9 Most Popular Bangla Director-Actor Combos That Won Audience's Hearts

Though Arindam Sil is a three-movies-old director, he seems to have found his favourite and it’s none other than the most desired man in Tollywood! Abir played pivotal roles in his first two releases and when Sil decided to make a film adaptation of Saradindu Bandyopadhyay’s ‘Banhi Patanga,’ he couldn’t find a better Byomkesh Bakshi than Abir. The actor didn’t disappoint him and 'Har Har Byomkesh' became one of the biggest hits of the year.

Raj Chakraborty, who has given break to a lot of new talents in Tollywood, has a huge contribution in the filmography of Dev. The collaboration that started with super-hit movie ‘Challenge,’ presented some of the biggest blockbusters like 'Le Chakka,' 'Dui Prithibi,' 'Yoddha' etc. in the current past. Tollywood is expecting more hits from this cool pairing.

Srijit’s debut movie ‘Autograph’ became one of the highest-grossing films of 2010 and marked the beginning of a significant innings of Bangla cinema. The actor-director duo have made four films in total (Autograph, Baishe Srabon, Mishawr Rawhoshyo and Jaatishwar) and all of them generated accolades from film enthusiasts and won several awards in the process. The viewers are waiting for this pair’s comeback in Srijit’s next ‘Zulfiquar.’

Just like his father Satyajit Ray, Sandip Ray has his favourite. Paran Bandyoadhyay, an extremely talented actor of Bengali TV and big screen found the proper platform to express his skill through Sandip Ray. His performance in ‘Bombaiyer Bombete’ was loved by the audience and established a great director-actor bond that would continue to amuse for the next couple of years. Ray repeated him in seven movies where Bandyopadhyay played pivotal roles and often overshadowed the leads effortlessly.

Sabyasachi Chakrabarty played the fan’s favourite Prodosh Chandra Mitra aka ‘Feluda’ in five ‘Feluda’ movies and numerous TV episodes based on Satyajit Ray’s popular detective series. The duo achieved instant acceptance and set a successful journey for several years. They also worked in a film named ‘Nishijapan’ and their work was loved equally.

Rituparno brought the much needed Midas touch in Prosenjit’s career and redefined him as an actor. Prosenjit Chatterjee, who was yet to give his best as an artist, made a significant place in the heart of the movie buffs once he joined Rituporno’s camp. Though ‘Unishe April’ was the first film that Chatterjee did with this eminent director, it was ‘Chokher Bali’ where the collaboration grabbed viewer’s attention. The pair went on to churn out critically acclaimed films like, ‘Dosar’, ‘Shob Chorito Kalponik’, ‘Noukadubi’ etc.

The most celebrated comedian of Bengali films, Rabi Ghosh was part of six masterpieces directed by Satyajit Ray. Except Mrinal Sen, nobody was able to explore the different shades of this amazing actor the way Ray did. The funny man of mainstream cinema could pull almost all characters with precision. Ray recognized his talent and utilize it in ‘Abhijan’, ‘Mahapurush’, ‘Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne’, ‘Hirak Rajar Deshe' and 'Goopi Bagha Phire Elo.’ Goopi Bagha trilogy became the most significant ventures of Ghosh’s life.

Another pillar of Bengali parallel movies, Tapan Sinha dedicated his heart and soul to capture the social realism and made Anil Chatterjee his companion in his effort. In the movies like 'Atanka', 'Ek Je Chilo Desh', 'Sagina Mahato', 'Harmonium', 'Andhar Periye', 'Jotugriha', 'Louhokopat' this pair made an unwavering impact on the audience's mind.

These two are the ultimate director-actor pair who brought Bengali cinema to a different level. Together they delivered fifteen iconic films (including one documentary), but the best part is it’s not the number that gives it the No.1 position. The timeless pictures they have delivered involve the name like 'Abhijan', 'Charulata', 'Asani Sanket', 'Sonar Kella', 'Joi Baba Felunath', 'Ghare-Baire', in short, the list includes all the names that put Bengali films in the international map.