5 Coming of Age Bengali Films

Very few films deal with teenage and the issues of the growing up years. There are a few Bengali films that are based on growing up years of the youth very sensitively and beautifully. Here are 5 such movies to watch:

1. Open Tee Bioscope: This 2015 film is one of the best Bengali Coming-of-age drama that tells the story of a young boy who gets expelled from school and comes to North Kolkata where he gets mingled with other boys of his age. Friendship, rivalry, first-love and sports-the film sew up all the aspects of the young generation so beautifully. The typical North Kolkata daily life has been projected with mastery by director Anindya Chatterji. One cannot miss the melodious songs, " Bondhu chol." and " Pagla Khabi ki".

2. Generation Ami: A teenager overburdened by his father's pressure over studies gets a sigh of relief when his elder cousin, who is a recovering drug-addict  comes to stay with them. Rwitobroto and Sauraseni make an adorable cousin duo in this 2018 film, who are always up for something. A tender young mind can get absolutely turmoiled by parental negligence and this sensitive issue has been covered with so much care by director Mainak Bhowmik in this film. According to me it is a must-watch for all parents. 

3. Samantaral: A teenager meets his extended family and is shocked to get revealed to a dark secret about them, which is related to the confinement of one of his uncles. With the help of his girlfriend, Arko, almost frees his uncle from the brutal confinement that he had been subjected to by his own family. This 2017 movie is a very heartwarming tale of how some individuals who are slightly different from others are sabotaged and kept in darkness for years and who never get a chance to live life in their own terms. Director Partho Chakraborty has gifted us with a touching story and kudos to Parambrata Chattopadhyay for playing such a complicated character like Sujoy so effortlessly.

4. Phoring: A teenager boy, Phoring who considers himself a loser and constantly fights with the voices in his head, finds new meaning to life under the guidance of his new school teacher. Phoring is a 2013 film that very skilfully tells the story of an adolescent and his struggle to keep up with the harsh realities of the world. The film has won several awards which are quite well-deserved. One of the rarest efforts from a Bengali director, Phoring is a narration of a complex world through a young adolescent's eyes.

5. Icche: A young boy's life gets absolutely miserable under his overprotective and obsessive mother. This 2011 film leads us through Mamata and his son Soumik's lives from Soumik's nursery days, where itself we get to see the mother's over posessive nature of making her son dance in her tunes. This nature continues throughout his school years, and ultimately when the boy grows up, he completely goes out of hands of his mother and starts taking his own decision, completely oppossing his mother's will and much to her dismay. Icche is a realistic approach to the unrealistic desires of a mother from her son, in every aspect of life.