The season of spooks. Ghost movies have ruled the roost for Kolkata throughout 2012 and in the first part of 2013 too. Bollywood too had it's share of ghost movies like Aatma, Ek Thi Daayan. Tollywood also followed suit.
It all started in Tollywood with the massive success of Bhooter Bhobishyot which went on to become a chart buster. Made by ad film maker veteran turned movie director Anik Dutta, it's an adorable movie full of adorable ghosts who live in a very old mansion in Kolkata. They come from all parts of life and different periods of history too. One is a Zamindar who owns this palace. Another was a Lord of British East India Company. One is a movie actress, superstar of black and white era, one is a cook of Nawab Siraj-ud-Dullah. There others like a person from Dhaka, a Bihari Rickshaw puller, a failed rock singer, a military man, a Naxalite leader and others. They live in harmony still humans start bothering them. First shooting companies infringe their privacy and they scare them away. Then a Marwari promoter buys the house and wants to set up a shopping mall there. It all boils down too how they scare the promoter away too. Witty dialogues, great songs, great acting and splendid execution made this movie a super duper bumper hit. It was a multistarrer with great performance from the ensemble cast. The movie can be remade in Hindi too.
After the success of this movie then came another spooky hit called Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy. Directed by Satyajit Ray's son Sandip Ray, the movie comprised of 3 short stories involving ghosts. Two stories written by Satyajit Ray and another by Saradindu Bandopadhyay. Brilliant stories, good direction, editing and acting made the movie enjoyable. It was a great hit among kids and the whole family enjoyed it.
Then came another ghost story called Chhayamoy directed by Haranath Chakrabarty. He had been a masala movie director, but off late he is trying to make good sensible issue based movies. In Chhayamoy, a Bengali geologist living abroad finds out about hidden treasure in a village in Bengal. He goes there, finds the treasure but a local goon takes it away from him. The goon's henchmen beatt him up and throws him to a forest outside the village. There he meets the ghost Chhayamoy who then helps him to fight back. The father son duo of Sabyasachi Chakrabarty and Gaurab Chakrabartty did commendable acting in this movie.
In 2013 too, the trend continues with Gaynar Baksho directed by the acclaimed director Aparna Sen based on a novel by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. This has been Aparna Sen's dream project for long time and she finally completed it now. It was a children novel, but Aparna has changed a storyline a bit and shown how a jewellery box is the witness of changing times, and changing status of women in a typical Bengali family. The movie churns out social issues and also covers the fight for Independence of Bangladesh. Great acting by Aparna Sen's daughter Konkona Sen Sharma and Mousumi Chatterjee. Mousumi Chatterjee plays the ghost in the movie and her appearance is made with good special effects. Konkona is going great this year with great performances in both Gaynar Baksho and Ek Thi Daayan. The movie did not become much of a hit though, contrary to expectations, but impressed a section of the society. The song Bangal Rap became a chartbuster.
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