It is becoming simpler and easier every day to watch movies in other languages thanks to the growth of OTT platforms. Bengali film has influenced many people not only in India but also all over the world because of their rich cultural history. One of the best Indian films is a Bengali film, so the saying goes. Once you get past the obstacle of having trouble understanding the subtitles, you are introduced to a wide variety of amazing films.
It does not come as a surprise that Bengali filmmakers have carved a position in the industry with their remarkable works, notably directors like Satyajit Ray. Why therefore should we restrict ourselves to seeing movies that are only produced in the two or three languages we understand? We may have put together a list just for you!
Here’s a list of the best Bengali movies that you shouldn’t miss out on:
1. Pather Panchali (1955)
Nearly everyone is familiar with this highly regarded Bangla film. It ranks among the ten greatest Bengali films ever made. The story, which was directed by the eminent Satyajit Ray, centres on the poor priest Harihar Ray, who leaves his rural Bengali town in search of a job and hopes to provide a better life for his family.
IMDb rating: 8.3/10
Genre: Drama
2. Charulata (1964)
This Bengali film, which was once again directed by none other than Satyajit Ray, has moved many people to tears. The protagonist of the narrative is a lonely newspaper editor’s wife who progressively develops feelings for her visiting cousin-in-law, who also enjoys reading. The film emphasised the value of interpersonal relationships.
IMDb rating: 8.1/10
Genre: Drama, Romance
3. Bela Seshe (2015)
The story of this Bangla film, which was directed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee, centres on a married couple named Biswanath Majumdar and Arati Majumdar, who have been together for more than 49 years. Nevertheless, astonishingly, Biswanath filed for divorce from Arati a few months before their 50th wedding anniversary.
IMDb rating: 8.5/10
Genre: Family Drama
4. Rajkahini (2015)
This Bengali film, which was directed by Srijit Mukherji, is set in 1947, when India’s political landscape was changing. When requested to leave the building, Begum Jaan, the mistress of the brothel through which the Radcliffe line dividing East and West Bengal passes, resists. She frantically seeks to salvage her company and safeguard the other building occupants.
IMDb rating: 7.2/10
Genre: Drama
5. Aparajito (1956)
This Bengali film starts up where Pather Panchali left off and is once more directed by none other than Satyajit Ray. After relocating from their small West Bengali hamlet to the metropolis of Varanasi, the plot centres on Apu’s family. Apu’s mother must turn to working as a maid after her father’s terrible illness and subsequent death in Varanasi in order to provide for her children.
IMDb rating: 8.3/10
Genre: Drama
6. Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1969)
If you enjoy Bengali movies, you must undoubtedly be familiar with this one. The central characters of this timeless classic, which Satyajit Ray once more directed, are Goopy and Bagha, destitute musicians who are exiled from the Kingdom. Yet because to their abilities, they manage to win over the ghost king, who gives them three wishes.
IMDb rating: 8.7/10
Genre: Fantasy
7. Kony (1984)
This well-known Bengali film, directed by Saroj Dey, was inspired by the book Kony by Moti Nandi. In order to compete in the National Swimming Championship, a gifted swimmer from an impoverished family and her coach Khidda must overcome many challenges and abolish social stigmas.
IMDb rating: 8/10
Genre: Drama
8. Asha Jaoar Majhe (2014)
This film, which Aditya Vikram Sengupta directed, has received accolades both domestically and abroad and has won numerous honours, including the National Film Award for Outstanding Audiography.
The Bengali film centres on two anonymous characters who are struggling to get by in the pulsating metropolis of contemporary Kolkata. Due to their opposing shift schedules, the married couple hardly ever gets to see one another throughout the film, which has no conversation but plays old classic tunes in the background.
IMDb rating: 8/10
Genre: Drama
9. Noukadubi (2010)
This Bengali film, directed by the illustrious Rituparno Ghosh, is based on the Rabindranath Tagore novel of the same name. This historical drama takes place in the 1920s.
The story centres on Ramesh, a young law student who had his heart set on Hemnalini but whose father forced him to wed a widow. The situation worsens for him when the bride has an accident and he discovers after the fact that the woman in a veil he took home is not his wife.
IMDb rating: 7.7/10
Genre: Romance, Drama
10. Hirak Rajar Deshe (1980)
This Bengali film, which Satyajit Ray again directed, is a sequel to the fantasy musical Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne from 1969 and is rife with political satire. When Goopy and Bagha learn of Hirak Raja’s oppression, they use their magical abilities and the assistance of a schoolteacher named Udayan to try to set him straight.
IMDb rating: 8.9/10
Genre: Drama
11. Subarnarekha (1965)
This Bengali film, which was directed by Ritwik Ghatak, was made in 1962 but wasn’t released until 1965. The story revolves around a man who resists his sister’s love for the orphan they adopted years previously. Ishwar Chakraborty and his younger sister Sita must adjust to significant changes in their lives after moving to West Bengal from East Pakistan as a result of the partition of that country in 1947.
IMDb rating: 7.4/10
Genre: Drama
12. Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960)
This classic Bengali film, which Ritwik Ghatak directed, is a heartbreaking reminder of Bengal’s post-partition squalor. The story centres on Neeta, a good-hearted girl who fled East Bengal and now lives in West Bengal. Neeta is exploited by both her family and those around her.
IMDb rating: 7.9/10
Genre: Drama
13. Mahanagar (1963)
This Satyajit Ray film, which he once more directed, supported the social prejudices against working women. Arati, a woman from the middle class in Kolkata, is the focus of the story. Under pressure from her family, she decides to work as a salesperson. But as her husband becomes uneasy about her rising fame, things at home take a bad turn.
IMDb rating: 8.3/10
Genre: Drama
14. Jaatishwar (2014)
The Bengali film Jaatishwar, which was directed by Srijit Mukherji, is unmistakably about rebirth. Rohit falls in love with a Bengali girl while studying in Portugal, and he makes the decision to immerse himself in Bengali folk music in order to learn the language and court her.
IMDb rating: 8/10
Genre: Drama, Musical
15. Sonar Kella (1974)
One of the best detective Bengali movies ever made, this entry in the Feluda series was once again directed by Satyajit Ray. A distraught dad hires private investigator Feluda and his cousin Topshe to look after his child, Mukul, who is in Rajasthan with a parapsychologist searching for a treasure from his prior life.
IMDb rating: 8.4/10
Genre: Adventure
16. Baise Srabon (2011)
This suspenseful Bengali film, directed by Srijit Mukherji, centres on an ex-cop who is recruited to find the serial killer haunting Kolkata’s streets. The murders are carried out by the serial killer in accordance with Bengali poetry.
IMDb rating: 8.1/10
Genre: Thriller
17. Antaheen (2009)
This Bengali film, which was directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, features four connected storylines that highlight diverse human emotions in the jumbled Indian society of today.
IMDb rating: 7.9/10
Genre: Drama
