From the delicious mouth watering sweets that are world famous to the greatest gift to cinema, Satyajit Ray. Bengal has given India a lot of things over the years and it continues to do so through different means. The means of Cinema is one of the loved gifts though, so here’s a list to get you started to watch those Bengali movies that are being loved by everyone and needs to be on any movie fanatic’s list.
These are some of the best rated movies and easily available on the OTT platforms
Jyeshthoputro (Amazon Prime Video)
Meaning the eldest son, the movie does revolve around the eldest son and the family that finally reconnects after the death of the father in the movie. A megastar in Tollywood comes back to his home town after the death of his father and senses an awkward and unsettling feeling. As the family members consisting of the younger brother and sister try to connect with their eldest son, their elder brother, things change. A movie beautifully capturing sorrow, grief and expressions, it is directed by Kaushik Ganguly and stars Prosenjit Chatterjee, Ritwick Chakraborty, Gargi Roychowdhury in lead roles.
Asha Jaor Majhe (Amazon Prime Video)
Released in 2014, the movie depicts the relationship of a man and woman that can hardly see each other and only pass each other while their shifts in duties happen. The couple that can be with each other when they dream, the movie doesn’t need words to show what is happening and going on. It is one of the most amazingly put together films. Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s debut directorial movie is a piece to watch. The movie stars Basabdutta Chatterjee, Ritwick Chatterjee and Jonaki Bhattacharya in lead roles.
Maccher Jhol (Netflix)
The story shows the beautiful relation between a mother and a son through food. A Paris returned chef who comes to his ailing mother cannot nail the Bengali classic Maccher Jhol faces a lot of trouble. Made in a quirky, sweet note, this movie shows a lot of important realisations one has in its career as well as family life. The movie is directed by Pratim D. Gupta and stars Ritwick Chakraborty, Mamata Shankar, Paoli Dam in lead roles.
Jonaki (Netflix)
The presentation of a movie in a dream-like state follows the journey of a woman in her deathbed and as she falls deeper and deeper down the loopholes of her memories, she goes through her life once again. Just like how one says, “before death, we get to revisit life once again” this quote is purely followed in the movie. A definite must watch, the movie is directed by Aditya Vikram Sengupta and stars Ratnabali Bhattarcharjee, Jim Sarbh, Sumanto Chattopadhyay in pivotal roles
Bhooter Bhabishyat (Disney+ Hotstar)
The movie is a horror comedy released in 2012. The movie shows the journey of few ghosts that stay together in the house and has been haunting it for some time. When they realise that their house is being broken down to be made into a shopping complex, they go through hell and back to chase the humans away. No matter what they will change the course of what’s going on and will not be patient until the idea of building the complex is dropped. Directed by Anik Dutta, the movie stars Swastika Mukherjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Sabhyasachi Chakraborty in lead roles
Bela Sheshe (Amazon Prime Video)
An iconic family movie that sees a couple on the verge of celebrating their 50th anniversary divorcing out of the blue. A happy couple, with 4 well settled children decide to divorce each other. The father drops this bomb on the family as they are together on the day of Dashami. The father believes after so many years of his marriage, there’s nothing left in it to look forward to and want to experience life differently. The movie goes through the questions of family bonds, marriage, life companionship and everything that one looks forward to in a marriage. Directed by Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy, the movie stars Swatilekha Sengupta, Soumitra Chatterjee, Rituparna Sengupta, Indrani Dutta in the lead roles.
These are just a few from the arena of Bengali movies and there are tons more. Do watch from this list, if you haven’t started your Bengali movie journey yet.
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
