The changing face of Bengali movies

Last Sunday there was this movie on a Bengali TV channel – it was all about women and how they can really put up a big fight to assert themselves. The name of the movie was ‘Swadey alhadey’ (Swada means taste, Ahlad means happiness). It was yet another example of the gradually changing attitude of Bengalis towards cinema. Gone are the days of Bengali cinemas that dwelt on poverty, on sorrow and on disappointments in life.
The storyline is nothing great – the setting is in a house in North Kolkata that evokes nostalgia. The housewife is constantly hounded by her husband and ma-in-law and makes friend with the girl next door who goes about in short pants even on the roads of this conservative society. When a couple of men try to get fresh with her, she gives it back to them in their own coin and they run away. And, the domestic help joins in the thrashing.

Our docile housewife watches from her balcony and is impressed. She becomes friends with the girl and the two of them plan to go about making some money on their own. The domestic help joins and the three of them decide to go in for catering.
The housewife steals out of her house when her ma-in-law is sleeping after lunch. And, the three women begin their catering business that grows by leaps and bounds.
As expected, our housewife gets caught by her ma-in-law and it all turns nasty – the housewife packs her bag and moves out to stay with her friend. Their business prospers and they open outlets in posh localities and get coverage on TV. But, true to Bengali tradition, there has to be the sentimental touch and that is provided by the illness of the father-in-law. The treatment means money and that raises its ugly head. The only solution appears to be to sell off the house and that is when our docile housewife reenters the scene to resolve the issue.
It was a new type of Bengali movie and bodes well for new producers, directors and actors who want to experiment and have the guts and the ability to take on sensitive issues to reveal the underbelly of society. (to be continued …)

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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