The Bengali film industry is currently undergoing a phase of transition. There was a time when a distinct line of control was visibly drawn between the peripherals of arthouse cinema and the commercial entertainers. But now, with the ingress of the multiplexes and mature sensibilities creeping in, a tangible space has been created

to find a toehold for contentious subjects. Today’s cerebral directors don’t balk at walking that extra mile to spin a yarn for their long-cherished dreams on celluloid. The new-age Tollywood helmers are gleaning the harvests of their out-of-the-box material.
In the past six-seven years, the industry has witnessed a beeline of realistic or “other kind of” movies with a hatke storyline, different treatment, plush packaging and fresh talents. The brilliance of Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak, Tapan Sinha have been creatively replicated through the seminal sparks of Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghosh, Rituparno Ghosh, Sandip Ray, Nabyendu Chatterjee, Satarupa Sanyal. Now, the GenNext filmmakers take a shine to unconventional concepts.
Films like Teen Ekke Teen, Teen Yaarir Katha, Patalghar, Aamra, Magno Mainak, Cross Connection, Waarish, Shunya-e-Buke, Andhakarer Shabdo, Shunya Theke Suru, Byatikrami, Raasta, Teesta, Bong Connection, Madly Bangalee, Clerk, Houseful, Kaanta Taarer Byara, Tolly Lights, Anuranan, Antaheen, Risk, Jodi Ekdin, Angshumaner Chhobi, Shukno Lanka, Ekti Tarar Khonje, A Game bear the signature impression of the craft and calibre of the young brigade of dynamic directors like Sudeshna Roy, Abhijit Guha, Kaushik Ganguly, Bratya Basu, Ashoke Vishwanathan, Bappaditya Bandyopadhyay, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Riingo, Atanu Ghosh, Swapan Ghoshal, etc.
Identifying this segment of Bengali viewership both in regional as well as non-resident Bengali (NRB) zones, the Mahuaa Media Private Ltd launches its spanking new film production banner called Mahuaa Films. This brand new movie-manufacturing unit will breed an ensemble of full-length feature films of an average of two-three hours each in duration.
Aimed at producing meaningful Bengali films at bulky budgets, a horde of well-known and gifted directors, namely Basu Chatterjee, Anjan Das, Anjan Dutt, Subhrajit Mitra, Sudipta Acharya, Rajesh Pavitran, Partha De and Riingo have been pencilled in.
The general entertainment Mahuaa Bangla channel has a tie-up for a weekend telecast slot to air the movies. At a recently held press meet in Kolkata, it red in detail about its upcoming endeavours. Mahuaa Film plans to produce 20 to 25 such films of different genres in the next one year. These will also have a theatrical release, later in the year. The films will be released both in digital and regular formats. Besides, the house is in talks with other distinguished and celebrated directors, both from Tollywood and Bollywood. Good news is that even renowned filmmaker Prakash Jha is all set to make a slew of six films in Bengali under this banner.
Tapas Bhattasaly, chief operating officer (COO), Mahuaa Bangla said: “We decided to involve ourselves directly with the creative process of filmmaking itself, thereby doling out a gamut of wholesome and quality entertainment to our viewers on the other side of the table.”
Filmmaker and television serial writer Kamlesh Kunti Singh’s offbeat overture Saare Chaar will shortly be beamed on the channel, followed with its screening at the cinemas. “The film is quite surreal in content with specks of reality bytes. The story has been simplified and transformed to assume a different shape, so that ordinary audiences can easily grasp its esoteric essence,” he says.
While his Maoism-related Agunpakhi is still awaiting a release, young director Subhrajit Mitra sounds excited to have reeled the quintessential Kakababu series with three thrilling stories in the line-up. “I feel humbly honoured by veteran eminent litterateur Sunil Gangopadhyay’s kind gesture to have gladly parted with the rights of his widely famous kids’ sleuth series to a rank newcomer like me,” he says.
Filmmaker Anjan Das (of Soha Ali Khan-starrer Iti Srikanto fame) has made a movie called Kendro Bindu, which is slated for a September release. “It is set in the backdrop of the 1970s’ notorious Naxalite movement. My other film Bedeni Aar Banshiwala is ready for release this October,” he says. Filmmaker-songwriter Anjan Dutt’s Nine Miles is a psychological thriller-meets-murder mystery. “There’s a distinct line of demarcation between the teleworld and Bengali tinselville, where skilled actors from the small-screen seldom make a shift to replenish the silver-screen studios of Tollywood. There’s a dearth of demand for a supply of strong, indispensable supporting cast reminiscent of the olden-golden era of movies in today’s cinema. The once steep gradient of powerhouse performance-oriented roles has now suffered a crumbling setback. The former glow of acting credence in commercial flicks has sadly but truly taken a disappointing beating. There’s no lack of potential among the television artistes. Yet, they see an alarming scarcity of a desirable space on celluloid,” he says.
Talking about his film’s subject, director Partha De says: “My film Rik is based on the rampant menace of juvenile delinquency. Today, both parental and peer pressure wreak havoc on the innocent, sensitive minds who are pushed into a competitive rat race without contemplating its fatal consequences. To excel in life and emulate other people’s success is what paramount in their eyes. The child protagonist of my film plays the title role. How he drifts away from the mainstream to get caught in the dragnet of the crime world is what the movie is all about.”