Remember our ‘Baadshah of Bollywood’, Shah Rukh Khan promoting Bengal as the ‘sweetest’ part of India? Indeed, Bengal is the sweetest part of India. Starting from Darjeeling-Kurseong mountain range to the Sunderban forests to the tea gardens in Darjeeling, Bengal has it all. Bengal also has four World Heritage Sites in the region, including the Sundarbans, the Somapura Mahavihara, the Mosque City of Bagerhat and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. Apart from the attracting tourist spots, Bengal is also famous and influential for its rich culture consisting of art, literature, music, sports, commerce and cuisine.
Bengal culture not only attracts tourists from all over the world, but also has influenced our Hindi film industry – Bollywood. The films which had an influence of Bengal culture comparatively made a greater buzz in box-office and a special mention to the Indian actresses who looked like as if they were the epitome of Bengali beauty.
Here are 5 Bollywood movies which were greatly influenced by the culture of Bengal :
1. Devdas (2002)
Directed by the master of aesthetically perfect movies, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Devdas released in 2002 and it is based on the 1917 Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Devdas. The protagonists of the movie are Devdas played by Shah Rukh Khan and Paro/Parvati played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and the story is about the love story of Devdas and Paro who had been childhood friends but their love story was barely accepted by their families and the society. Not only the scenes, but the music was absolutely well-composed.
Devdas had won 10 Filmfare awards and 5 National awards. Devdas was also India’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars in 2003.
2. Parineeta (2005)
Based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel ‘Parineeta’, Parineeta released in 2005 was a big hit! Directed by Pradeep Sarkar, Parineeta primarily revolves around the lead characters, Lalita (Vidya Balan) and Shekhar (Saif Ali Khan). Since childhood, Shekhar and Lalita have been friends and slowly this friendship blossoms into love.
Parineeta won a National Award for the ‘Best First Film Director’ and also, won 5 Filmfare awards.
3. Piku (2015)
Directed by Shoojit Sircar, Piku is a story about the sweet and loving relationship of a father and daughter. The protagonists are Piku played by Deepika Padukone and Bhaskor Banerjee played by Amitabh Bachchan. The film received a very positive response and was loved by people of all age groups.
4. Barfi! (2011)
Directed by Anurag Basu, Barfi is a story which revolves around a mute-deaf Nepali boy named Murphy and his relationships with two women, Shruti, a young and beautiful Bengali woman and Jhilmil, a charming-young, autistic girl. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ilena D’Cruz. Director Anurag basu doesn’t fail to show us the beautiful sceneries of Darjeeling, Kolkata and other beautiful places of Bengal.
5. Kahaani (2012)
2012 Hindi thriller-mystery film by director Sujoy Ghosh, Kahaani is a story about a pregnant woman named Vidya (Vidya Balan) searching for her husband in Kolkata. The story is set during the most popular festival amongst the Bengalis, Durga Puja. There are few amazingly captured moments of Durga Puja, popular places of Kolkata and people of Kolkata. Kahaani had received a positive response in the box office and also, it was a perfectly themed movie inspired by the culture of Bengal.
These are the few movies which are still loved by the public and obviously, the film-buffs! Which one from this list is your favourite?
