10 Bengali Directors Who Made A Fantastic Debut

Abir Sengupta came to direction with the experience of writing the screenplay and dialogues of popular television show C.I.D. However, he decided against making his debut with a thriller and instead chose to make a romantic comedy and roped in Abir Chatterjee and Paayel Sarkar to play the lead. The film was appreciated for its linear narration and surreal elements.

He won millions of hearts with his songs such as ‘Dudh na khele’, ‘Bhindeshi tara’ and won the National Award for best lyrics for ‘Pherari Mon’ in Antaheen and also earned accolades as an actor in Rituparna Ghosh’s ‘Subho Mahurat’. This year, the audiences saw another side of Anindya that of a director when he came up with his debut film, ‘Open Tee Bioscope’. Seeped in nostalgia and childhood memories of growing up in north Kolkata, the film went onto become one of the biggest hits of 2015. A coming-of-age film about a bunch of youngsters living in north Kolkata, not only did the movie have a good run at the box office, it wowed both the critics and the masses. Packed with some commendable performances and soulful music, the movie left a mark on the minds of the audiences.

From ‘Fetaru’ to ‘Bikele Bhorer Shorshe Phool’, Debesh’s plays have always been appreciated for their content and direction. So, his debut as a filmmaker had expectations soaring. He managed to make an impactful debut with ‘Natoker Moto’, which revolved around the life and struggles of legendary theatre personality Keya Chakraborty. The audience loved both the film and Paoli Dam’s performance. The film was selected at Indian Panorama at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

Made on a modest budget, this film earned accolades for its simple storytelling by newbie director Pavel starring powerhouse actors like Parambrat and Kaushik Sen in lead roles. The story revolves around a street urchin, Kencho, who believes Mahatma Gandhi to be his father and became a surprise modest hit at the box-office. The movie about the discovery of Mahatma Gandhi through the eyes of a street child won many hearts. Based around Kencho, who has an encounter with the Father of the Nation through a currency note with Gandhiji's photo on it, the film was lauded for its out-of-the-box storyline.

It is a dream for any director to cast three National Award-winning actresses in the same film. John is certainly one of the lucky who managed to roped in three powerhouse performers; Roopa Ganguly, Indrani Haldar and Rituparna Sengupta for his debut film, Aro Ekbar. Fortunately, this film on friendship was loved by audience certainly for the on screen chemistry of the three actresses.

Bollywood director Imtiaz Ali came down to Kolkata to promote Bauddhayan Mukherji’s debut film and spoke highly about its content. The film travelled to various international film festivals and won accolades too. Though the film didn’t do well at the box office, Mukherji was appreciated for the unusual concept and narrative. One of the three stories in ‘Teenkahon’, the movie got the Special Mention of the Student Jury for Best Narrative Feature at this year's Festival du Film D'Asie du Sud Transgressif in Paris.

The debutant filmmaker took a bold risk by showcasing the murky porn industry of Kolkata and it paid off. The youngster’s based film appealed to the masses with stars like Shaheb, Mumtaz Sorcar, Ena Saha among others and is still running in theatres despite the controversial subject line.

Based on Saradindu Bandopadhyay's story of the same name, Saibal Mitra's ‘Sajarur Kanta’ saw the eldest Byomkesh aka Dhritiman Chatterji solving a crime case. In keeping with the sleuth's success rate at the box office, the film that also starred Konkona Sen Sharma had an encouraging run at the box office.

Aritra Mukherjee quit his job at an MNC and pursued his passion, that of filmmaking. However, his debut directorial, which was a comedy and had actors like Arjun Chakraborty and Amrita Chattopadhyay in the lead, failed to heat up the box-office even though the story was appreciated.

A lawyer by profession, Ipsita Seal entered the world of films with a crime thriller. The film, based on Rupak Saha’s story “Sada Patay Kaloalo Daag”, revolves around a journalist. Though the film had actors Indraneil Sengupta and Paoli Dam, it failed to generate healthy response at the box office but was appreciated for the strong storyline.