Growing up days – Bengali movies of the 1960s

The Bengali movies of the 1960s presented a special era in movie making because it brought to the forefront C, a black and white movie that revolutionized film making.
Later, in 1962, he presented the movie Kanchenjangha – the first Bengali movie in color. This was another mini revolution because Bengali movies in that period were more often than not in black and white. Suffice it to say that Satyajit Ray left a deep impression on Bengalis and their world of make believe.

As to actors and actresses, the choice in that period was limited to stalwarts like Uttam Kumar, Suchitra Sen, Sabitri Chatterjee, Supriya Debi, Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee, Aparna Sen, Bikash Roy, Kamal Mitra, Pahari Sanyal and their contemporaries. Some of them became typecast in fatherly roles like Kamal Mitra, Pahari Sanyal.
Then there were those who excelled in comic roles – names like Jahar Roy, Bhanu Bandopadhaya, Anup Kumar, Nripati Chatterji, and Robi Ghosh come to mind immediately. They ruled the roost for decades.
Incidentally, Suchitra Sen received international acclaim through the movie Saat Paake Bandha – she received Best Actress award in the 1963 Moscow Film Festival. (to be continued …)