A room full of wide smiles and hearts full of pride — this was the most apt description of the mood at the inauguration of the Telangana Bengali Film Festival (TBFF) - Aayna 2025 at Prasad Film Labs, Banjara Hills, on February 7. Every year since 2017, members of the Bengali community in Hyderabad have been coming from across the city to celebrate their culture and cinema. This year, the enthusiasm is greater than ever and will only grow more on February 8 and 9 as eight well-acclaimed Bengali films and one award-winning documentary will be screened.
On the inauguration day, everyone paid homage to the legendary Bengali actor-director Uttam Kumar by perusing through an exhibition of booklets on his movies. They also thoroughly enjoyed a dance performance to a medley of retro songs. TBFF paid tribute to master storyteller Shyam Benegal by screening Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda. On February 8, Benegal’s Junoon will be screened.
Attendees were also very excited to greet and pose for photographs with actor Abir Chatterjee, who was given the Superstar of the Year award at the festival. The film Deep Fridge, starring Abir and actress Tanusree Chakraborty, will be screened on both days at the venue. It is a must-watch, considering that it goes beyond the surface and deals with intricate matters of life.
Something noteworthy is that TBBF goes beyond just Bengali films. On the inauguration day, debut director Chandra Shekar Rathod’s Telugu film Gangster was also screened. You can watch Kumar Swamy’s Sharathulu Varthisthai on February 9.
Award-winning documentary Parama — on the life of Aparna Sen and her contribution towards Indian cinema — is an absolute treat you cannot afford to miss. Among the eight wonderful movies are Srijit Mukherji’s Padatik, a biopic of auteur Mrinal Sen, Pratim D Gupta’s mystery thriller Chaalchitro - The Frame Fatale, and Manasi Sinha’s Eta Amader Golpo, a story of two elderly people, will blow your mind.
You can also watch Sayan Bandyopadhyay's Doaansh, which is about a rural love story set in the heart of the Sundarbans. Directed by Sayan Bandyopadhyay and Anjanabha Roy, Nana Hee, a movie on the lost folk tradition, 'Gambhira', will please both your eyes and soul. For a retro black-and-white movie experience, you can enjoy Abhinandan Banerjee’s Manikbabur Megh, which deals with loss and love. But if you’re into psychological neo-noir, Samik Roy Choudhury’s Beline will take you deep into the intricacies of the fractured human mind.
TBFF is a part of the Hyderabad Bangalee Samity, an 84-year-old sociocultural and philanthropic organisation. The Department of Language and Culture, Telangana, has been associated with TBFF since its inception. Hyderabad Bangalee Samity president Mousumi Chowdhuri gracefully expressed, “When we started this festival in 2017, it was small. But over the years, we’ve had great Bengali film stars grace the event. So many wonderful people in the community have come together and lent their support to Bengali cinema. It is an amazing feeling!”
Vice president Biswajit Mukherjee was particularly energetic, running around and making sure things were in order. “Hyderabad has around 7 lakh Bengalis, so this festival is a great cultural meeting point. We have this event every year to ensure that the next generation of Bengalis are connected to their roots,” he said.
Attendees were jovial and excited for the weekend. Shreyashi, a college student, said, “I can’t wait to watch all the Bengali films on Saturday and Sunday. I am so happy and proud of my culture.”
Well, entry is free — all you have to do is come and binge-watch movies from 11.30 am onwards.