Toofan & Sarpatta

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Yesterday I watched two films about boxing. First I watched 'Toofan' on Amazon Prime. It is a nice film and I liked it a lot. I love Farhan Akhtar a lot and whatever he does simply amazes me. The way he speaks, his body language and the honesty in his eyes are really fascinating. This film has been directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra who has given us interesting films like 'Aks', 'Rang De Basanti', 'Delhi 6' and 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'. 'Toofan' is a good film though not an outstanding one. Paresh Rawal and Mohan Agashe are brilliant in the film. Mrunal Thakur looks too cute and has acted really well. The storyline is good and the ups and downs along with the physical configurations in the protagonist's life are interesting. Overall I was happy to watch this film.

The second boxing film that I watched was the Tamil film 'Sarpatta' on Amazon Prime. This film is of epic proportions. This film is fascinating and leaves a lasting impression on the viewer's mind. I was completely blown away by this film. This is a period film set in the year 1975 during the days of the Emergency. All the actors have done a tremendous job. Arya in the protagonist's role is simply awesome and has given a mesmerizing performance. The storyline is amazing and the ups and downs along with the physical configurations in the protagonist's life are brilliant. The set design is too good and it feels that the viewer has been transported back in time to 1975. This movie is a must watch for any film buff.  

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First Time @ College Street Coffee House

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The first time I went to the College Street Coffee House was in the year 1995. I was thirteen years old then. I went there with my father. Before going to that place, I had heard many things about the Coffee House from my father and other relatives. I had also heard Manna Dey's song 'Coffee House-er Shei Adda-ta' on radio too. So I was really looking forward to visit this place. I kept on asking my father for months to take me to the Coffee House. 

Finally one day he agreed. I was really thrilled. We went there in a cab. In those days the Ambassador cabs of Calcutta were painted in yellow and black colours. My father also had an Ambassador car in those days but he did not take his car to College Street because of parking problems. Anyways as soon as I stepped inside the Coffee House and walked up those ancient stairs, I immediately fell in love with the place. It was a weekday evening but still it was crowded. We were lucky to get an empty table on the first floor. I clearly remember that I had ordered chicken kabiraji and infusion. My father also ordered an infusion and fish fry. I looked all around the huge hall and was mesmerized by it. I also eavesdropped on the conversations that other people were having at the surrounding tables. We spent around one hour inside Coffee House and then left the place. 

Once we came out of Coffee House, we heard rabindrasangeet being played at a nearby shop. We went to that shop and my father enquired about the singer whose cassette was playing there. Most probably the name of that shop was Parlo-Phone. The shopkeeper told us that the name of the singer was Srabani Sen. My father immediately bought the audio cassette. I looked around the shop and saw Anjan Dutta's 'Purono Guitar' cassette. I asked my father to buy it for me. He initially denied my request. Then I kept on insisting and finally he agreed to buy it for me. I still have both the cassettes with me even to this day...

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Jagga Jasoos & Bobby Jasoos

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Recently I watched 'Jagga Jasoos'. Loved this film tremendously. The way this film has been made is magnificent. I think that this is the first time that a film has been made in this way. I think this is Anurag Basu's best work till date. I am a huge fan of the French director Jean Pierre Jeunet. 'Jagga Jasoos' has the look and the feel of a Jeunet film. Also this film looked like it came straight out from the world of comic books, especially the world of Tin Tin. I have been a fan of Tin Tin since my school days and its really nice to see a Bollywood film shift away from the regular Bollywood-ish stuff and give us something unique. Hopefully Anurag Basu will make a sequel to this film soon... 

Recently I watched 'Bobby Jasoos'. The film was okay for a one time watch. As usual Vidya Balan was very good in the film. Also loved watching Ali Fazal and Arjan Bajwa. The storyline was okay, nothing great and the film was neither too funny nor too interesting. Hopefully the makers of this film will not try to make a sequel. And even if they do then hopefully it will be better than this film...

   

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Kala

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Recently I watched the Malayalam film 'Kala' on Amazon Prime. I was completely blown away by this film. The action sequences in this film are magnificent. The cinematography is captivating. The direction is brilliant. The editing is crisp and stunning. The plot is simple but the way this film has been made is simply mind blowing. This film is not for the weak hearted. I loved this film so much that I watched it twice on the same day. And I just loved the ending...

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Salaam Seth

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'Jeete Hain Shaan Se' released in 1987. I was five years old back then. I saw this film on my uncle's VCR. The film was a typical Bollywood masala film and the songs were good. The song 'Julie Julie' had become a superhit in those days. I loved this song very much. However my personal favourite song in this film was 'Salaam Seth' which was sung by Anu Malik. In those days I was madly in love with this song. I really loved the starting part of this song. I really loved Mithun Chakraborty's dance and the way he played the piano accordion in the starting portion of this song. Also loved Mithun Chakraborty's colourful shirts and colourful high boots in this song. I was scared in the portion where Mithun Chakraborty walked on top of the high wall. I wondered what would have happened if he somehow accidently fell down from the high wall. And I really felt sad in the portion when Mithun Chakraborty visited the church. The lyrics inside the church were very heart touching...

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Two Seconds

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'Henna' released in 1991. I was nine years old back then. I saw the film in VCR at my uncle's house. I really loved the film. It had an unique storyline. The songs were very good. The music was by the great Ravindra Jain. I especially loved the song 'Der Naa Ho Jaye'. This song was really amazing. As a nine year old child I noticed how in the middle of the song, it just stops for two seconds, the camera takes a close up of the faces of Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Reema Lagoo, and then after those precious two seconds Lata Mangeshkar starts singing the part, 'Aaja Ve Mahi Tera Raasta Ho Dekhdiya'. The way this song restarts, first with the music and then with the vocals, after the gap of those two seconds is simply brilliant. Even today whenever I watch this song on Youtube, I always look for the silence of those two seconds...

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Woodland Boots

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I was studying in Class XI at St. Xavier's in the year 2000. That year during Durga Puja I saw a pair of Woodland Boots inside the Woodland showroom at Esplanade and immediately wanted to buy them. But the shoes were very expensive and back then unfortunately I did not have enough money to spend on a pair of Boots. Therefore instead of buying the original Woodland Boots, I bought a similar kind of Woodland-ish rip-off Boots from China-Bazar near Bentinck Street, whose price was quite within my means. Years passed by and every year, during Durga Puja, I thought of buying the original Woodland Boots but somehow never ended up actually buying them because of one reason or the other. 

Then on 24th September 2017, after seventeen long years, I finally bought my life's first Woodland Boots from the Woodland shop at Golpark. They were giving a discount but still the price came around four thousand rupees. I was really happy to buy these Boots. I started wearing them almost every time I left my house and went outside. I have been regularly wearing them for the last four years and they are still in good condition... 

   

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Kabir Singh & Flight

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Recently I watched 'Kabir Singh'. One of the worst films that I have ever watched in my life with the worst storyline ever. The only good part of this film was to watch the beautiful Kiara Advani and the songs were good too. Hated this glorification of toxic masculinity and also hated all the controversy surrounding this film. Really a waste of time.

Anyways the scene where Kabir Singh takes the moral high-ground and confesses to being really drunk in the operation theatre and accepts the punishment reminded me of a similar scene from Robert Zemeckis' 2012 film 'Flight'. Denzel Washington gave a superb performance in this film. I really loved the way this film progressed slowly towards the climax...

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Super Deluxe

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Recently I watched the Tamil film 'Super Deluxe' on Netflix. Loved it very much. This is 2019 film directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja. It features Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh Faasil, Samantha Akkineni, Ramya Krishnan, Mysskin, Gayathrie, Ashwanth Ashokkumar, Bagavathi Perumal and Mirnalini Ravi.

The storyline is unique. The plots are fascinating. The acting is superb. The direction is flawless. Loved the whole theme and message of the film. And really loved the alien in the film. The most beautiful alien woman that I have ever seen in my life. If possible then I would love to marry her and stay with her for the rest of my Life. I am bored with women of the homo sapiens species. I really need inter-galactic Love...

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Praay Kafka

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Recently I watched 'Praay Kafka' on Hoichoi and liked it immensely. In this episode the story, screenplay, dialogue and direction are by none other than the great Chandril Bhattacharya. Anindya Sengupta, Amrita Chattopadhyay, Aindrila Sharma and everyone else have acted superbly here.

 

I have always been a fan of Chandril Bhattacharya. I love his lyrics. I love his columns in the newspapers. I love the way he speaks. Many years back I was completely blown away by 'Y2K Othoba Sex Kromey Asitechhey'. Also loved his short film 'Talent'. 

If you have not watched 'Praay Kafka' then please watch it on Hoichoi. I will not write anything about the story here and spoil your surprise. Believe me, you will really like this funny story. I have watched it five to six times and cannot get enough of it. Chandril Bhattacharya must make more such films in the future...

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Freemason

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I officially became a Freemason on 11th January 2018 at The Freemasons' Hall in Park Street. My initiation into Freemasonry was by invitation. In Freemasonry membership is by invitation only. My Lodge is The Templar Lodge No. 3618 (English Constitution) under the District Grand Lodge of Bengal. That day Brother David from Canada was present there and we all had a gala time at the dinner table. 

I have been going to Park Street regularly since the year 2000. I always wanted to peek inside the Freemasons' Hall at 19 Park Street but was never allowed by the security guards. They told me that only members were allowed inside. I was always very curious about this Freemasonry since my teenage days. I have read about Freemasonry a lot and always wanted to be its member but never knew whom to approach.

Luckily around 2017 I became friends with a man who was already a member at the Freemasons' Hall in Park Street. He invited me to become a member. I had to pay a one time membership fee of ten thousand rupees. Moreover there was also an annual fee too which members have to pay at the beginning of every year. I instantly agreed to pay the money. It was a real honour to become a Freemason.  

The Freemasons' Hall in Park Street is a heritage property. On the ground floor there are lovely rooms and a huge ball room too. On the first floor we have our Freemason Temples. The initiation ceremony is a secret ceremony. I cannot share the details here. We have our own secret rituals, hand grips, signs, words, phrases and literature. We cannot share them with non-Freemasons. Women are not allowed to become members of our Lodge.  

The members of my Lodge used to meet on the last Tuesday of every month. We used to gather together between 6:30 to 7 p.m. At 7 p.m. sharp we used to go to our Temple on the first floor and have our secret rituals. There are various degrees or levels in Freemasonry. Around 8 p.m. we all used to come downstairs and gather around the dinner table. Then we used to have a lavish dinner along with alcohol.

Freemasonry is the oldest club in the world. It started from the time of King Solomon. It went through various phases and various ups and downs over all these years. The Head Quarters of Freemasonry is at London now. Freemasonry has spread throughout the length and breadth of this world. In India too there are many Masonic Lodges in various cities. I have a desire in my heart to visit all the Lodges in India.  

    

Once I became a member things went on smoothly for two years. We members were supposed to meet once every month but we all ended up meeting almost eighteen times in 2018 and nineteen times in 2019. Then from 2020 this horrible chinese communist corona virus entered our lives and really screwed up our lives and turned our lives into hell. We had to stop our meetings. The last meeting we had was on 25th February 2020. After that corona took a violent turn and then we had the lockdown. Since then I have not stepped inside our Lodge...

P.S. Narendranath Dutta a.k.a. Swami Vivekananda was a Freemason. He was initiated into Freemasonry on 19th February 1884. He was a member of the Lodge Anchor and Hope No. 234 (English Constitution). He passed on to the degree of Fellowcraft on 15th April 1884 and was raised to the degree of Master Mason on 20th May 1884. Long live the Brotherhood of Freemasons...   

        

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Valentine's Day 2017

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This is an imaginary story of an Indian man and an Irish woman. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental.



Rahul has been going to the Royal Calcutta Turf Club religiously ever since he turned eighteen. He just loves gambling especially betting on horses. He also loves to play Teen Patti and Texas Poker a lot. Sadly there are no Casinos in Calcutta. Therefore almost every year around November or December, he religiously visits Goa. He has been to almost all the casinos in Goa like Deltin Royale, Deltin Jaqk, Deltin Caravela, Big Daddy, Casino Palms, Casino Pride etc.

Anyways on 11th February 2017 Rahul went to the Royal Calcutta Turf Club. The main attraction of that day was the Queen Elizabeth Cup. He reached there around 11 a.m. There were beautiful women all around in beautiful dresses and gowns with beautiful hats on their heads. That day there were ten races. Rahul had a lovely day at the races. Though he lost a lot of money but still it was fun betting against the odds. He won a big amount on the third race but then again lost that money in the subsequent races. 

Rahul was sitting in the Member's Box till the seventh race. On the eighth race he came downstairs and bought a can of chilled beer. Then he went and sat on the lawn. At the beginning of the ninth race he went to the betting counters on the ground floor. In front of one of the counters, a beautiful foreigner woman was standing. She was wearing a lovely dress and also had a lovely hat on her head. Rahul immediately went and stood behind her. 

The foreigner woman was waiting to get her payment on her eighth race ticket. The payments had not yet been declared. The man at the counter said that it would be declared within the next five minutes. The foreigner woman smiled at him and then looked back at Rahul and also smiled at him too.

Rahul immediately fell truly, madly, deeply, savagely, hopelessly and helplessly in love with that smile. He immediately realized that it was a God-gifted opportunity. He also smiled at her and spoke to her. He asked her name. She said her name was Ciara. Here is how the conversation went :


Rahul : Hi Ciara, do you have any tips for the ninth race?

Ciara : No, I just won by fluke. Today is my first day at the Calcutta races. I am new in Calcutta. I am working for an NGO. 

Rahul : Ok. Then you have beginner's luck on your side. On which horse are you betting on the next race?

Ciara : Ha Ha Ha! I don't know. You give me some tips since you seem to be a regular here. 

Rahul : Well, I am betting against the favourite horses. If I am lucky then I am gonna win a big amount, otherwise I am gonna lose money. 

Ciara : Ok...

Rahul : By the way, you are from which country?

Ciara : I am from Ireland. 

Rahul : Oh Cool! The land of James Joyce! 

Ciara : Exactly... Have you read his books?

Rahul : Well, in my college days I once started to read Ulysses but failed to finish it. It was too long and it was too difficult.

Ciara : Ok...  

Rahul : By the way, you live in which city in Ireland? 

Ciara : Dublin. 

Rahul : Wow! I have heard and read so much about Dublin. I would really love to visit that city someday. I have heard so many good things about the pubs in Dublin.

Ciara : Yeah, we do have amazing pubs...

Rahul : Anyways can I have your number? 

Ciara : Sure...

Rahul and Ciara exchanged numbers. He said that he would call her. Then he went back to his Member's Box and Ciara went back to her friends. That night he called her up around 8 p.m. They talked for an hour. They decided to meet on the evening of 14th February.

On 14th February they first met at The Irish House at Quest Mall. Both of them had a lovely adda. She talked about the pubs in Dublin like Palace Bar, Temple Bar, Long Hall, Confession Box, Oval Bar, Kehoes, Brazen Head, Neary's, McDaid's, Johnnie Fox's, Davy Byrne's, Dropping Well, John Kavanagh’s, Brogan’s, Ryan’s, Royal Oak, The Clock, Tom Kennedy’s, Walsh’s, Gaffney & Son etc.

 

From there Rahul took her to Park Hotel for dinner. They had dinner at The Bridge restaurant. After dinner they went to Roxy around 10 p.m. The place was jam packed with people. There was not even a single square centimeter of free space on the dance floor. The DJ music was fascinating. The whole ambience of Roxy was intoxicating. Rahul and Ciara danced together like there was no tomorrow. While dancing their bodies came close to each other and their first Indo-Irish kiss happened at midnight...

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Feluda Ferot @ Addatimes

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So now we have a new Feluda in the form of Tota Roy Chowdhury, a new Topshe in the form of Kalpan Mitra and a new Jatayu in the form of Anirban Chakrabarti. Its really nice to see another adventure of Feluda, this time at Addatimes. This adventure is called 'Chhinamostar Obhishaap'. We bongs really need a new Feluda film or series after every few years to bring some sort of excitement into our boring lives.

The great Satyajit Ray’s quintessential and much loved Bengali private detective Prodosh Chandra Mitter a.k.a. Feluda, who stays at 21 Rajani Sen Road, makes an adventurous comeback in this webseries directed by none other than the great Srijit Mukherji. Once I saw the trailer, I was really looking forward to watch it at Addatimes. I was not a subscriber of Addatimes and I only subscribed to this OTT platform just to watch the new Feluda. 

Over the years Feluda has been portrayed by Soumitra Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Shashi Kapoor, Abir Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Ahmed Rubel and now Tota Roy Chowdhury. Obviously Soumitra Chatterjee is still the best Feluda ever. Sabyasachi Chakrabarty comes in at second place. And now I would place Tota Roy Chowdhury in the third place. I loved Tota Roy Chowdhury as the new Feluda. He looked as if he straight away walked out from the illustrations of the Feluda story books. The hairstyle, the clothes, the mannerisms all looked perfect. Sometimes too perfect. But in some scenes he looked as if he was very conscious of his acting in this role. However I guess with more Feluda stories in the future, he would ease into this role and give much better performances. 

The new Topshe and Jatayu were okay-ish. The director has remained loyal to the original storyline. Thank God Feluda does not have a mobile phone! All the other characters have acted really well. Dhritiman Chatterjee was at his usual best. Rishi kaushik gave a superb performance. Arindam Ganguly also was very good here. I really loved the word-plays in this story. Also loved the reference to rabindrasangeet playing at traffic signals!

Loved the theme song which featured the three famous singers - Rupankar Bagchi, Rupam Islam and Anupam Roy. Many years back there was a song titled 'Feludar Gaan' sung by Anjan Dutta, Kabir Suman and Nachiketa Chakraborty. Loved the line, 'Lalmohon aar Topshe taro eki dosha dekhtey pai, Ichhey korey sobai miley notun kichhu kortey jai, Tokhon abar golpo hobe rohoshyo tei bhor korey, Chhutbey abar kolponata Satyajit-er poth dhorey'. Also remembered Anjan Dutta's line, 'Topshe tai ba keno lekha bondho korey dilo, Feluda kichhui bolchhey naa' from his song 'Calcium'. We bongs really need more and more of Feluda in our mundane lives. We just cannot live without him.

I do not have any recollections of 'Kissa Kathmandu Kaa' where Shashi Kapoor was Feluda, Mohan Agashe was Jatayu, Utpal Dutt was Maganlal Meghraj and Alankar Joshi was Topshe. This was shown in Doordarshan in 1986. I have very faint recollections of 'Ghurghutiyar Ghotona' and 'Golokdham Rahasya' which were directed by Bibhash Chakraborty. These two telefilms were shown in DD Bangla in 1992. However I clearly remember 'Baksho Rahashya', 'Gosaipur Sargaram', 'Sheyal Debota Rahashya', 'Bosepukure Khunkharapi', 'Joto Kando Kathmandu-tey' which were shown in DD Bangla around 1996. At that time I was in school and me and everybody around me were very excited with this series.

Over all these years I remember watching 'Bombaiyer Bombetey' (2003), 'Kailashey Kelenkari' (2007), 'Tintorettor Jishu' (2008), 'Gorosthaney Sabdhan' (2010), 'Royal Bengal Rahashya' (2011), 'Badshahi Angti' (2014) and 'Double Feluda' (2016). Except 'Badshahi Angti' which was released in the month of November, the rest of them were all December releases in film theatres. For many years in West Bengal, December meant that Sandip Ray would come forward and gift us a Feluda movie. All Feluda fans started looking forward to the month of December. It was like a Christmas gift from Sandip Ray.

Most probably when I was ten years old, my cousin sister had gifted me a Feluda storybook. It was the English translation of 'Sonar Kella' by the Penguin Publishers. I still have this book with me. In my childhood days there used to be a programme called 'Chhuti-Chhuti' on Doordarshan Bangla (DD7). I remember watching Satyajit Ray's films 'Sonar Kella' and 'Jai Baba Felunath' in 'Chhuti-Chhuti'. In my teenage years I used to regularly borrow the Feluda storybooks from my school library and read them on those lazy afternoons. As a child, I did not like the name 'Feluda' and often wondered if the great detective used to fail in his subjects in his school days! 

Lastly I must say that we need more of Feluda, Professor Shonku and Tarini Khuro in our lives. Directors must experiment with these stories and also with the other short stories of Satyajit Ray. Some people will like them. Some people will not like them. That is part and parcel of this game. But directors must not shy away from more experimentations with the creations of Satyajit Ray. Looking forward to more such experimentations in local, national and international spheres in future... 

     

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Coffee @ Au Bon Pain

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This is an imaginary story. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. 

The year was 2015. The month was January. There was no corona or covid or black fungus or white fungus or yellow fungus or green fungus in this world. No one knew about this chinese communist virus. Life was normal for all of us. There was no need to wear masks and wash hands with sanitizers. We could go every where and mix with people without any fear. In Calcutta restaurants, shopping malls, nightclubs used to be over packed with people and discos used to be open till 4 a.m. on Saturday nights.

One night Rahul was in his bedroom and he was reading random blogs of random people. He got lost in the world of blogosphere and kept on reading till late in the night. Then suddenly he chanced upon the blog of Rakhi. He really liked her blogposts. Her words were too funny on one hand but also very heart touching on the other hand. Rahul kept on reading her blog till dawn and then went to sleep with a smile on his lips.

The next day he again started reading Rakhi's blog. He also posted some comments in her blogposts. He loved the tone of her blog so much that he named her the 'Amelie Poulain of Calcutta' in one of the comments. She really liked this name. He found her out on Facebook and sent her a friend request. He had to wait for a few days before she finally accepted his friend request. Slowly they started chatting on a regular basis in Facebook Messenger.

Rahul kept on reading Rakhi's blog. She almost used to put up a new post every weekend and he really looked forward to it. Rahul also had his own blog and he also used to write regularly but his blogposts were not that good when compared to Rakhi's blogposts. Many people used to regularly comment on Rakhi's blogposts and only very few people ever commented on Rahul's posts. Anyways he accepted the fact that she was a better writer than him and peacefully moved on in life.

Rakhi was an advocate. But that was her day job. Her real passion was in fashion designing. She used to design interesting sarees and blouses. She also had a fan following in this regard. Many women used to buy her sarees and blouses. Rahul once thought of buying a saree from her and he wanted to gift it to his then girlfriend. But eventually his girlfriend turned out to be a total psycho and she cheated on him and therefore he broke up with her.

Then one day he saw that Rakhi has designed an amazing stole for men. He saw the picture of that stole on Facebook. He immediately wanted to buy it. He instantly sent her a message stating his desire to buy it. She agreed to sell it to him. He asked for the price. She told him the price. The price seemed reasonable to him. So he asked her to meet him after a few days. They agreed to meet on 26th February at around 7 p.m. at Au Bon Pain at Park Street.

On 26th February Rahul reached Au Bon Pain around 6:45 p.m. He sat on the table which was next to the glass windows. That was his favourite spot in this restaurant. He loved looking at Park Street through the glass windows. Rakhi reached at 7 p.m. sharp. She was very punctual. They decided to order coffee and chicken sandwiches. She gave him the stole in a nice paper bag along with a hand written note. He gave her the money. But Rahul also had a surprise for her. He also carried a jute bag with him which was filled with all kinds of gifts for her. One by one he started giving those gift items to her. Here is the complete list of those gift items :

1. A long Peacock feather.

2. A very cute Bookmark.

3. A small toy monkey. 

4. An old coin of the British era. 

5. A small pink coloured notepad. 

6. A medium sized poster of Farhan Akhtar. 

7. A children's colouring book.

8. A set of crayons. 

9. A cd of Rabindrasangeet by Kabir Suman. 

10. A kaleidoscope. 

11. Joy Goswami's poetry collection Volume One. 

12. An activity book meant for children. 

13. A dvd of the French film 'Amelie'. 

14. A huge poster of Heath Ledger as Joker. 

15. A red lipstick by MAC.

16. A red nail polish by Bobbi Brown. 

17. A fake plastic lizard. 

18. A red rose. 

19. An old 90's Sunday magazine by The Telegraph. 

20. A colourful Fidget Spinner.    

Rakhi was really surprised, amazed and impressed by these gifts. She had a lovely adda with Rahul over hot cups of coffee where they discussed everything from present day politics to post modern poetry. After more than an hour she decided to leave as she was getting late. She wrote a thank you note for Rahul in one of the Au Bon Pain table napkins and gave it to him. She also insisted on paying for the two cups of coffee and the chicken sandwiches. From Au Bon Pain Rakhi took a cab and went home. Rahul decided to walk for some time at Park Street and smoke a few cigarettes...

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Mr. India

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'Mr. India' had released in 1987. I was then five years old. Most probably I was in Upper Nursery or Kindergarten at that time. In those days we had a black and white television in our house. We did not have any VCR. However my uncle who used to stay in Ballygunge had a colour television in their house. They also had a VCR. Therefore almost every weekend we used to go to their house to watch hindi films in their VCR. A man from the local video parlour used to come to their house regularly, especially on weekends. He used to carry a big black bag. Inside it there were many video cassettes, especially those of the latest hindi film releases. I still remember that man's face clearly. He was a young man and had a moustache. It was a real fun activity to choose a few video cassettes from his bag. 

I first saw 'Mr. India' at my uncle's house. I was simply blown away by this movie. The whole concept of an invisible man was mind blowing and mind bending. I must have seen this film almost a dozen times. I was really fascinated by this movie. The only problem was that watching this movie with my uncle and aunt and other family members, I used to feel a bit uncomfortable during the 'Katey Nahin Kaat Tey' song. Anyways as a child I used to pretend to be an invisible boy and I used to play 'Mr. India' games with my brother and cousins. 

In those days 'Mr. India' pencils were available in the market. They were blue coloured with the face of Anil Kapoor on them and also the words 'Mr. India' were written on them. I had forced my mother to buy me those pencils. Normally I used the ordinary and common Nataraj pencils in school. Our teachers had warned us and had told us not to bring 'Mr. India' pencils to school. Still one day I took those 'Mr. India' pencils to school and showed them off to my friends. My friends were really fascinated by those pencils. It was a proud moment for me to own and possess those pencils. Luckily I was not caught by my teachers...

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Five Plays In One Day

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I have been regularly watching theatre since 2003. My most favourite venue to watch theatre is Academy Of Fine Arts. After this venue I also like Madhusudan Mancha in Dhakuria and Sujata Sadan in Hazra because these two venues are in south Calcutta. I stay in Lake Gardens so going to these three places is easy for me. Around 2008 and 2009 Kaushik Sen's theatre group 'Swapnasandhani' used to organize plays at Sujata Sadan every Saturday evening and I used to go there almost every Saturday. At the height of the Singur-Nandigram movement 'Swapnasandhani' had staged Nabarun Bhattacharya's 'Ondhho Biraler Golpo' at Sujata Sadan and it was amazing especially the way it criticized the then evil communist Government of West Bengal. I remember watching other plays there like 'Hargoj', 'Bhoy', 'Darjiparar Marjinara', 'Somudrer Mouno' etc. In south Calcutta there is also Muktangan and Tapan theatre in Rashbehari but over all these years I have only watched a few plays there. I remember watching the play 'Buddhijibi' at Tapan theatre, most probably in 2014, which was directed by Saurav Palodhi and Mir Afsar Ali had acted in it. Many times I have also gone to north Calcutta to watch theatres there in venues like Girish Mancha and Minerva. 

Many years back, most probably in the late eighties or early nineties, when I was around eight or nine years old, my parents had taken me to watch a theatre. I do not remember the venue now but I remember clearly that it was a comedy because people were laughing at regular intervals and this play also involved a revolving stage. As a child I was fascinated to see the revolving stage. I guess in those days the concept of revolving stage was still there in Calcutta. Sadly nowadays it is no longer used. Academy Of Fine Arts still has this revolving stage but the parts and the machinery do not function any more. 

 

In November of 2012, I went to the 'Chetona' theatre festival at Academy Of Fine Arts. I saw 'Putul Nacher Itikotha' on 23rd November and 'Nirnoi' on 24th November. Really liked both these plays. On 25th November, which was a Sunday, I went to Academy around 9 a.m. First I watched 'BodonChand LogonChand' which started at 10 a.m. It was a comedy. After this play I watched the iconic 'Marich Sangbad'. I had heard so many good things about this play. It was indeed mind blowing. The play also had two very famous songs, 'Meri Baba' and 'CIA CIA CIA'. For a long time I was actually searching for these two songs. So when the actors started performing these two songs, I quietly took out my mobile from my pocket and recorded these two songs. These two songs are really amazing and people who have not heard these songs have missed something in life. The whole play was magnificent. After watching this play, I had lunch at Raju's Kitchen. At 3 p.m. I saw 'Echhey Kusum' and then 'Shunnyo Shudhu Shunnyo Noi'. I did not quite like these two plays. They had some good moments in them in bits and pieces but overall they failed to impress me. In the evening most probably at 6:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. I watched 'Jogonnath'. This was another iconic play. Thus I watched five plays in one day. One of the best days ever spent in my life. Salute to Arun Mukhopadhyay who at the age of 75 years gave an awesome performance in the role of Jogonnath Das. This play has mesmerized audiences over so many decades and will still continue to do so in the future too. 

I have seen many plays at Gyan Mancha too which is at Pretoria street. The first time I went there was in 2003 to see a musical concert by Kabir Suman and Anjan Dutta. Kabir Suman sang his English songs from his album 'Reaching Out' and Anjan Dutta sang his English songs from his album 'Bandra Blues'. The whole concert was to promote the English songs of these two albums. However Anjan Dutta ended this concert with Kabir Suman's bengali song 'Kotota Poth Peroley Tobe Pothik Bola Jai' which is the Bengali version of Bob Dylan's 'Blowing In The Wind'. Over all these years Anjan Dutta has staged many plays at Gyan Mancha like 'Galileo', 'Abani Opera', 'Teen Penny Opera', 'Medha', 'Salesmaner Songsar' and 'Raghupati'. Except 'Galileo' I have seen all the others. Then I have also seen 'Taray Taray' at Gyan Mancha, directed by Kaushik Sen, which was in 2018. Anjan Dutta played the role of Vincent Van Gogh in this play. Kaushik Sen's son Riddhi Sen also has a major role in this play. 

 

I remember watching Theatrecian's play at Kala Mandir, most probably in 2009, which was based on Woody Allen's play titled 'God'. It was very funny and captivating. Then I remember watching Lillete Dubey's 'Gauhar' at GD Birla Sabhaghar in 2018. Rajeshwari Sachdev gave an amazing performance in it. The whole play was fabulous. After the end of the play I went on the stage and took a selfie with this wonderful woman named Lillete Dubey. 

Throughout all these years I have seen so many plays like 'Moymonsingha Geetika', 'Hridipash', '21 Gram', 'Cinemar Moto', 'Bibhajan', 'Khoon', 'Onagoto', '15 Minutes To Fame', 'Mohora Cholchhey', 'Madhobi', 'Onto Aadi Onto', 'Urubhongom', 'Odya Shesh Rajoni', 'Tathagata', 'Biley', 'Byomkesh', 'Canvasar', 'Fyataru', 'Winkle Twinkle', 'Gorur Garir Headlight', 'Meghnad Badh Kabya', 'Ghashiram Kotwal', 'Chirokumar Sobha', 'Tista Parer Brittanto', 'Rani Kadambini', 'Panchajanya', 'Madhabi', 'Ajnatobas', 'Sojon Badiyar Ghat', 'Raktakarabi', 'Bikele Bhorer Shorshe Phool', 'Dream Dream', 'Gora', 'Choturanga' 'Ek Mancha Ek Jibon' etc. etc. etc. I also watched the Russian play 'To Save Kammerunker Pushkin' at Academy Of Fine Arts on 3rd June 2016 and the French play 'Duras Résistante' again at Academy Of Fine Arts on 5th June 2016. Here is a shot from the Russian play :  

 

I was associated with Bratya Basu's theatre group called 'Bratyojon' from 2009 to 2010 and we used to perform 'RuddhaSangeet' in front of packed halls everywhere. The play was based on the life of the legendary Rabindrasangeet singer George Biswas. The role was played by Debshankar Haldar. It was my life's first theatre. I had a small role in that play. The experience was awesome. We used to have whole night long rehearsals at Academy Of Fine Arts. We used to go to various districts in West Bengal to perform this play. We also performed in all the major auditoriums in Calcutta. We also went to Bhopal and New Delhi to perform. Then due to some unavoidable circumstances I left the group. I really respect those people who have dedicated their lives to theatre. I really love those people who are passionate and crazy about theatre. Looking forward to see more amazing plays in the future...

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