I don't understand Bengali films

[Mahbuba]

They copy hindi films. They use Bangla hard words. The women were too much makeup with ugly revealing clothes. The guys are simply ugly, no offense to the good looking guys in b.com that I haven't seen.

[Mahbuba]

Except for Sylheti gundah memsab.

[son_piara]

Originally posted by Mahbuba
Except for Sylheti gundah memsab.

y do u watch bengali films then?

[puddnhead]

They copy hindi films. They use Bangla hard words. The women were too much makeup with ugly revealing clothes. The guys are simply ugly, no offense to the good looking guys in b.com that I haven't seen.
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Try Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne. I bet you would change your opinion of Bangla films (at least what it had been).

I have a ton of other Bangla films that I like. But GGBB is a movie that is liked by each and every human being I have seen so far. While in college (in BHU, Varanasi), I dragged a few of my non-bengali friends to watch a subtitled version of GGBB. Well, they came in reluctantly and some of them later became so transformed that they bought quite a few other subtitled movies on my recommendation.

I have watched very few Bengali movies from Bangladesh. From what I have seen, they are also afflicted with the same problem that is troubling the Indian Bengali films. They have lost the "middle class" viewership and are suffering from a great identity crisis. There are a few directors who churns out some good pieces that I like (ever tried "Ekushe April" by Rituporno Ghosh?) - but the so called "Art Movies" are somewhat self defeating in purpose. There is a coterie of people who watch them, but as long as an art form does not have a mass followership - it serves little purpose (if indeed art is meant to serve any "purpose").

[Khilari]

hey!

is that the black&white movie about the two poor guys who become princes with special powers?

i cant remember all of the plot but i remember it was really funny - watched it about 12yrs ago!

did they get their powers from a genie? cant remember, but it's a classic

[Star]

Originally posted by Khilari
hey!

is that the black&white movie about the two poor guys who become princes with special powers?

i cant remember all of the plot but i remember it was really funny - watched it about 12yrs ago!

did they get their powers from a genie? cant remember, but it's a classic

ye thats the Satyajit Ray film innit.

i never saw it properly - it's meant to appeal across generations - but my friend tells me it was allegorical - there was some symbolism in the fantasy (what symbolism i forget tho)

[puddnhead]

ye thats the Satyajit Ray film innit.

i never saw it properly - it's meant to appeal across generations - but my friend tells me it was allegorical - there was some symbolism in the fantasy (what symbolism i forget tho)

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And while you are at it - you may also try some of the "Second Class" Comedy Bengali movies (mind you - these "Second Class" Bangla movies are still ways above what you may have seen dished out in the name of "modern" films). One that I remember right now is "Bhranti Bilash" which is the film form of an adapted Bengali translation of the "Comedy of Errors" (translated by Vidyasagar).

The sad thing is that the Bangla film industry is now moribund. 30 years ago - nearly a third of the Hindi films used to be copied from Bangla films ("Sahib Bibi Gulam"/"Chupke Chupke"/"Anand" to name a sample). Now the scenario is quite reverse.

In pure technical terms - the average modern Bangla movie is probably heads and shoulders above the average Hindi/English counterparts (because there are still quite a few very good directors like Ritwik Ghatak, Rituporno Ghosh etc). But their movies are increasingly becoming like classical music which are watched only by the elitistic few. Bangla films have lost the ground level viewership. Cant see any more "Pather Panchali" which remained the highest "Gross Income" Bengali movie for two decades (until GGBB broke that recode in 70's).

But cheer up. You have a truckload of "modern" films if you are interested in "Classical" art form. And of course we still have the oldies which were world beaters in their time.