Kaleidoscope of emotions

The second edition of Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival (HBFF) held from June 26 at Prasad Labs concluded on Sunday. The film festival that was intended not just for Bengali-speaking audiences featured eight films replete with subtitles and there was a good turnout of many resident Bengalis and film aficionados Hyderabad. “HBFF is a festival of Bengali films for the people of Hyderabad. It’s a platter of films that merits to be seen by the world,” says Ratnottama Sengupta, curator, HBFF and former member of CBFC. She spoke of the films selected for the fest, “All films very subtly respond to changing equations within families, within spouses, within people who love.”

She feels that people have become more understanding of many sensitive issues. “’Nirbashito’ is about intolerance, ‘Family Album’ talks about understanding all relationships and increasing communication and ‘Chhotoder Chhube’ is about marginalisation and understanding people who are different from us. In ‘Jogajog’, the wife changes her husband’s low opinion of women. There is a need for more understanding of such issues.” An air of excitement filled the halls as many eagerly awaited the screening of films like ‘Family Album’, which was directed by Mainak Bhaumik. Sourav, who came to watch the film said, “Coming here has been a nice experience. This kind of an event is like a social gathering and it’s a great encouragement to cinema.”

On the improved turnout for this year’s festival, Sengupta, who is also a journalist said, “The success of the festival is when a lady from Baroda came to me and said she doesn’t get to see such films and would like to take a festival like this to Baroda!” However, some of the other members of the organising committee like Madhuban Mukherjee says, “What is disappointing is that unfortunately, there are fewer takers for brilliant films like ‘Chotoder Chobi’. This is a film on dwarfs, but one that does not revolve around the clichéd story of a circus life. “I know Hyderabad has many film enthusiasts so they should come for such movies too,” he adds.

Among those who attended the three-day event was Aparajita Sinha, daughter of late Bimal Roy, actor, social activist Chandana Chakraborty and Churni Ganguly whose national award winning Nirbashito (or “Banished”) was screened in HBFF. Chandana Chakraborty describes a good film as one that deals with themes that are universal. “Whether Telugu or Bengali, whether art or commercial – we should all watch good films. I think we should stop being parochial,” she says.

Many films of today do not revolve around a love story, and that, she says, is a great discovery for the film world. She refers to the film ‘Shabdo’, which means “Sound” that showcased the work of a sound engineer and the obsession that it became later in his life. Films have been one of the most powerful mediums to address hushed topics in a respectful yet entertaining manner. Here’s hoping for more path-breaking films and film festivals that educate India!