A Look at the 30th Kolkata International Film Festival 2024
KIFF 30 was a celebration of all things film, Bengal’s arms reaching out to the national and world cinema.
Tapan Sinha: A Centenary Tribute
Sinha’s films sustain socio-political implications that cross man-made barriers of time, space, language, people and culture.
Bohurupi: Unmasking the Real Thieves
The film Bohurupi unmasks the true thieves in our society entertains with satire, gold old folksy music and tremendous acting.
An Ode to Manoj Mitra’s Theatrical Brilliance
Manoj Mitra, a master of subtlety, was a pivotal figure in Bengali theatre and cinema.
Rituparno Ghosh: A Reel Life Story of Friendship
One day, my dad, Basanta Chowdhury, asked me if I knew Ritu. I said, “Yeah, I do.”
Video: In a conversation with Samik Roy Choudhury
This video is a simple sit-down session with Samik Roy Choudhury, covering the watching habits of modern audiences, his new film “Beline”.
Interview: I Didn’t Even Know who Mrinal Sen was in School- Kaushik Ganguly
My first encounter with Mrinal Sen’s work was through his film, Kharij. At that time I knew nothing about films, I didn’t even know who Mrinal Sen. I had read about carbon monoxide only in textbooks. So, I was really touched when I watched the film.
Meet Chandan Chatterjee from Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani
It is Bengali cinema’s somewhat side-tracked actor Tota Roy Chowdhury who is being cheered and applauded for the role and his two dance numbers in the film. Let us take a look at this new jump-start in Tota’s career through this film and his long journey till now.
‘Chitrangada’ was the First Indian Film About Sex Reassignment Surgery
It is the first ever full-length, Indian feature film that tackles the daring and fragile subject of sex reassignment surgery. This involves a series of life-threatening surgeries which Rudrajit Chatterjee (Rituparno Ghosh), an innovative and talented choreographer decides to go through even as he prepares to stage his interpretation of Tagore’s dance drama Chitrangada (1898).
Parambrata’s ‘Abhijaan’ is a Journey and a Tribute
The film is divided into several sections with sub-plots interwoven seamlessly. One is the track where Soumitra is being recorded live by Dr. Sen and the other covers his evolution as an actor. The younger self of Soumitra is portrayed incredibly well by Jisshu Sengupta.
Mahananda is an Actor’s Film
But much more than these diversions in the local politics within the tribal areas of West Bengal, the flashbacks into Mahananda’s life are the more interesting facets of the entire drama.
Indranil Roychowdhury’s Mayar Jonjal is a Moving Film
Bengali film Mayar Jonjal is Based on Manik Bandyopadhyay’s stories. It is an Indo-Bangladesh production starring actor Ritwick Chakraborty.
Looking Back at Pratidwandi (The Adversary)
Is Siddhartha a coward? Or is he an escapist? Or is he really a misfit who cannot fit in?
In Memoriam: Satyajit Ray
Hollywood had forever been close to Ray’s heart. He had made the script for Alien, which would have had an international star cast.
Tapan Sinha’s adaptations of Tagore stories
In dealing with the stories of Rabindranath Tagore, Tapan Sinha could successfully take Tagore to the common mass.