Goynar Baksho

Director: Aparna Sen

Starring: Moushumi Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee, Shrabanti, Konkona Sensharma, Koushik Sen

If Moushumi Chatterjee’s Pishima was a riot, Shrabanti was the surprise package with her looks and acting. A fun watch, Goynar Baksho got panned for its amateurish special effects and clumsy ending but it found takers aplenty.

Meghe Dhaka Tara

Director: Kamaleswar Mukherjee

Starring: Saswata Chatterjee, Ananya Chatterjee, Abir Chatterjee

If Saswata will be remembered for another role apart from Kahaani’s Bob Biswas then that’s Neelkantha in Kamaleswar Mukherjee’s Meghe Dhaka Tara, a biopic on Ritwik Ghatak. He brought alive the pathos, the pain, the madness of Ghatak. Complementing him was Ananya Chatterjee as his wife. Not a box-office winner but a quiet gamechanger in many ways.

Shabdo

Director: Kaushik Ganguly

Starring: Ritwick Chakraborty, Raima Sen, Churni Ganguly

When it comes to hatke subjects Kaushik Ganguly tops the list. A lower-middle class north Calcutta foley artiste (Ritwick Chakraborty) and his obsession with sound became one of the talking points of 2013. Raima Sen had little to do as Ritwick’s wife but we can’t forget the pathos in her eyes. Two thumbs-up.

Maach Mishti & More

Director: Mainak Bhaumik

Starring: Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Swastika Mukherjee, Raima Sen, Soumitra Chatterjee, Parno Mittra, Anubrata Basu, Neha Panda, Shauvik

A middle-of-the-road film about three brothers, their lives and the women they fall for is what this Mainak Bhaumik film explored. We loved the Anubrata-Neha track, the Swastika-Ajopa sister act, Raima as the madcap yoga teacher, Param as the true-blue Bangali, the Soumitra-Parno bond.... actually we quite loved Maach Mishti & More. It was our tale delightfully told.

Hanuman.com

Director: Gaurav Pandey

Starring: Prosenjit, Moushumi, Saskia Ranwig

The Rs 5cr film starring Prosenjit as village schoolteacher Anjani

Putra was in the news as the first Tolly film to shoot in Iceland! With its international look and feel, the film on the impact of technology on our lives drew muted applause for an extraordinary journey of an ordinary man. One of Prosenjit’s co-stars Saskia Ranwig, hailed from Germany, and the film premiered in Singapore on December 8.

Tasher Desh

Director: Q

Starring: Rii, Anubrata, Tillotama Shome

Tasher Desh is about breaking rules, and Q was doing it in every frame, with every song, in his vivid re-imagining of Tagore’s dance drama. Staying true to Tagore’s vision, Q took viewers on a psychedelic trip. The film was visually captivating, a visceral watch. The music, produced by Q, Neel and Miti Adhikari, was exhilarating and emotionally gripping.

Rupkatha Noy

Director: Atanu Ghosh

Starring: Soumitra Chatterjee, Radhika Apte, Gaurav Chakrabarty, Koushik Sen

The poignant tale of a septuagenarian who goes out of his way to connect with GeneratioNext. Soumitra Chatterjee as protagonist Sisir Ray was all flesh and blood. The tracks (Radhika-Koushik; Sohini-Gaurav; Rahul) criss-cross and also take the shape of a thriller.

Ashchorjyo prodeep

Director: Anik Datta

Starring: Saswata Chatterjee, Rajatava Dutta, Sreelekha Mitra, Mumtaz Sorcar

Director Anik Datta combined mirth with magic to follow up on his clutter-breaking Bhooter Bhobishyot. He brought in a genie instead of ghosts and packed in wordplay aplenty but for many this turned out to be a disappointing watch. Saswata as the unassuming, henpecked Bangali was a delight, and Sreelekha scored as his wife.

Phoring

Director: Indranil Roychowdhury (Kobi)

Starring: Akash, Sohini Sarkar, Ritwick Chakraborty

A growing up tale of an adolescent boy and his fantasies about a beautiful school teacher touched a chord. If you manage to overlook the plot similarities with the Italian film Malena, Phoring is a wonderful tale of a schoolboy, harking back to pure Bangla cinema. DoP Indranil Mukherjee’s work was praiseworthy.

Bakita Byaktigato

Director: Pradipta Bhattacharyya

Starring: Ritwick Chakraborty, Aparajita Ghosh

An amateur documentary filmmaker goes searching for true love. In the process of filming, Ritwick, the leading man, ends up interviewing real people — like students, people in a fish market and even a panda at Kalighat. Backed by Srijit Mukherji, this indie film was loved by the few who watched it.

Kangal Malsat

Director: Suman Mukhopadhyay

Starring: Kabir Suman, Kaushik Ganguly, Kamalika

The tongue-in-cheek Nabarun Bhattacharya novel turned into a moving tale of the downtrodden in Suman’s adaptation. Littered with cuss words and bordering on the absurd, this one sure was brave, very brave.