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Since the advent of the talkie era, playback has played a big role in Bengali cinema. From Kanan Devi’s Ami banaphool go to Arati Mukhopadhyay’s Ami Miss Calutta — our films have a song for every emotion. In this segment, BFA tunes in to the music composers, singers and lyricists who made all that happen. The bonus is a chance to listen to the BFA-curated list of hits across seven decades!
Prabha Devi, Ketaki Dutta and Sarujabala Devi - the unknown lives of three heroines
Right after cremating her daughter, actress Prabha Devi performed in the role of a seductress on stage. Her talented daughter, Ketaki Dutta, never received the accolades she deserved. To make both ends meet, she resorted to making pickles and handicraft. Known fondly as the stage empress, Sarajubala Devi was bereft of petty ego and treated her junior after the latter was applauded in the media for out-performing her on stage! That junior artist is today’s Madhabi Mukhopadhy who now revisits the era to share anecdotes from the lives of the three doyens of Bengal
The iconic Paradise Cinema has been a cherished part of Kolkata's cine history. Nirmal De’s Sare Chuattor marked its first Bengali screening in 1953, amidst a legacy primarily dedicated to Hindi films. From the triple-layered curtains covering its single screen to the chilled air from the running ACs wafting through its doors during intervals, each detail of Paradise’s majestic allure is still ingrained in the fond memories of its patrons. One such patron is Junaid Ahmed. BFA joins this Dharmatala resident as he recollects his days of being a witness to paradise on earth in this Bijoy Chowdhury film
Do you know that the famous swing scene of Charulata was shot in a garden on of the erstwhile Bengal Engineering College campus in Shibpur? Are you aware of what happened when Debaki Kumar Bose had accidentally chanced upon Tarun Majumdar's publicity design of Padatik? Do you have a clue about how Asit Sen learnt the fine art of low angle shots when he had first met Satyajit Ray at the DJ Keymer advertising firm? Read on to check out such anecdotes that happened on and off the sets of some of our cult Bengali films.