7 All-Time ‘Best’ Debates That Continue To Live On In Bengali Cinema

Uttam Kumar or Soumitra Chatterjee? Bangla cinema lovers are debating on the same for more than fifty years and you thought the clash of the Khans are the biggest filmy fight ever? Mahanayak Uttam Kumar is the ultimate phenomenon of Bangla cinema, the icon of Bengali style, romance and attitude. The debate started to emerge when an exceptionally handsome Soumitra Chatterjee appeared on the celluloid under Satyajit Ray's direction. In present time, both have been considered as legends of Bangla cinema, but the debate is still going on.

While the argumentation over Uttam Kumar and Soumitra has marked an intense filmy adda, a discussion on these two ace directors symbolize the innate film critic that dwells in every Bengali. Satyajit Ray and Ritwick Ghatak are the two milestones of Bengal as well as Indian parallel cinema. While Ray's followers would simply call him a superior storyteller, the supporters of Ghatak claim Satyajit becomes insignificant in front of 'Komolgandhar' director.

One possesses a gifted voice another is a connoisseur of Indian classical. The third one's baritone reflects the emotion like no one else. Three icons of Bengali filmy and non-filmy music have been equally loved by the listeners, but that won't stop us from engaging in an argument over these nightingales of Bengal. No matter how much we the Bengali listeners adore Anupam and Arijit Singh now, Hemanta Kumar, Manna Dey and Shyamal Mitra remain our favourites and the centre of all musical contention.

The fight is a little tougher here as the claimants for this position are not two or three, but five legendary actors who deserve the title for their unbeatable talent of making people laugh. Who can forget Santosh Dutta's epic 'Uut ki kata beche khaye' or Bhanu Bandyopadhyay's 'Mashima malpo khamu'? In the unforgettable classics like 'Jamaloye Jibanta Manush,' 'Golpo Holeo Sotti,' 'Parashpathor' these actors transpire as heroes. The movie maniacs are yet to find a result, in this polling that seems to have no ending.

You can find multiple candidates for this category, but most of the time we will talk about three song sequences that managed to defy the time. The bike ride of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen while humming 'Ei Poth Jodi na sesh hoy' or an enigmatic Soumitra lip-syncing with melodious 'Hoyto tomare jonno' became a landmark of Bengali romance. Also, not to forget the soulful 'Tumi je amar'. Geeta Dutt's song and Suchitra Sen's enchanting beauty still give us romantic goals.

This one begins with the bookworms and invades the discussion of film-falatics. Once these two detectives appeared on the silver screen, the comparison was bound to happen and now that both franchises are striking gold at the box-office, the debate seems to have no end. Anyway, the fight doesn't stop viewers from showering love to Satyanweshi and the man with awesome 'magajastra'.

When Byomkesh made his first big screen appearance, it is Uttam Kumar who donned the classic Satyanweshi looks and won the national award for the same. However, this debate starts when, after a decade Abir Chatterjee was roped for playing the super sleuth. With sharp features and the right attitude Abir became the perfect Byomkesh. However, for some complications Jisshu Sengupta replaced Abir and won the hearts of the fans. This marks the beginning of a new debate. We have to wait long to find its final conclusion as both are essaying the part with precision.