Here's why Bengali films are more artistic than Bollywood films

By Lawrence Noronha, Hindi Cinema afficionado

Bengali cinema has produced some best film-makers in the country over several years. It is known for producing Parallel Cinema and art films, with most of its film-makers gaining international acclaim, and prominence at the Indian National Film Awards.

Bengali films have made frequent appearences in international fora and film festivals, ever since Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali (1955) was awarded the Best Human Document title at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. This allowed Bengali film-makers to reach the global audience. The most influential among them was Satyajit Ray, whose films became successful among European, American and Asian audiences and the famous contemporary cineastes.

Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra—widely acclaimed as the first full-length Indian film—released in 1913. However, Calcutta, the capital of British India till 1911, already had a new film industry in the 1910s. And was almost at par with Bombay in silent and first talkie eras– a history that is often forgotten.

Bengali directors have also left an indelible artistic mark on Hindi Cinema. The Golden Age of Hindi Cinema in the 1950s wouldn’t have been so without Bimal Roy and his award-winning films: Bandini, Parakh, Sujata, Madhumati, Biraj Bahu, Parineeta, and Do Bigha Zameen. Bimal da was followed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatter jee in the 1970s and 80s, who made middle cinema — a blend of artistic and commercial films. A new generation of Bengali directors who have found artistic and commercial success in contemporary Hindi films are: Anurag Basu, Ayan Mukerji, Dibakar Banerjee, Pradeep Sarkar, Shoojit Sircar and Sujoy Ghosh.

The history of the two cinemas can be seen in the two film-makers of the time, Raj Kapoor and Satyajit Ray. Raj Kapoor grew up in Calcutta and spoke Bengali fluently. But when it came time to set up shop to produce Hindi films, he moved to Bombay. Not because he considered Bengal less capable but because Bombay had more to offer. Not the least of which was the popular language of films at the time—Hindustani.

The independence and partition of India had left India and Indians traumatized. RK admired the artistic films being produced in Calcutta. Being the consummate showman, he felt that what the nation needed at the time was more uplifting fare, whereas Bengali Cinema focused on experimentation and local content. Testing had paid rich dividends for Bengali Cinema.

Cinematographer of Ray's 'The Apu Trilogy' Subrata Mitra had a crucial impact 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 technology while filming Aparajito (1956), the second part of The Apu Trilogy. Some of the experimental techniques which Satyajit Ray pioneered include photo-negative flashbacks and X-ray digressions while filming Pratidwandi (1972). 

Subrata Mitra

Raj Kapoor’s relationship with cinema was very complicated. He loved the artistry of Bengali parallel cinema but learned the hard way of the importance of catering to the masses. He admired Satyajit Ray and envied him to the point of getting a Satyajit Ray complex. He envied that Ray had the eccentric but brilliant Subrata Mitra as DoP. He would invite Mitra to his late-night baithaks (mehfils) and pick his brains about lighting and composition. He and Ray did speak about collaborating on a film, but it never got past the serious discussion phase. The two of them were strong film-makers and it would have been a clash of the Titans. There was a talk among Bombay cineastes that they would have to produce a Bengali film if they wanted to win at Cannes . Since RK was fluent in Bengali, he remade Jagte Raho in Bengali starring himself again.

His experimentation with parallel cinema was not very successful. Aag and Mera Naam Joker were deeply personal films but didn’t do well at the box office. So he did the next best thing by blending the artistic and the commercial aspects in his movies. Aag paved the way for commercial successes—Barsaat (1949), Aah (1953), Awaara (1951), Boot Polish (1954), Shree 420 (1955), Chori Chori (1956), Kanhaiya (1959), Main Nashe Men Hoon (1959), Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Aashiq (1962), Ek Dil Sao Afsane (1963) and Sangam (1964). Mera Naam Joker (1970) bankrupted him and his assets went on the block. Out of the ashes of Mera Naam Joker was born Bobby - a phenomenal hit. The experiences of Raj Kapoor were not lost on Bollywood - that commercialism pays but artistry does not.

The newly minted term Bollywood became the perfect moniker for the new craft of film making where crass trumped class. Even Raj Kapoor appeared to be succumbing to the new reality in Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1979) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985).

I have been paying homage to Bengali Cinema through the admiring eyes of Raj Kapoor. If Calcutta wanted, it could have become the hub of Hindi Cinema instead of Bombay. What prevented it from doing so was language, culture, introversion, and business acumen.