3 Bengali Sports Dramas I Loved Watching as A Proud Indian #BlogChatterBlogHop

By

There are very few sports dramas made in the Bengali language. Even when they do exist, most of them are based on contemporary themes. Films like "Lagaan," which fall under the sports drama category with a patriotic touch, are a rare treat for viewers. Bengali filmmakers have also explored the concept of sports dramas with a patriotic flavour, although they started doing so much later. As the saying goes, "better late than never." Here are three Bengali sports dramas that will ignite your patriotic spirit.

1. Egaro ( 2011): One of the most remarkable events to have happened in the history of Indian Football was the win of Mohan Bagan Club over the East Yorkshire Regiment and winning the prestigious IFA Cup in 1911. This film is a very authentic representation of that dramatic event, where the team, consisting of All-Indian players, played barefoot against a more professional and powerful British Team, under the able leadership of Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari. 


The film, directed by Arun Roy, features Shankar Chakraborty portraying the legendary Nagendra Sarbadhikari, along with other actors such as Rajat Ganguly and Tanima Sen. The song "Amader Surjo Maroon" by Arijit Singh serves as a fitting introduction to the iconic green-maroon jersey of the Mohan Bagan Club. Although the movie contains a few factual inaccuracies and some technically inappropriate events, it captures the audience's hearts, largely due to the grandeur of the victory it depicts and the underlying freedom struggle being carried out. The simultaneous freedom struggle during this period, including Kshudiram Bose's hanging and the involvement of a freedom fighter as a team member, significantly enhances the event's patriotic significance.

2. Golondaaj (2021): Interestingly, this film also focuses on the topic of Mohun Bagan Club's IFA Cup victory over the East Yorkshire Regiment. However, it is more glamorous and produced on a larger scale, featuring Dev in the role of Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari, along with several popular actors known for their strong screen presence, such as Anirban Bhattacharya, John Bhattacharya, and Ishaa Saha. 



Despite the glamour and intensely dramatised sequences, the film loses some authenticity and rawness compared to the actual events. In this regard, "Egaro" ultimately comes out as the better film. In recent years, Dev has showcased various personas, moving away from his earlier "Larger than Life" characters that established him as the most reliable star of Bengali commercial films. Ishaa Saha, as Nagendra's wife, gives a stunning performance and looks beautiful in every frame. 

3. Mukti (2022): This captivating 9-episode TV show features a unique story. Its tagline, "Different ways, one destination," naturally piques viewers' curiosity. The ultimate goal is the same: a free India, but the approaches differ. Some characters are extreme revolutionaries, while others adhere to the Gandhian philosophy of non-violence within Midnapore Jail.


Ritwick Chakraborty portrays Ram Kinkar Ghosh, the newly assigned Deputy Jailor of the prison, where he witnesses the immense suffering of the prisoners, particularly the political ones. The cruel and tyrannical Jailor Alfred Petty uses football to discipline the revolutionaries, alongside hard labour and other forms of punishment. To alleviate the stress of the prisoners, Ram Kinkar devises a plan to form a football team made up of those willing to play, allowing them to be spared from daily labour. A seasoned footballer himself, Ram Kinkar trains the prisoners under strict supervision. 

This raises the question: Why does Ram Kinkar come up with this innovative idea? Is it simply about sports, or is there a deeper motive behind the match? 

The cast, including Ritwick Chakraborty, Arjun Chakraborty, Arna Mukherji, Suhotra Mukherji, Satyam Bhattacharya, Saheb Chatterji, Chandreyi Ghosh, and Dwitipriya Roy, delivers a spirited performance, reminiscent of a winning football team.

This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mushy Mushrooms, Mini Macaroons & 5 Whodunnit Murder Mysteries to Watch on My Breakfast Plate

By
Image
As the mother of a fourth-grade student, my mornings start at 5:30 a.m. daily. Making breakfast and setting up lunchboxes keep me occupied during those hours and since I like to keep it simple for breakfasts, they generally get quite boring, with either bread toasts or chapattis. (common story of a lot of moms). Sometimes our wishes can go to an extravaganza and the longing for a due break with a lavish breakfast consisting of some creamy- buttery mushy mushrooms sprinkled with roasted garlic, some berry-flavoured mini macaroons and to top it all a thrilling, chilling old-fashioned Whodunnit Murder Mystery Movie playing on TV just makes things perfect. Sounds like quite a plateful right? Since we have already made a grand plan of how my breakfast plate is going to look, let's narrow down the list of Murder Mystery movies that can be included in my watchlist. 1. Knives Out (2019): Imagine digging your fork into a plateful of yummy creamy mushrooms, tuning into Daniel...
Read more

Top 5 Films Based on Communal/Civil Wars and Internal Feuds

By
Image
A couple of days back I watched a film, only to get a headache and I forgot its name too. But still, I watched it, some people won't change. Will they? Like nations in continuous wars and internal feuds -God knows what they get out of it. War has not done good for anyone ever. While their purpose is best known to them, my purpose as a cinema lover is to create a list of films that cover topics of Communal/Civil war and internal feuds:   1. The Killing Fields: I had no idea about the history of Cambodia, till I watched this 1984 film, during my mid-twenties. A nation that was absolutely devastated as a result of the killing of thousands of its citizens under the bloodthirsty Khmer Rouge reign - Killing Fields covered this history through the pen of a New York Times journalist and his Cambodian associate. The movie is difficult to watch due to the depiction of the horrid nature of the brutality that innocent people had to go through. Pran, the Cambodian journalist had to endeav...
Read more

Self-Reflection and Realization

By
Image
Every year, before the onset of Durga Puja, readers of Bengali literature receive some precious gifts in the form of the Sharadiya Pujabarshiki (Yearly Literary Magazine). For the past 70 years or so, we have seen some outstanding works from the Creme' of Bengali literature like Samaresh Basu, Sunil Ganguly, Shirshendu Mukherjee, Ashapurna Devi and many others being published in these magazines for the first time. This trend continues; this year, too, my husband gifted me a few such magazines before Durga Puja. Kishore Bharati is one of the magazines I got and today I picked a story called "Vaijayantimala"  from that. for November's #TBRChallenge . About the Author: The author Bhaswar Chatterjee is a popular Film and Television actor who works predominantly in the Bengali Film Industry. He started his career as an actor in 1998 from television serials and later worked in Rajkumar Santoshi's The Legend of Bhagat Singh. In his elaborate career, spanning almost 30 y...
Read more