5 Types of Fathers Seen in Bengali Movies #blogchatterbloghop

I still remember those times when every Saturday and Sunday, we used to wait for an old classic Bengali/Hindi movie shown on Doordarshan. "Harano Sur", "Dewa Newa", "Basanta Bilap"-all great movies with some soul-touching tunes and our weekends were sorted. Today, as I think about those films and rewatch them from a different perspective, I analyse the stereotypes that come with most movies. And one of the stereotypes that resurfaces every time is the type of father generally shown in Bengali movies. Here I am talking about commercial and popular movies. The interesting thing is that stories evolve, thinking evolves, but the presentation of fathers in movies has been moderated yet remains unchanged. There is a formulaic trope that ties the father or father figure to certain characteristics that seldom break barriers. So, today I have classified 5 types of fathers commonly shown in Bengali movies, and this trend has continued since the 50s. 

1. The "Overthinking Lamenting" Father: This type of fathers, in Bengali films, is mostly shown as retired, trying to survive with an unmarried daughter, a jobless good-for-nothing son and no earning member. He always thinks about the family's well-being but has little power to do anything for them, so he overthinks and mostly shares his pain with anyone who comes home, and every well-established unmarried guest appears to be a prospective groom for his unmarried daughter. I have watched many films during the 70s and 80s that typically had this specific setup and a father to go with it. Interestingly, certain specific actors often played such roles, including Satya Bandopadhyay and Kali Bandopadhyay. 

2. The "My Way or Highway" Father: These fathers are often shown as tall, towering personalities with high social status, whose presence silences every other living soul around. They had that one rebel son or daughter, only, who resisted their dictating and dared to choose their lives. You can see them smoking pipes and wearing expensive clothing, while scaring everyone else around. The actors who could be associated with these sorts of characters were Chabi Biswas and Kamal Mitra. Later, even Soumitra Chattopadhyay and Basanta Choudhury were seen donning the role of such a dictator father.

3. The " BFF" Father: They are the best fathers, the epitome of support and friendliness, who are ready to be as lenial as possible. The first actor who comes to my mind whenever I think of such a father is Pahari Sanyal. In recent times, even Biswajit Chakraborty has been shown playing such friendly father characters.

4. The "MIA" Father: These fathers are shown to be present, but hardly impactful in anyone's lives. They generally have a dominating wife, who makes their lives and all the other people's lives hellish. The father has little to say or do, other than looking blankly at his wife or anyone else around. The films of the 80s, highlighting joint family set-ups, had a father figure like this. The actors who usually played these roles were Satya Bandopadhyay and Dilip Roy.

5. The "Danger Dad" Father: This is the father who not only objects to whatever someone does, but they even apply their evil minds to plot against their disobedient son or daughter. Wherever you go, you cannot escape them or their hired goons. The actors who come to mind whenever you think of such villainous fathers are Bikash Roy, Utpal Dutt, Shubhendu Chatterji, and, in recent times, Paran Bandopadhyay and Rajatava Datta. 

These are but movies, and for years, the filmy fathers of Bengal have been portrayed in this way. There were movies with exceptions as well. Irrespective of the light in which the father is shown in films, there is no doubt that the film's story wouldn't have been complete without their presence. In real life, too, a father is our first hero, who teaches us to take responsibility and support our journey as long as they are there.

Celebrate fathers today and every day. Happy Father's Day.

This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop