengal against many odds.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeBobitaSandhya RoyAs food shortages reach catastrophic proportions, Gangacharan attempts to preserve his privileged situation while his generous wife Ananga conversely tries to help and support the community.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeSantanu BagchiAjoy BanerjeeA young boy becomes a target for crooks, after he claims to remember his past life and mentions precious jewels in a golden fortress.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsTapan ChatterjeeRabi GhoshUtpal DuttThe musical duo of Goopi and Bagha make a comeback when they are invited to play for a king.
- DirectorSunil BannerjeeSabbir Hossain RajStarsUttam KumarTanuja SamarthRatan BanerjeeThe son of a wealthy industrialist aspires to be a singer against the wishes of his father.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsTulsi ChakrabortyKali BannerjeeRani BalaAn underpaid middle-aged clerk finds a 'parash pathar', a stone that changes iron to gold on touch.
- DirectorRitwik GhatakStarsMadhavi MukherjeeBijon BhattacharyaAbhi BhattacharyaA man (Abhi Bhattacharya) opposes the love between his sister and the orphan (Satindra Bhattacharya) they adopted years earlier.
- DirectorAsit SenStarsSuchitra SenTulsi ChakrabortyAjit ChatterjeeA psychiatric nurse is tasked to pretend to love a patient in order to make him better but falls in love with him.
- DirectorTarun MajumdarStarsJuin BanerjeeMoushumi ChatterjeePartha ChatterjeeIn ancient times in India there was a time when children got married and then when the time comes they live together.This film surely tells the story of that marriage and tells it greatly. In a village circa the British rule in India, lives a young school-going male named Amal, who is shortly to get married to a girl named Rajni.The traditional ritual-filled marriage takes place, the young couple are then left alone for a few days, and this is where the two develop their love and friendship. Then Rajni must return to her parents' house, while Amal continues with his studies in school, and at home with Masterji, an elderly teacher. His life is enlivened occasionally when Rajni is permitted to visit. Rajni next visit is scheduled for Durga Pooja, but she does not come, instead she comes at Vijay Dashami, to stay there for a couple nights, before going on a Tirth Yatra with her family, where they are scheduled to visit all the holy places in India namely, Benaras, Gaya, Mathura, Vrindavan, Hardwar, Nasik, Hrishikesh, Dwarka, Rameshwaram, Kamakshya, Puri, and Konarak. But before that could happen their little world is shattered when the gentle Masterji is arrested by the police for being a "Freedom-fighter", harboring and training fugitives, and making explosives. Watch whether this incident will affect Amal and Rajni or otherwise.
- DirectorNityananda DattaStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeAparna SenMumtaz AhmedA hilarious romantic-comedy where two people have their luggage exchanged during a train journey. One of them (Soumitra) is a psychiatrist, and he develops a keen interest in knowing the other party (Aparna Sen). His experience as a psychiatrist helps him to understand the happy-go-lucky and pampered Aparna Sen and woo her love.
- DirectorAjoy KarStarsGouri BanerjeePanchanan BhattacharyaIra ChakrabortyA young girl, Archana, falls in love with Sukhendu, an educated young man. Her father gladly accepts Sukhendu as his son-in-law. But Sukhendu's income and nature come in way of this marriage.
- DirectorMrinal SenStarsGyanesh MukherjeeMadhavi MukherjeeHemangini DeviThe story set in the late 1930s in a remote village in Bengal, immediately before World War II. It portrays how poverty, famine, unemployment kills humanity.