Three months of tumultuous planning finally lead to the
4days of extravaganza.
The 5th edition of Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival held from 21st to 24th of
June this year and the city of Nizam yet again experienced the vigor of
Bangaliana (the Bengali ways).
With every successive year, comes the greater responsibility
of making it a little better than the previous one. With this motto in mind,
this year not only feature films were showcased but also a segment called SEED,
which was for Short Films and Documentaries, was organized on the first day
of
the festival.
Much like the feature films, the short film industry is also flourishing with
directors and writers who have their own way of portraying the society, in fewer
words. The response for this segment was overwhelming and entries were received
not only from India but around the world.
There were 15 features films; of which 13 were Bengali
movies (1 of them called PUPA directed by Mr. Kamaleshwar Mukherjee, was
premiered here and about to release in July).
:Other movies that were showcased:
~IYE
~MAYURAKSHI
~SHONAR PAHAR
~ANDARKAHINI
~GOODNIGHT CITY
~ROKTOKOROBI
~RAINBOW JELLY
~UNDER CONSTRUCTION
~BECHE THAKAR GAAN
~ALIFA
Much like the last year, there were guest language movies as well, two this
time; 1 in Marathi which was premiered here: AARON directed by Mr.Omkar Shetty. and 1 in Telugu.
There was a segment which was particularly very close to my
heart called “Return To Classics” with the legendary director Mr.Tarun Majumdar.
Both his movies “ALO” and “NIMONTRON” were gems and pride of Bengali cinema and
we were lucky enough to witness them with the man behind the camera, himself. The
most memorable moment was when he touched my head while I was touching his feet
and said,"Bhalo theko." (stay well). His simplistic ways and humble nature made me
wonder of that time when gentlemen like him used to live. He is the last one
among the living legends.
Among all the management and running around, there were
moments that made me realize that ‘big stars’ as they say of Bengali or Marathi
film industry, can be as normal as we are, be it actors or film makers. They laughed
with us, ate with us, gossiped even, and made it more like a family event
rather than a Film Festival.
In the interactive sessions, when
viewers got a chance to interact with them after the screening of every movie,
all the delegates present there, very gladly and lovingly greeted and answered
all the queries irrespective of time and the length of the questions asked.
For a movie buff like me, HBFF(Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival) is more than just a festival,
it is a chance to know people about whom we only read in news papers and
getting to know them in a more humane level. Staying outside Bengal, it has
always been a hurdle to watch good Bengali movies, but since the inception of HBFF, more number of Bengali movies are being released in Hyderabad as the
distributors too have realized about the Bengali crowd here.
Apart from being a star studded event, HBFF is very special to me on a personal
level. It was the first event or gathering of people I went after I came to
Hyderabad one and half years ago. Not only did I get to know some amazing
people, I found that confidence in me that made me believe that I can survive
in this city now. They welcomed me like I was one of them since forever. This
is my second year as a part of the organizing crew of this amazing event and I
can very proudly say that you are my extended family and that, it is because of
you all, I have the sense of belonging now.
Home is where your
heart is. Thank you BiH family and Team HBFF for making Hyderabad, a home away
from home, for me.
I will be forever grateful!
I love you all.
…..till next time..
#StayBlessed
all the pictures are
©Samarjit Sarkar Roy Mahajan
Screen number 2, moments before the madness began
Team HBFF2018
