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The cinema of West Bengal (Bengali: টলিউড) refers to the Kolkata-based Bengali film industry in West Bengal, India. The origins of the nickname Tollywood, a portmanteau of the words Tollygunge and Hollywood, are disputed.

Industry

The film industry based in Kolkata, West Bengal is sometimes referred as "Tollywood", a portmanteau of the words Tollygunge, a neighbourhood of Calcutta where most of the Bengali film studios are located, and Hollywood.

History

The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first "bioscopes" were shown in theatres in Calcutta. Within a decade, the first seeds of the industry was sown by Hiralal Sen, considered a stalwart of Victorian era cinema ^[1] when he set up the Royal Bioscope Company, producing scenes from the stage productions of a number of popular shows^[1] at the Star Theatre, Minerva Theatre , Classic Theatre. Following a long gap after Sen's works, ^[2] Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (Known as D.G) established Indo British Film Co, the first Bengali owned production company, in 1918. However, the first Bengali Feature film, Billwamangal, was produced in 1919, under the banner of Madan Theatre. Bilat Ferat was the IBFC's first production in 1921. The Madan Theatre production of Jamai Shashthi was the first Bengali talkie.^[3] A long history has been traversed since then, with stalwarts such as Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak and others having earned international acclaim and securing their place in the movie history.

Early development

Silent era: 1919-1930

Hiralal Sen is credited as one of Bengal's, and India's first directors. However, these were all silent films. Hiralal Sen is also credited as one of the pioneers of advertisement films in India. The first Bengali-language movie was the silent feature Billwamangal, produced by the Madan Theatre Company of Calcutta and released on November 8, 1919, only six years after the first full-length Indian feature film, Raja Harish Chandra, was released.^[4]

The early beginnings of the "talking film" industry go back to the early 1930s, when it came to British India, and to Calcutta. The movies were originally made in Urdu or Persian as to accommodate a specific elite market. One of the earliest known studios was the East India Film Company. The first Bengali film to be made as a talkie was Jamai Shashthi, released in 1931. It was at this time that the early heroes of the Bengali film industry like Pramathesh Barua and Debaki Bose were at the peak of their popularity. Barua also directed a number of movies, exploring new dimension in Indian cinema. Debaki Bose directed Chandidas in 1932; this film is noted for its breakthrough in recording sound. Sound recordist Mukul Bose found out solution to the problem of spacing out dialogue and frequency modulation.

Rise of the Talkie: 1931-1947

The contribution of Bengali film industry to Indian film is quite significant.First bengali talkies Jamai Shashthi (as short film) was released 25 April, 1931 at Crown Cinema Hall in Calcutta and First bengali talkies as full length fuature film Dena Paona was released 30 December 1931 at Chitra Cinema Hall in Calcutta Based in Tollygunge, an area of South Kolkata, West Bengal and is more elite and artistically-inclined than the usual musical cinema fare in India. In the past, it enjoyed a large, even disproportionate, representation in Indian cinema, and produced film directors like Satyajit Ray, who was an Academy Honorary Award winner, and the recipient of India and France's greatest civilian honours, the Bharat Ratna and Legion of Honor respectively, and Mrinal Sen, who is the recipient of the French distinction of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters and the Russian Order of Friendship.

Golden era: 1952-1975

During this period, Bengali cinema enjoyed a large, even disproportionate, representation in Indian cinema, and produced film directors like Satyajit Ray, who was an Academy Honorary Award winner, and the recipient of India's and France's greatest civilian honours, the Bharat Ratna and Legion of Honor respectively, and Mrinal Sen, who is the recipient of the French distinction of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters and the Russian Order of Friendship.

Other prominent film makers in the Bengali film industry at the time included Bimal Roy and Ritwik Ghatak. The Bengali film industry has produced classics such as Nagarik (1952), The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959), Jalsaghar (1958), Ajantrik (1958), Neel Akasher Neechey (1959), Devdas, Devi (1960), Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960), the Calcutta trilogies (1971-1976), etc. In particular, The Apu Trilogy is now frequently listed among the greatest films of all time.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

The most well known Bengali actor to date has been Uttam Kumar; he and co-star Suchitra Sen were known as The Eternal Pair in the early 1950s. Soumitra Chatterjee is a notable actor, having acted in several Satyajit Ray films, and considered as a rival to Uttam Kumar in the 1960s. He is famous for the characterization of Feluda in Sonar Kella (1974) and Joy Baba Felunath (1978), written and directed by Ray. He also played the adult version of Apu in The World of Apu (1959), also directed by Ray. One of the most well known Bengali actresses was Sharmila Tagore, who debuted in Ray's The World of Apu, and became a major actress in Bengali cinema as well as Bollywood.

The pioneers in Bengali film music include Raichand Boral, Pankaj Mullick and K. C. Dey, all associated with New Theatres Calcutta ^[9]. Other famous playback singers in Bengali film music were Hemanta Mukherjee,Manna Dey, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay and Kishore Kumar.

Global influence

Ever since Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali (1955) was awarded Best Human Document at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, Bengali films frequently appeared in international fora and film festivals for the next several decades.^[10] This allowed Bengali filmmakers to reach a global audience. The most influential among them was Satyajit Ray, whose films became successful among European, American and Asian audiences.^[11] His work subsequently had a worldwide impact, with filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese,^[12] James Ivory,^[13] Abbas Kiarostami, Elia Kazan, Wes Anderson ^[14] and Danny Boyle ^[15] being influenced by his cinematic style, and many others such as Akira Kurosawa praising his work.^[16] The "youthful coming-of-age dramas that have flooded art houses since the mid-fifties owe a tremendous debt to the Apu trilogy".^[17] Ray's 1967 script for a film to be called The Alien, which was eventually cancelled, is widely believed to have been the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's E.T. (1982).^[18]^[19]^[20] Ira Sachs' Forty Shades of Blue (2005) was a loose remake of Charulata, and in My Family (1995), the final scene is duplicated from the final scene of The World of Apu. Similar references to Ray films are found in recent works such as Sacred Evil (2006),^[21] the Elements trilogy of Deepa Mehta, and in films of Jean-Luc Godard.^[22]

Another prominent Bengali filmmaker is Mrinal Sen, whose films have been well-known for their Marxist views. During his career, Mrinal Sen’s film have received awards from almost all major film festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Moscow, Karlovy Vary, Montreal, Chicago, and Cairo. Retrospectives of his films have been shown in almost all major cities of the world.^[23]

Another Bengali filmmaker, Ritwik Ghatak, began reaching a global audience long after his death; beginning in the 1990s, a project to restore Ghatak's films was undertaken, and international exhibitions (and subsequent DVD releases) have belatedly generated an increasingly global audience. Some of his films have strong similarities to later famous international films, such as Ajantrik (1958) resembling the Herbie films (1967-2005) and Bari Theke Paliye (1958) resembling François Truffaut's The 400 Blows (1959).

A number of Satyajit Ray films appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll of all-time greatest films, including The Apu Trilogy (ranked #4 in 1992 if votes are combined),^[24] The Music Room (ranked #27 in 1992), Charulata (ranked #41 in 1992)^[25] and Days and Nights in the Forest (ranked #81 in 1982).^[26] The 2002 Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll also included the Ritwik Ghatak films Meghe Dhaka Tara (ranked #231) and Komal Gandhar (ranked #346).^[27] In 1998, the critics' poll conducted by the Asian film magazine Cinemaya included The Apu Trilogy (ranked #1 if votes are combined), Ray's Charulata and The Music Room (both tied at #11), and Ghatak's Subarnarekha (also tied at #11).^[28] In 1999, The Village Voice top 250 "Best Film of the Century" critics' poll also included The Apu Trilogy (ranked #5 if votes are combined).^[6] In 2005, The Apu Trilogy was also included in Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies list.^[8] In 1992, the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll ranked Ray at #7 in its list of "Top 10 Directors" of all time,^[29]

The cinematographer Subrata Mitra, who made his debut with Ray's The Apu Trilogy, also had an importance influence on cinematography across the world. One of his most important techniques was bounce lighting, to recreate the effect of daylight on sets. He pioneered the technique while filming Aparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy.^[30]

1980s

In the 1980s, however, the Bengal film industry went through a period of turmoil, with a shift from its traditional artistic and emotional inclinations to an approach more imitating the increasingly more popular Hindi films, along with a decline in the audience and critical appreciation, with notable exceptions of the works of directors like Gautam Ghose. However, even at this time, a number of actors and actresses enjoyed popularity, including Tapas Pal, Prosenjit, Chiranjit, Rituparna Sengupta and others. However, toward the end of the 90s, with the a number of directors coming increasingly into prominence, including Rituparno Ghosh, Gautam Ghose, Aparna Sen, Sandip Ray among others, a number of popular and critically acclaimed movies have come out of the Bengali film industry in recent years. These include, Unishe April, Titli, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, Bombaiyer Bombete, etc and signal a resurgence of the Bengali film industry.

2000s

File:Chokher Bali cover.jpg

Chokher Bali

The market for Bengali films has expanded to a 340-million-strong Bengali audience in Bangladesh, West Bengal, Tripura and Assam. The industry could truly flourish if films from this state have a proper distribution network. While around 50 films are produced in West Bengal every year, only 30 make it to the theatres.^[31]

2008

Bengali cinema has never seen such a flood of releases within one year as it did in 2008. The year marks a record for new talents, new directors, young producers, a new genre of ensemble films, a few off-beat films, a few films for children, an animation film and films in languages other than Bengali but having a distinct Bengali atmosphere. This, alongside ten releases of Prosenjit, the numero uno, among the 61 releases we saw last year and some experimental films new directors stepped in with. The predominantly young audience reveals a marked preference for fast-paced romance-cum-action films featuring strapping young actors instead of the ageing Mithun or the dropped-jaw Prosenjit. Shibaji, Ghar Jamai, Mr. Fantoosh, and Takkar, were the successful Prosenjit starrers. Among films not starring Prosenjit, the successful films were Chirodini Tumi Je Amaar, Bhalobasa Bhalobasa, Love Story, Mon Maane Naa, Chirosaathi and Tintorettor Jishu, again a Feluda adventure from Sandip Ray. Prosenjit’s Mahakaal did average business Mithun’s sole commercial release Satyameva Jayate was a super flop while his off-mainstream release, Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Kaalpurush, was taken off the theatres within a fortnight even though the film sees Mithun in one of his career-best performances in Bengali cinema. Bengali cinema’s first animation film Laal Kalo, did well among the Bengali audience but its Hindi version was a super flop.

Off-beat films got a very bad beating at the box office and even the Big B in his first English-language film, The Last Lear, under the directorial baton of Rituparno Ghosh, could hardly draw in any audience at all. Rituparno’s moving Khela, a self-reflective film that repeats his passion for pointing fingers at the brutal opportunistic and selfish mindset of ‘committed’ filmmakers, was also a flop though it was popular among kids. Joy Ganguly’s Hindi language film Via Darjeeling, supposedly a thriller with a Bollywood cast, came a cropper simply because it was a terrible film while Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s other film Swapner Din, released around three years after it was made, also did not do well commercially. Suman Mukhopadhyay’s second film Chaturanga, a beautiful adaptation of a complex Tagore novella, did not go down well with an audience so fond of Swapan Saha, Sujit Guha and Haranath Chakraborty potboilers. Shubrajit Mitra’s much-hyped Mon Amour Shesher Kobita Revisited, inspired by a Tagore creation, Manoj Michigan’s Hello Kolkata, an ensemble film, also did not do well at all. Mon Amour Shesher Kobita Revisited proves that without a powerful and tight-knit script, even the best of actors, singers, music and technical excellence can do nothing to save a film. Arin Paul’s Doshta Dosh told an unusually funny story that failed because it lacked focus. Rati Agnihotri’s first Bangla film Aainatey was also a flop as were two new directors’ debuts, Arjun Chakraborty’s Tollylights and Sougata Roy Burman’s 90 Hours, a slickly made psychological thriller. Both films directed by the talented cinematographer Riingo, Neel Rajar Deshe and Love, were massive flops because despite technical excellence, the films did not have a cohesive script and did not have much to say either.

Chirodini Tumi Je Amaar introduced the new director, Raj Chakraborty, who honed his skills with television. It also brought in two wonderfully fresh faces with talent to boot in Rahul and Priyanka who play the star-crossed lovers in the film. Running neck-to-neck in the race to the biggest hit is Sandip Ray’s Tintorettor Jishu released in December. Coming a close second are the Koel Mullick-Dev starrer Mon Maane Naa and the Koel Mullick-Hiron starrer Chirosaathi. Another big hit was Bhalobasha Bhalobasha produced by Ashok Dhanuka and directed by Ravi Kinnagi starring Hiron opposite Shrabanti, making a comeback after marriage. Sandip Ray’s Feluda adventure Kailase Kelenkari, Zor starring Jeet and Varsha, Ravi Kinnagi’s Premer Kahini with Dev and Koel Mullick and Haranath Chakraborty’s Bajimaat exploring the ugly underbelly of musical reality shows on television, with two new faces Soham and Subhasree were also thumping hits at the box office. Anjan Dutt’s Chalo Let’s Go, a road movie with a lilting musical score, is a big hit claims its producer Joy Ganguly. Rangan Chakrabarty’s Bor Ashbe Ekhuni did well but was not a thumping hit. The year’s last release, Raaj Kumar starring Prosenjit, did not do well.

The biggest star draws were Koel Mullick, Dev, Priyanka Sarkar, Rahul, Hiron, Shoham and Srabonti. Music wise, Jeet Ganguly is surely going places while as far as direction goes, Raj Chakraborty has his hands full of assignments he can pick and choose from. Rangan is likely to begin his second film this year and as one finishes this summing up, news trickles in that Bengali cinema will open its innings in 2009 with the release of Aniruddha Roychoudhury’s Antaheen starring Aparna Sen and Sharmila Tagore in the same film for the first time with music by Shantanu Moitra.

Budgets

70 Bengali movies are released every year and are produced with a budget of Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 1.5 crore per movie in 2008. India's big house Reliance Big Entertainment and Home Entertainment anounced the most expensive Bengali movie will be made with a budget of Rs 3 crore, while other regional movies like the ones in Tamil will have a budget of Rs 40 crore as on 2008^[32]. For reference: a crore rupee = 10 million rupees (roughly 160,000 euros), and a lakh = 100,000 rupees.

Many of the most critically-acclaimed Bengali films were low-budget films, including Satyajit Ray's famous The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959). The first film in the trilogy, Pather Panchali (1955), was produced on a shoestring budget ^[33] of Rs. 1.5 lakh ($3000)^[34] using an amateur cast and crew.^[35] All his other films that followed also had low budgets, with his most expensive films being The Adventures Of Goopy And Bagha (1968) at Rs. 6 lakh ($12,000)^[36] and The Chess Players (1977) at Rs. 20 lakh ($40,000).^[37]

The Bengali film industry, which had been a beacon for the country's film industry until the 1980s, is in a turnaround mode. At a time when Bollywood continues its roller-coaster ride, there are cheers in the Bengali film industry with several commercial successes. The dark period of the 1990s when Bengali tinsel town was on a steep decline seems like a nightmare that's best forgotten. And, with the money pouring in, producers from other States are now knocking on the doors of Bengali directors.Industry sources say that the best proof of the comeback is seen in the increasing number of cinema houses showing Bengali films. Even a few years ago, of the 800 movie theatres in the State, no more than 350 were showing just Bengali films. The remaining had spread their risk showing a mix of either Hindi and English or Hindi and Bengali films.2008, nearly 700 theatres are showing Bengali films.

The movie, produced by Ramoji Films at a cost of Rs 65 lakh, recovered its costs within three weeks and is still raking in the moolah for its distributors, producers and theatre owners since last December.The movie has brought back the concept of family entertainment with Sandip Ray's gambit of contemporising the plot paying him rich dividend. Admitting that he did not expect this success, he told Life that he was now lining up another such film for release next year.Earlier, a film by award-winning director Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Mondo Meyer Upakhyan (The Tale of a Fallen Girl) produced by Arjoe Entertainments netted nearly Rs 7 crore through sale of overseas rights against a cost of Rs 60 lakh.Haranath Chakraborty His film Sathee (Companion) created a record by recouping over five times its production cost, although the film Chokher Bali, with big names like Aishwariya Rai, Rituparno Ghosh and Tagore, failed to yield expected results. The movie, billed at Rs 1.65 crore (the highest among Bengali films).^[38]

Loose and unorganised production activities, dominated and dictated by providers of capital led to proliferation of sub-standard films, which were most often commercial failures.The recent successes have come through some concerted effort by Parallel Cinema which has tapped the domestic market, even while scouting the overseas ones, hitting the festival circuit somewhere in between. As such, celluloid creations of award-winning directors like Gautam Ghosh, Rituparno Ghosh and Aparna Sen started bringing money for their producers. However, at around the same time, movies in the commercial circuit (directors like to call them mainstream cinema) also started doing well, supported strongly by the response from the semi-urban areas.The big Bollywood banners such as Mukta Arts and Rajshri films are now showing interest in funding Bengali films.

Hollywood houses like Columbia Tristar have made their debut in distributing Bengali movies . According to industry experts, several issues need to be addressed to build on this resurgence and consolidate it.These include inadequate infrastructure, which often compels moviemakers to go outside the State for facilities pushing up costs, poor marketing and distribution and increasing competition from Bangladeshi films.the entertainment company in the RPG group, has decided to restrict its budget in film production to about Rs 5 crore and This would be a Rs 4-5-crore budget film ^[39]^[40]

Cast and Crew

Well-known film personalities of Bengali film industry include,

Awards

Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards-The oldest Association of Film critics in India, founded in 1937, by the inspiration and determination of the handful of pioneers amongst the then thin section of scribes that were drawn to film journalism with a lofty mission to serve the developing film journalism and film industry.
Anandalok Awards-Ceremony is one of the most prominent film events given for Bengali Cinema in India
Kalakar Awards-Ceremony is recognized as one of the topmost awards ceremonies of eastern region of India.
Tellysamman Awards-Sangbad Pratidin, a Kolkata based Bengali daily organized this Award Ceremony.

Organisations

Bengali Artist Forum

Trivia

Today, there are two Bengali language film industries, one in Tollygunge, in Kolkata, India (sometimes called Tollywood a portmanteau of the words Tollygunge and Hollywood, also known as Tollywood) ^[42]^[43] is one of many centres for Indian regional filmmaking and the other one in Dhaka, Bangladesh (sometimes called Dollywood, a portmanteau of the words Dhaka and Hollywood, also known as Dhallywood) is the mainstream national film industry of Bangladesh (see Cinema of Bangladesh).

Notes

^ ^a ^b Who's Who of Victorian Cinema. Hiralal Sen
^ Pioneers of Bangladeshi Cinema
^ IMDB page on Jamai Shashthi
^ BANGLAPEDIA: Film, Feature, accessed 27-VII-2006
^ "The Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll: 1992". Sight & Sound. British Film Institute. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
^ ^a ^b "Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll". The Village Voice. 1999. Archived from the original on 2007-08-26. Retrieved 2006-07-27. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made By THE FILM CRITICS OF THE NEW YORK TIMES, New York Times,2002.
^ ^a ^b "[[Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies|All-Time 100 Best Movies]]". Time. Time Inc. 2005. Retrieved 2008-05-19. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
^ New Theatres Calcutta
^ Desai, Jigna (2004), Beyond Bollywood: The Cultural Politics of South Asian Diasporic Film, p. 38, Routledge, ISBN 0415966841
^ Arthur J Pais (April 14, 2009). "Why we admire Satyajit Ray so much". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
^ Chris Ingui. "Martin Scorsese hits DC, hangs with the Hachet". Hatchet. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
^ Sheldon Hall. "Ivory, James (1928-)". Screen Online. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
^ "On Ray's Trail". The Statesman. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
^ Alkarim Jivani (February 2009). "Mumbai rising". Sight & Sound. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
^ Template:Harvard reference
^ Sragow, Michael (1994), "An Art Wedded to Truth", The Atlantic Monthly, University of California, Santa Cruz, retrieved 2009-05-11
^ Ray, Satyajit. "Ordeals of the Alien". The Unmade Ray. Satyajit Ray Society. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
^ Neumann P. "Biography for Satyajit Ray". Internet Movie Database Inc. Retrieved 2006-04-29.
^ Newman J (2001-09-17). "Satyajit Ray Collection receives Packard grant and lecture endowment". UC Santa Cruz Currents online. Retrieved 2006-04-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ SK Jha. "Sacred Ray". Telegraph India. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
^ André Habib. "Before and After: Origins and Death in the Work of Jean-Luc Godard". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
^ Mrinal Sen
^ Aaron and Mark Caldwell (2004). "Sight and Sound". Top 100 Movie Lists. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
^ "SIGHT AND SOUND 1992 RANKING OF FILMS". Retrieved 2009-05-29.
^ "SIGHT AND SOUND 1982 RANKING OF FILMS". Retrieved 2009-05-29.
^ "2002 Sight & Sound Top Films Survey of 253 International Critics & Film Directors". Cinemacom. 2002. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
^ Totaro, Donato (January 31, 2003), "The "Sight & Sound" of Canons", Offscreen Journal, Canada Council for the Arts, retrieved 2009-04-19
^ "Sight and Sound Poll 1992: Critics". California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
^ "Subrata Mitra". Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
^ http://www.screenindia.com/news/Bengali-cinema-in-independent-India/347909/
^ http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=309151
^ Template:Harvard reference
^ Pradip Biswas (September 16, 2005). "50 years of Pather Panchali". Screen Weekly. Retrieved 2009-04-23. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ Template:Harvard reference
^ Mohammed Wajihuddin (September 7, 2004). "THE UNIVERSITY CALLED SATYAJIT RAY". Express India. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
^ "Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players)". Satyajit Ray official site. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
^ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2004/04/05/stories/2004040500100200.htm
^ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/11/04/stories/2003110401500200.htm
^ http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=333086
^ http://openlibrary.org/b/OL171681M
^ http://www.indfy.com/kolkata/special-attractions/tollywood-trip.html
^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1251462050.cms

References

Aamar Ami(Bengali)- Uttam Kumar Chattopadhyay—Dey's Publishing, Calcutta,1980
hamar Jug Aamar Gaan(Bengali)—Pankaj Kumar Mullik—Firma KLM Pvt Ltd., Calcutta 1980
Banala Bhashay Chalachchdra Charcha(Bengali)- Ehfi Tathya,aanji Opanhr r Bha charyr CharK Goswami, Tapas Pal—North Calcutta Film Society, Calcutta, 1995
Bangla Chalachchdra Shilper llihas (1897-1947)(Bengali)—Kalish Mukhapadhyay—Poop I lancha Prahashi
Bangla Chalachchdrer llihas (1st Part)(Bengali)-Pranab Kumar Biswas Samakal Prakashani, Calcul
Bangla Sahhya O Bangla Chalachchitra (1st Part)(Bengali)-Jishh Kumar Mukhapadhyay—Ananda~ha
Banglar Chalachchitrakar—Nisht Kumar Mukhopadhyay—Slanda Pu ishrs, Calcr
Banglar Nat-Nati—Sudhir Basu—Calcutta, 1933
Cniirabani Chitr barshihi ^119520ed. 60ur Chattopadhyay & Sunil Gar~adhya~Ch^ar$b
Cinema anr I—Ri ih Kumar Ghatah— h
Rhrw Memorial Trust, Calcu^na, 1987
Filrnography of Sixty En inentlndian Movie Makers—Ft I Ra M
Nirbah Juger Chhayaloher Katha—Premanhur At rth —~ kudta
Sonar Daag—60uranga Prasad Ghosh~oc^frnaya Prakashani, Calculla, 1982
Bengali Film Directory– edited by Ansu Sur, Nandan, Calcutta, 1999
70 years of Indian Cinema – edited by T.N. Ramachandran, Cinemaa India International, Bombay, 1985
A Pictorial History of Indian Cinema – Firoj Rangogoonwalla, The Hamlyn Publishing Group, Lonodn, 1979
Encycopedia of Indian Cinema – Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Paul Willemen, Oxfor University Press, New Delhi, 1994

External links

Template:Bengali culture

[VF-1] Who's Who of Victorian Cinema. Hiralal Sen

[Banglanet-2] Pioneers of Bangladeshi Cinema

[3] IMDB page on Jamai Shashthi

[4] BANGLAPEDIA: Film, Feature, accessed 27-VII-2006

[bfipoll-5] "The Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll: 1992". Sight & Sound. British Film Institute. Retrieved 2008-05-20.

[villagevoice-6] "Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll". The Village Voice. 1999. Archived from the original on 2007-08-26. Retrieved 2006-07-27. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

[7] The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made By THE FILM CRITICS OF THE NEW YORK TIMES, New York Times,2002.

[Time-8] "[[Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies|All-Time 100 Best Movies]]". Time. Time Inc. 2005. Retrieved 2008-05-19. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)

[tripod-9] New Theatres Calcutta

[Desai38-10] Desai, Jigna (2004), Beyond Bollywood: The Cultural Politics of South Asian Diasporic Film, p. 38, Routledge, ISBN 0415966841

[11] Arthur J Pais (April 14, 2009). "Why we admire Satyajit Ray so much". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2009-04-17.

[12] Chris Ingui. "Martin Scorsese hits DC, hangs with the Hachet". Hatchet. Retrieved 2006-06-29.

[13] Sheldon Hall. "Ivory, James (1928-)". Screen Online. Retrieved 2007-02-12.

[The_Statesman-14] "On Ray's Trail". The Statesman. Retrieved 2007-10-19.

[Jivani-15] Alkarim Jivani (February 2009). "Mumbai rising". Sight & Sound. Retrieved 2009-02-01.

[16] Template:Harvard reference

[17] Sragow, Michael (1994), "An Art Wedded to Truth", The Atlantic Monthly, University of California, Santa Cruz, retrieved 2009-05-11

[unmaderay-18] Ray, Satyajit. "Ordeals of the Alien". The Unmade Ray. Satyajit Ray Society. Retrieved 2008-04-21.

[IMDbRay-19] Neumann P. "Biography for Satyajit Ray". Internet Movie Database Inc. Retrieved 2006-04-29.

[UCSCcurrents-20] Newman J (2001-09-17). "Satyajit Ray Collection receives Packard grant and lecture endowment". UC Santa Cruz Currents online. Retrieved 2006-04-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[21] SK Jha. "Sacred Ray". Telegraph India. Retrieved 2006-06-29.

[22] André Habib. "Before and After: Origins and Death in the Work of Jean-Luc Godard". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 2006-06-29.

[23] Mrinal Sen

[Caldwell-24] Aaron and Mark Caldwell (2004). "Sight and Sound". Top 100 Movie Lists. Retrieved 2009-04-19.

[SS-1992-ranking-25] "SIGHT AND SOUND 1992 RANKING OF FILMS". Retrieved 2009-05-29.

[SS-1982-ranking-26] "SIGHT AND SOUND 1982 RANKING OF FILMS". Retrieved 2009-05-29.

[Cinemacom-27] "2002 Sight & Sound Top Films Survey of 253 International Critics & Film Directors". Cinemacom. 2002. Retrieved 2009-04-19.

[Totaro-28] Totaro, Donato (January 31, 2003), "The "Sight & Sound" of Canons", Offscreen Journal, Canada Council for the Arts, retrieved 2009-04-19

[29] "Sight and Sound Poll 1992: Critics". California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2009-05-29.

[cinematographers-30] "Subrata Mitra". Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers. Retrieved 2009-05-22.

[31] ttp://www.screenindia.com/news/Bengali-cinema-in-independent-India/347909/

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[34] Pradip Biswas (September 16, 2005). "50 years of Pather Panchali". Screen Weekly. Retrieved 2009-04-23. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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[36] Mohammed Wajihuddin (September 7, 2004). "THE UNIVERSITY CALLED SATYAJIT RAY". Express India. Retrieved 2009-05-01.

[37] "Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players)". Satyajit Ray official site. Retrieved 2009-04-24.

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@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 The film industry based in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]] is sometimes referred as "Tollywood", a [[portmanteau]] of the words [[Tollygunge]], a neighbourhood of Calcutta where most of the Bengali film studios are located, and [[Hollywood]].
-==Early history==
+==History==
 [[Image:Dena_paona_1931.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A scene from [[Dena Paona (film)|Dena Paona]], 1931 - first Bengali talkie]]
 The history of '''[[film|cinema]] in [[Bengal]]''' dates back to the 1890s, when the first "[[bioscope]]s" were shown in theatres in [[Calcutta]].  Within a decade, the first seeds of the industry was sown by [[Hiralal Sen]], considered a stalwart of [[Victorian era]] cinema <ref name= VF>[http://www.victorian-cinema.net/sen.htm Who's Who of Victorian Cinema. Hiralal Sen]</ref>  when he set up the [[Royal Bioscope Company]], producing scenes from the stage productions of a number of popular shows<ref name=VF/> at the [[Star Theatre, Calcutta|Star Theatre]], [[Minerva Theatre]] , [[Classic Theatre]]. Following a long gap after Sen's works, <ref name=Banglanet>[http://www.bangladesh.net/cinema/page2.htm Pioneers of Bangladeshi Cinema]</ref> [[Dhirendra Nath Ganguly]] (Known as D.G) established [[Indo British Film Co]], the first Bengali owned production company,  in 1918. However, the first Bengali Feature film, [[Billwamangal]], was produced in 1919, under the banner of [[Madan Theatre]]. [[Bilat Ferat(1921)|Bilat Ferat]] was the IBFC's first production in 1921. The [[Madan Theatre]] production of [[Jamai Shashthi]] was the first Bengali [[talkie]].<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316049/ IMDB page on Jamai Shashthi]</ref> A long history has been traversed since then, with stalwarts such as [[Satyajit Ray]], [[Mrinal Sen]] and [[Ritwik Ghatak]]  and others having earned international acclaim and securing their place in the movie history.
-===Early development: 1919-1930===
+===Early development===
+====Silent era: 1919-1930====
-===Silent era===
 {{Main|List of Silent Bengali films}}
 [[Hiralal Sen]] is credited as one of Bengal's, and India's first directors. However, these were all [[silent film]]s. Hiralal Sen is also credited as one of the pioneers of advertisement films in India. The first Bengali-language movie was the silent feature ''[[Billwamangal]]'', produced by the Madan Theatre Company of Calcutta and released on [[November 8]], [[1919]], only six years after the first full-length Indian feature film, ''[[Raja Harish Chandra]]'', was released.<ref>[http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/F_0076.htm BANGLAPEDIA: Film, Feature], accessed 27-VII-2006</ref>
@@ Line 19: / Line 18: @@
 The early beginnings of the "talking film" industry go back to the early 1930s, when it came to [[British India]], and to [[Calcutta]].  The movies were originally made in [[Urdu]] or [[Persian language|Persian]] as to accommodate a specific elite market.  One of the earliest known studios was the [[East India Film Company]]. The first Bengali film to be made as a [[talkie]] was [[Jamai Shashthi]], released in 1931. It was at this time  that the early heroes of the Bengali film industry like [[Pramathesh Barua]] and [[Debaki Bose]] were at the peak of their popularity. Barua also directed a number of movies, exploring new dimension in Indian cinema. Debaki Bose directed Chandidas in 1932; this film is noted for its breakthrough in recording sound. Sound recordist Mukul Bose found out solution to the problem of spacing out dialogue and frequency modulation.
-===Rise of the Talkie: 1931-1947===
+====Rise of the Talkie: 1931-1947====
 [[Image:Seeta_1933.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A scene from [[Seeta (1933 film)|Seeta]] (Dir: [[Sisir Bhaduri]]), 1933. [[Sisir Bhaduri]], [[Amalendu Lahiri]].]]
 The contribution of [[Bengali film industry]] to [[Indian film]] is quite significant.First bengali [[talkies]] [[Jamai Shashthi]] (as short film) was released [[25 April]], [[1931]] at Crown Cinema Hall in [[Calcutta]] and First bengali [[talkies]] as full length fuature film [[Dena Paona (film)|Dena Paona]] was released  [[30 December]] [[1931]] at Chitra Cinema Hall in [[Calcutta]] Based in [[Tollygunge]], an area of South [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]] and is more elite and artistically-inclined than the usual [[musical film|musical]] cinema fare in India. In the past, it enjoyed a large, even disproportionate, representation in [[Indian cinema]], and produced film directors like [[Satyajit Ray]], who was an [[Academy Honorary Award]] winner, and the recipient of India and France's greatest civilian honours, the [[Bharat Ratna]] and [[Légion d'honneur|Legion of Honor]] respectively, and [[Mrinal Sen]], who is the recipient of the French distinction of Commander of the [[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres|Order of Arts and Letters]] and the Russian [[Order of Friendship]].
-===Golden era 1955-1975===
+===Golden era: 1952-1975===
 {{see also|Parallel Cinema}}
 [[Image:Satyajit Ray.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Satyajit Ray]]]]
+During this period, Bengali cinema enjoyed a large, even disproportionate, representation in [[Cinema of India|Indian cinema]], and produced film directors like [[Satyajit Ray]], who was an [[Academy Honorary Award]] winner, and the recipient of India's and France's greatest civilian honours, the [[Bharat Ratna]] and [[Légion d'honneur|Legion of Honor]] respectively, and [[Mrinal Sen]], who is the recipient of the French distinction of Commander of the [[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres|Order of Arts and Letters]] and the Russian [[Order of Friendship]].
-Other prominent film makers in the Bengali film industry are [[Bimal Roy]], the late [[Ritwik Ghatak]], and [[Satyajit Roy]]. The Bengali film industry has produced classics like '[[The Apu Trilogy]]', '[[Devi (1960 film)|Devi]]', '[[Jalsaghar]]', '[[Devdas]]', '[[Neel Akasher Neechey]]', '[[Meghe Dhaka Tara]]' etc.
+Other prominent film makers in the Bengali film industry at the time included [[Bimal Roy]] and [[Ritwik Ghatak]]. The Bengali film industry has produced classics such as ''[[Nagarik]]'' (1952), ''[[The Apu Trilogy]]'' (1955-1959), ''[[Jalsaghar]]'' (1958), ''[[Ajantrik]]'' (1958), ''[[Neel Akasher Neechey]]'' (1959), ''[[Devdas]]'', ''[[Devi (1960 film)|Devi]]'' (1960), ''[[Meghe Dhaka Tara]]'' (1960), the [[Calcutta trilogy|Calcutta trilogies]] (1971-1976), etc. In particular, ''The Apu Trilogy'' is now frequently listed among the [[Films considered the greatest ever|greatest films of all time]].<ref name=bfipoll>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/history/1992.html|title=The Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll: 1992|work=[[Sight & Sound]]|publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|accessdate=2008-05-20}}</ref><ref name=villagevoice>{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10 |title=Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll |accessdate=2006-07-27|date=1999 |publisher=''[[The Village Voice]]''|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070826201343/http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10|archivedate= 2007-08-26}}</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made] By THE FILM CRITICS OF THE NEW YORK TIMES, [[New York Times]],[[2002]].</ref><ref name=Time>{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/the_complete_list.html|title=[[Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies|All-Time 100 Best Movies]]|year=2005|accessdate=2008-05-19|work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|publisher=Time Inc.}}</ref>
-The most well known [[Bengal]]i actor to date has been [[Uttam Kumar]]; he and co-star [[Suchitra Sen]] were known as ''The Eternal Pair'' in the early 1950s. [[Soumitra Chatterjee]] is a notable actor, having acted in several [[Satyajit Ray]] films, and considered as a rival to [[Uttam Kumar]] in the 1960s. He is famous for the characterization of [[Feluda]] in [[Sonar Kella]] and [[Joy Baba Felunath]], written and directed by Ray.
+The most well known [[Bengali people|Bengali]] actor to date has been [[Uttam Kumar]]; he and co-star [[Suchitra Sen]] were known as ''The Eternal Pair'' in the early 1950s. [[Soumitra Chatterjee]] is a notable actor, having acted in several [[Satyajit Ray]] films, and considered as a rival to [[Uttam Kumar]] in the 1960s. He is famous for the characterization of [[Feluda]] in ''[[Sonar Kella]]'' (1974) and ''[[Joy Baba Felunath]]'' (1978), written and directed by Ray. He also played the adult version of Apu in ''[[The World of Apu]]'' (1959), also directed by Ray. One of the most well known Bengali actresses was [[Sharmila Tagore]], who debuted in Ray's ''The World of Apu'', and became a major actress in Bengali cinema as well as [[Bollywood]].
 The pioneers in Bengali film music include [[Raichand Boral]], [[Pankaj Mullick]] and [[K. C. Dey]], all associated with [[New Theatres Calcutta]] <ref name=tripod>[http://members.tripod.com/oldies_club/new_theatres_calcutta.htm New Theatres Calcutta<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. Other famous playback singers in Bengali film music were [[Hemanta Mukherjee]],[[Manna Dey]], [[Sandhya Mukhopadhyay]] and [[Kishore Kumar]].
+====Global influence====
+Ever since [[Satyajit Ray]]'s ''[[Pather Panchali (film)|Pather Panchali]]'' (1955) was awarded Best Human Document at the [[1956 Cannes Film Festival]], Bengali films frequently appeared in international fora and [[film festival]]s for the next several decades.<ref name=Desai38>Desai, Jigna (2004), ''Beyond Bollywood: The Cultural Politics of South Asian Diasporic Film'', p. 38, [[Routledge]], ISBN 0415966841</ref> This allowed Bengali filmmakers to reach a global audience. The most influential among them was Satyajit Ray, whose films became successful among [[Europe]]an, [[Americas|American]] and [[Asia]]n audiences.<ref>{{cite web|title=Why we admire Satyajit Ray so much|author=Arthur J Pais|publisher=[[Rediff.com]]|date=April 14, 2009|url=http://movies.rediff.com/report/2009/apr/14/why-we-admire-satyajit-ray-so-much.htm|accessdate=2009-04-17}}</ref> His work subsequently had a worldwide impact, with filmmakers such as [[Martin Scorsese]],<ref>{{cite web
+|author = Chris Ingui
+|publisher = Hatchet | url=http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/storage/paper332/news/2002/03/04/Arts/Martin.Scorsese.Hits.Dc.Hangs.With.The.Hachet-195598.shtml?norewrite200607071207&sourcedomain=www.gwhatchet.com | title=Martin Scorsese hits DC, hangs with the Hachet | accessdate=2006-06-29
+}}
+</ref> [[James Ivory (director)|James Ivory]],<ref>{{cite web
+|author = Sheldon Hall
+|publisher = Screen Online | url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/532213/index.html | title=Ivory, James (1928-) | accessdate=2007-02-12
+}}
+</ref> [[Abbas Kiarostami]], [[Elia Kazan]], [[Wes Anderson]] <ref name = "The Statesman">{{cite web
+| title = On Ray's Trail
+| url = http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=30&id=172929&usrsess=1
+| publisher = The Statesman
+| accessdate = 2007-10-19
+}}</ref> and [[Danny Boyle]] <ref name=Jivani>{{cite web |author=Alkarim Jivani |title=Mumbai rising |work=[[Sight & Sound]] |date=February 2009 |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49511 |accessdate=2009-02-01}}</ref> being influenced by his cinematic style, and many others such as [[Akira Kurosawa]] praising his work.<ref>{{Harvard reference
+|Surname1 = Robinson
+|Given1 = A
+|Year = 2003
+|Title = Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye: The Biography of a Master Film-Maker
+|Publisher = I. B. Tauris
+|ISBN = 1860649653
+|page = 96}}</ref> The "youthful [[Coming of age|coming-of-age]] [[Drama film|dramas]] that have flooded art houses since the mid-fifties owe a tremendous debt to the [[The Apu Trilogy|Apu trilogy]]".<ref>{{citation|title=An Art Wedded to Truth|first=Michael|last=Sragow|year=1994|journal=[[The Atlantic|The Atlantic Monthly]]|publisher=[[University of California, Santa Cruz]]|url=http://satyajitray.ucsc.edu/articles/sragow.html|accessdate=2009-05-11}}</ref> Ray's 1967 script for a film to be called ''[[The Alien]]'', which was eventually cancelled, is widely believed to have been the inspiration for [[Steven Spielberg]]'s ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial|E.T.]]'' (1982).<ref name=unmaderay>{{cite web|url=http://www.satyajitrayworld.com/raysfilmography/unmaderay.aspx|title=Ordeals of the Alien|last=Ray|first=Satyajit|work=The Unmade Ray|publisher=Satyajit Ray Society|accessdate=2008-04-21}}</ref><ref name=IMDbRay>
+{{cite web
+|author= Neumann P
+|publisher=Internet Movie Database Inc
+|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006249/bio
+|title=Biography for Satyajit Ray
+|accessdate=2006-04-29
+}}</ref><ref name=UCSCcurrents>
+{{cite news
+|author=Newman J
+|url=http://www.ucsc.edu/currents/01-02/09-17/ray.html
+|title=Satyajit Ray Collection receives Packard grant and lecture endowment
+|publisher=UC Santa Cruz Currents online
+|date=[[2001-09-17]]
+|accessdate=2006-04-29
+}}</ref> [[Ira Sachs]]' ''[[Forty Shades of Blue]]'' (2005) was a loose remake of ''[[Charulata]]'', and in ''[[My Family (film)|My Family]]'' (1995), the final scene is duplicated from the final scene of ''[[The World of Apu]]''. Similar references to Ray films are found in recent works such as ''[[Sacred Evil]]'' (2006),<ref>{{cite web
+|author = SK Jha
+|publisher = Telegraph India | url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060609/asp/etc/story_6319302.asp | title=Sacred Ray | accessdate=2006-06-29
+}}
+</ref> the ''[[Elements trilogy]]'' of [[Deepa Mehta]], and in films of [[Jean-Luc Godard]].<ref>{{cite web
+|author = André Habib
+|publisher = Senses of Cinema | url=http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/01/16/godard_habib.html | title=Before and After: Origins and Death in the Work of Jean-Luc Godard | accessdate=2006-06-29
+}}
+</ref>
+Another prominent Bengali filmmaker is [[Mrinal Sen]], whose films have been well-known for their [[Marxism|Marxist]] views. During his career, Mrinal Sen’s film have received awards from almost all major film festivals, including [[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]], [[Berlin]], [[Venice]], [[Moscow]], [[Karlovy Vary]], [[Montreal]], [[Chicago]], and [[Cairo]]. Retrospectives of his films have been shown in almost all major cities of the world.<ref>[http://mrinalsen.org Mrinal Sen]</ref>
+Another Bengali filmmaker, [[Ritwik Ghatak]], began reaching a global audience long after his death; beginning in the 1990s, a project to restore Ghatak's films was undertaken, and international exhibitions (and subsequent [[DVD]] releases) have belatedly generated an increasingly global audience. Some of his films have strong similarities to later famous international films, such as ''[[Ajantrik]]'' (1958) resembling the [[Herbie]] films (1967-2005) and ''[[Bari Theke Paliye]]'' (1958) resembling [[François Truffaut]]'s ''[[The 400 Blows]]'' (1959).
+A number of Satyajit Ray films appeared in the ''[[Sight & Sound]]'' Critics' Poll of [[Films considered the greatest ever|all-time greatest films]], including ''[[The Apu Trilogy]]'' (ranked #4 in 1992 if votes are combined),<ref name=Caldwell>{{cite web|author=Aaron and Mark Caldwell|title=Sight and Sound|publisher=Top 100 Movie Lists|year=2004|url=http://www.geocities.com/aaronbcaldwell/dimsscri.html|accessdate=2009-04-19}}</ref> ''[[Jalsaghar|The Music Room]]'' (ranked #27 in 1992), ''[[Charulata]]'' (ranked #41 in 1992)<ref name=SS-1992-ranking>{{cite web|title=SIGHT AND SOUND 1992 RANKING OF FILMS|url=http://www.geocities.com/the7thart/ranking.html|accessdate=2009-05-29}}</ref> and ''[[Aranyer Din Ratri|Days and Nights in the Forest]]'' (ranked #81 in 1982).<ref name=SS-1982-ranking>{{cite web|title=SIGHT AND SOUND 1982 RANKING OF FILMS|url=http://www.geocities.com/the7thart/1982.html|accessdate=2009-05-29}}</ref> The 2002 ''Sight & Sound'' critics' and directors' poll also included the Ritwik Ghatak films ''[[Meghe Dhaka Tara]]'' (ranked #231) and ''Komal Gandhar'' (ranked #346).<ref name=Cinemacom>{{cite web|title=2002 Sight & Sound Top Films Survey of 253 International Critics & Film Directors|publisher=Cinemacom|year=2002|url=http://www.cinemacom.com/2002-sight-sound.html|accessdate=2009-04-19}}</ref> In 1998, the critics' poll conducted by the [[Asian cinema|Asian film]] magazine ''[[Cinemaya]]'' included ''The Apu Trilogy'' (ranked #1 if votes are combined), Ray's ''[[Charulata]]'' and ''[[Jalsaghar|The Music Room]]'' (both tied at #11), and Ghatak's ''[[Subarnarekha (film)|Subarnarekha]]'' (also tied at #11).<ref name=Totaro>{{citation|title=The “Sight & Sound” of Canons|first=Donato|last=Totaro|journal=Offscreen Journal|publisher=[[Canada Council|Canada Council for the Arts]]|date=January 31, 2003|url=http://www.horschamp.qc.ca/new_offscreen/canon.html|accessdate=2009-04-19}}</ref> In 1999, ''[[The Village Voice]]'' top 250 "Best Film of the Century" critics' poll also included ''The Apu Trilogy'' (ranked #5 if votes are combined).<ref name=villagevoice/> In 2005, ''The Apu Trilogy'' was also included in [[Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies]] list.<ref name=Time/> In 1992, the ''Sight & Sound'' Critics' Poll ranked Ray at #7 in its list of "Top 10 Directors" of all time,<ref>{{cite web|title=Sight and Sound Poll 1992: Critics|publisher=[[California Institute of Technology]]|url=http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/sight/1992_1.html|accessdate=2009-05-29}}</ref>
+The cinematographer [[Subrata Mitra]], who made his debut with Ray's ''The Apu Trilogy'', also had an importance influence on [[cinematography]] across the world. One of his most important techniques was [[Reflector (photography)#Bounce lighting|bounce lighting]], to recreate the effect of daylight on sets. He pioneered the technique while filming ''[[Aparajito]]'' (1956), the second part of ''The Apu Trilogy''.<ref name=cinematographers>{{cite web|title=Subrata Mitra|publisher=Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers|url=http://www.cinematographers.nl/GreatDoPh/mitra.htm|accessdate=2009-05-22}}</ref>
 ===1980s===
 In the 1980s, however, the Bengal film industry went through a period of turmoil, with a shift from its traditional artistic and emotional inclinations to an approach more imitating the increasingly more popular [[Bollywood|Hindi film]]s, along with a decline in the  audience and critical appreciation, with notable exceptions of the works of directors like [[Gautam Ghose]]. However, even at this time, a number of actors and actresses enjoyed popularity, including [[Tapas Pal]], [[Prasenjit Chatterjee|Prosenjit]], [[Chiranjit]], [[Rituparna Sengupta]] and others. However, toward the end of the 90s, with the a number of directors coming increasingly into prominence, including [[Rituparno Ghosh]], [[Gautam Ghose]], [[Aparna Sen]], [[Sandip Ray]] among others, a number of popular and critically acclaimed movies have come out of the Bengali film industry in recent years. These include, [[Unishe April]], [[Titli]], [[Mr. and Mrs. Iyer]], [[Bombaiyer Bombete]], etc and signal a resurgence of the Bengali film industry.
-==2000s==
+===2000s===
 [[Image:Chokher Bali cover.jpg|thumb|left|100px|[[Chokher Bali (film)|Chokher Bali]]]]
 The market for Bengali films has expanded to a 340-million-strong Bengali audience in [[Bangladesh]], [[West Bengal]], [[Tripura]] and [[Assam]]. The industry could truly flourish if films from this state have a proper distribution network. While around 50 films are produced in West Bengal every year, only 30 make it to the theatres.<ref>http://www.screenindia.com/news/Bengali-cinema-in-independent-India/347909/</ref>
-===2008===
+====2008====
 Bengali cinema has never seen such a flood of releases within one year as it did in 2008. The year marks a record for new talents, new directors, young producers, a new genre of ensemble films, a few off-beat films, a few films for children, an animation film and films in languages other than Bengali but having a distinct Bengali atmosphere. This, alongside ten releases of [[Prosenjit]], the numero uno, among the 61 releases we saw last year and some experimental films new directors stepped in with. The predominantly young audience reveals a marked preference for fast-paced romance-cum-action films featuring strapping young actors instead of the ageing Mithun or the dropped-jaw [[Prosenjit]]. [[Shibaji]], [[Ghar Jamai]], [[Mr. Fantoosh]], and [[Takkar]], were the successful Prosenjit starrers. Among films not starring Prosenjit, the successful films were [[Chirodini Tumi Je Amaar]], [[Bhalobasa Bhalobasa]], [[Love Story]], [[Mon Maane Naa]], [[Chirosaathi]] and [[Tintorettor Jishu]], again a Feluda adventure from [[Sandip Ray]]. Prosenjit’s [[Mahakaal]] did average business Mithun’s sole commercial release [[Satyameva Jayate]] was a super flop while his off-mainstream release, [[Buddhadeb Dasgupta]]’s [[Kaalpurush]], was taken off the theatres within a fortnight even though the film sees Mithun in one of his career-best performances in Bengali cinema. Bengali cinema’s first animation film Laal Kalo, did well among the Bengali audience but its Hindi version was a super flop.
-Off-beat films got a very bad beating at the box office and even the Big B in his first English-language film, The Last Lear, under the directorial baton of [[Rituparno Ghosh]], could hardly draw in any audience at all. Rituparno’s moving [[Khela]], a self-reflective film that repeats his passion for pointing fingers at the brutal opportunistic and selfish mindset of ‘committed’ filmmakers, was also a flop though it was popular among kids. [[Joy Ganguly]]’s Hindi language film [[Via Darjeeling]], supposedly a thriller with a Bollywood cast, came a cropper simply because it was a terrible film while Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s other film Swapner Din, released around three years after it was made, also did not do well commercially. [[Suman Mukhopadhyay]]’s second film [[Chaturanga]], a beautiful  adaptation of a complex Tagore novella, did not go down well with an audience so fond of [[Swapan Saha]], [[Sujit Guha]] and [[Haranath Chakraborty]] potboilers. [[Shubrajit Mitra]]’s much-hyped [[Mon Amour Shesher Kobita Revisited]], inspired by a Tagore creation, [[Manoj Michigan]]’s [[Hello Kolkata]], an ensemble film, also did not do well at all. [[Mon Amour Shesher Kobita Revisited]] proves that without a powerful and tight-knit script, even the best of actors, singers, music and technical excellence can do nothing to save a film. [[Arin Paul]]’s [[Doshta Dosh]] told an unusually funny story that failed because it lacked focus. Rati Agnihotri’s first Bangla film Aainatey was also a flop as were two new directors’ debuts, [[Arjun Chakraborty]]’s [[Tollylights]] and [[Sougata Roy Burman]]’s [[90 Hours]], a slickly made psychological thriller. Both films directed by the talented cinematographer [[Riingo]], [[Neel Rajar Deshe]] and [[Love]], were massive flops because despite technical excellence, the films did not have a cohesive script and did not have much to say either.
+Off-beat films got a very bad beating at the box office and even the Big B in his first English-language film, ''[[The Last Lear]]'', under the directorial baton of [[Rituparno Ghosh]], could hardly draw in any audience at all. Rituparno’s moving [[Khela]], a self-reflective film that repeats his passion for pointing fingers at the brutal opportunistic and selfish mindset of ‘committed’ filmmakers, was also a flop though it was popular among kids. [[Joy Ganguly]]’s Hindi language film [[Via Darjeeling]], supposedly a thriller with a Bollywood cast, came a cropper simply because it was a terrible film while Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s other film Swapner Din, released around three years after it was made, also did not do well commercially. [[Suman Mukhopadhyay]]’s second film [[Chaturanga]], a beautiful  adaptation of a complex Tagore novella, did not go down well with an audience so fond of [[Swapan Saha]], [[Sujit Guha]] and [[Haranath Chakraborty]] potboilers. [[Shubrajit Mitra]]’s much-hyped [[Mon Amour Shesher Kobita Revisited]], inspired by a Tagore creation, [[Manoj Michigan]]’s [[Hello Kolkata]], an ensemble film, also did not do well at all. [[Mon Amour Shesher Kobita Revisited]] proves that without a powerful and tight-knit script, even the best of actors, singers, music and technical excellence can do nothing to save a film. [[Arin Paul]]’s [[Doshta Dosh]] told an unusually funny story that failed because it lacked focus. Rati Agnihotri’s first Bangla film Aainatey was also a flop as were two new directors’ debuts, [[Arjun Chakraborty]]’s [[Tollylights]] and [[Sougata Roy Burman]]’s [[90 Hours]], a slickly made psychological thriller. Both films directed by the talented cinematographer [[Riingo]], [[Neel Rajar Deshe]] and [[Love]], were massive flops because despite technical excellence, the films did not have a cohesive script and did not have much to say either.
 [[Chirodini Tumi Je Amaar]] introduced the new director, [[Raj Chakraborty]], who honed his skills with television. It also brought in two wonderfully fresh faces with talent to boot in [[Rahul]] and [[Priyanka]] who play the star-crossed lovers in the film. Running neck-to-neck in the race to the biggest hit is [[Sandip Ray]]’s [[Tintorettor Jishu]] released in December. Coming a close second are the [[Koel Mullick]]-[[Dev]] starrer [[Mon Maane Naa]] and the [[Koel Mullick]]-[[Hiron]] starrer [[Chirosaathi]]. Another big hit was [[Bhalobasha Bhalobasha]] produced by [[Ashok Dhanuka]] and directed by [[Ravi Kinnagi]] starring [[Hiron]] opposite [[Shrabanti]], making a comeback after marriage. [[Sandip Ray]]’s Feluda adventure [[Kailase Kelenkari]], [[Zor]] starring [[Jeet]] and [[Varsha]], [[Ravi Kinnagi]]’s [[Premer Kahini]] with [[Dev]] and [[Koel Mullick]] and [[Haranath Chakraborty]]’s [[Bajimaat]] exploring the ugly underbelly of musical reality shows on television, with two new faces [[Soham]] and [[Subhasree]] were also thumping hits at the box office. [[Anjan Dutt]]’s [[Chalo Let’s Go]], a road movie with a lilting musical score, is a big hit claims its producer [[Joy Ganguly]]. [[Rangan Chakrabarty]]’s [[Bor Ashbe Ekhuni]] did well but was not a thumping hit. The year’s last release, [[Raaj Kumar]] starring Prosenjit, did not do well.
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 ==Budgets==
-Bengali movies are released every year and are produced with a budget of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore per movie in 2008. Indias big house Reliance Big Entertainment and Home Entertainment anounced The most expensive Bengali movie will be made with a budget of Rs 3 crore, while other regional movies like the ones in Tamil will have a budget of Rs 40 crore as on 2008<ref>http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=309151</ref>. For reference: a crore rupee = 10 million rupees or (roughly 160 thousand euros), a lakh = 100,000 rupees.
+Bengali movies are released every year and are produced with a budget of [[Indian rupee|Rs.]] 2 [[lakh]] to Rs. 1.5 [[crore]] per movie in 2008. India's big house Reliance Big Entertainment and Home Entertainment anounced the most expensive Bengali movie will be made with a budget of Rs 3 crore, while other regional movies like the ones in Tamil will have a budget of Rs 40 crore as on 2008<ref>http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=309151</ref>. For reference: a [[crore]] rupee = 10 million [[Indian rupee|rupees]] (roughly 160,000 [[euro]]s), and a [[lakh]] = 100,000 rupees.
+Many of the most critically-acclaimed Bengali films were [[low-budget film]]s, including [[Satyajit Ray]]'s famous ''[[The Apu Trilogy]]'' (1955-1959). The first film in the trilogy, ''[[Pather Panchali (film)|Pather Panchali]]'' (1955), was produced on a shoestring budget <ref>{{Harvard reference|Surname1 = Robinson|Given1 = A|Year = 2003|Title = Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye: The Biography of a Master Film-Maker|Publisher = I. B. Tauris|ISBN = 1860649653|page=77}}</ref> of [[Indian rupee|Rs.]] 1.5 [[lakh]] ($3000)<ref>{{cite web|title=50 years of Pather Panchali|author=Pradip Biswas|publisher=''[[Screen (magazine)|Screen Weekly]]''|date=September 16, 2005|url=http://www.screenindia.com/old/archive/archive_fullstory.php?content_id=11150|accessdate=2009-04-23}}</ref> using an amateur cast and crew.<ref>{{Harvard reference|Surname1 = Robinson|Given1 = A|Year = 2003|Title = Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye: The Biography of a Master Film-Maker|Publisher = I. B. Tauris|ISBN = 1860649653|pages=78-9}}</ref> All his other films that followed also had low budgets, with his most expensive films being ''[[Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne|The Adventures Of Goopy And Bagha]]'' (1968) at Rs. 6 lakh ($12,000)<ref>{{cite web|title=THE UNIVERSITY CALLED SATYAJIT RAY|author=Mohammed Wajihuddin|publisher=Express India|date=September 7, 2004|url=http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=98548|accessdate=2009-05-01}}</ref> and ''[[The Chess Players]]'' (1977) at Rs. 20 lakh ($40,000).<ref>{{cite web|title=Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players)|publisher=Satyajit Ray official site|url=http://www.satyajitray.org/films/shatran.htm|accessdate=2009-04-24}}</ref>
-The Bengali film industry, which had been a beacon for the country's film industry until the 1980s, is in a turnaround mode. At a time when Bollywood continues its roller-coaster ride, there are cheers in the Bengali film industry with several commercial successes.The dark period of the 1990s when Bengali tinsel town was on a steep decline seems like a nightmare that's best forgotten. And, with the money pouring in, producers from other States are now knocking on the doors of Bengali directors.Industry sources say that the best proof of the comeback is seen in the increasing number of cinema houses showing Bengali films. Even a few years ago, of the 800 movie theatres in the State, no more than 350 were showing just Bengali films. The remaining had spread their risk showing a mix of either Hindi and English or Hindi and Bengali films.2008, nearly 700 theatres are showing Bengali films.
+The Bengali film industry, which had been a beacon for the country's film industry until the 1980s, is in a turnaround mode. At a time when Bollywood continues its roller-coaster ride, there are cheers in the Bengali film industry with several commercial successes. The dark period of the 1990s when Bengali tinsel town was on a steep decline seems like a nightmare that's best forgotten. And, with the money pouring in, producers from other States are now knocking on the doors of Bengali directors.Industry sources say that the best proof of the comeback is seen in the increasing number of cinema houses showing Bengali films. Even a few years ago, of the 800 movie theatres in the State, no more than 350 were showing just Bengali films. The remaining had spread their risk showing a mix of either Hindi and English or Hindi and Bengali films.2008, nearly 700 theatres are showing Bengali films.
 The movie, produced by [[Ramoji_Film_City|Ramoji Films]] at a cost of Rs 65 lakh, recovered its costs within three weeks and is still raking in the moolah for its distributors, producers and theatre owners since last December.The movie has brought back the concept of family entertainment with Sandip Ray's gambit of contemporising the plot paying him rich dividend. Admitting that he did not expect this success, he told Life that he was now lining up another such film for release next year.Earlier, a film by award-winning director [[Buddhadeb Dasgupta]]'s [[Mondo Meyer Upakhyan]] (The Tale of a Fallen Girl) produced by [[Arjoe Entertainment]]s netted nearly Rs 7 crore through sale of overseas rights against a cost of Rs 60 lakh.[[Haranath Chakraborty]] His film [[Sathee]] (Companion) created a record by recouping over five times its production cost, although the film [[Chokher Bali]], with big names like [[Aishwariya Rai]], Rituparno Ghosh and Tagore, failed to yield expected results. The movie, billed at Rs 1.65 crore (the highest among Bengali films).<ref>http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2004/04/05/stories/2004040500100200.htm</ref>
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 ==Trivia==
-Today, there are two '''Bengali language film industries''', one in [[Tollygunge]], in [[Kolkata]], [[India]],( called ''Tollywood'' a [[portmanteau]] of the words ''Tollygunge'' and ''[[Hollywood]]'', also known as [[Tollywood(Bengali)|Tollywood]])  <ref>http://www.indfy.com/kolkata/special-attractions/tollywood-trip.html</ref><ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1251462050.cms</ref> is one of many centres for Indian regional filmmaking and the other one in [[Dhaka]], [[Bangladesh]] (called ''Dollywood'', a [[portmanteau]] of the words ''Dhaka'' and ''[[Hollywood]]'', also known as [[Dhallywood]])is the mainstream national film industry of Bangladesh.
+Today, there are two '''Bengali language film industries''', one in [[Tollygunge]], in [[Kolkata]], [[India]] (sometimes called ''Tollywood'' a [[portmanteau]] of the words ''Tollygunge'' and ''[[Hollywood]]'', also known as [[Tollywood(Bengali)|Tollywood]])  <ref>http://www.indfy.com/kolkata/special-attractions/tollywood-trip.html</ref><ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1251462050.cms</ref> is one of many centres for Indian regional filmmaking and the other one in [[Dhaka]], [[Bangladesh]] (sometimes called ''Dollywood'', a [[portmanteau]] of the words ''Dhaka'' and ''[[Hollywood]]'', also known as [[Dhallywood]]) is the mainstream national film industry of Bangladesh (see [[Cinema of Bangladesh]]).
 ==See also==

v t e Cinema of India
Industries	Assamese Badaga Bengali Bhojpuri Bihari Bodo Chhattisgarhi Deccani Dogri English Gujarati Haryanvi Hindi Jharkhand Kannada Kashmiri Khasi Khortha Kokborok Konkani Kutchi Malayalam Manipur Marathi Meitei Nagpuri Odia Punjabi Rajasthani Sambalpuri Sanskrit Santali Sindhi Tamil Telugu Tulu
Other topics	International Film Festival of India Submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film Winners and nominees of the Academy Awards Winners and nominees of the Golden Globe Awards Winners and nominees of the British Academy Film Awards Winners and nominees at the Cannes Film Festival Most expensive films List of Indian film series Science fiction films in India Horror films ghost films Hindi Malayalam Highest-grossing films Highest-grossing South Indian films