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If you talk of Bengali movies there are directors whom you watch out and then there is The Director, whom you look up to. If you talk of Bengali movies there are actors whom you watch out and then there is The Actor[1], whom you watch with dropping jaws. And when these two gods of Bengali filmdom meet what you have is - “The Movie”. The orchestrated product of two biggest geniuses, titled Nayak [The Hero] stands out in the test of time, an equally favourite among the generations gone by and the generation next. Blame it on my Bengali genes but that’s exactly what you can summarize Nayak in a few lines.

Plotline

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A famous film actor Arindam Mukherji (Uttam Kumar), a star of Bengali films, has been invited to the capital to receive a prestigious award. As all the flights are booked, he is forced to travel …

With the release of Parzania and the surrounding controversies I’m reminded of another movie that dealt with the same subject.

“Dadaji, yeh ashmaan neela kyun hain”
“Kyun ki mere ko peela raang pasand nahin, toh maine ise neela rang se paint kiya”

This is one of those several memorable dialogue exchanges that characterize the Syed Mirza’s 1995 film “Naseem”. The story is about a typical Muslim middle-class family at the back-drop of communal tension prior to the Babri Masjid demolition. The movie follows their day-to-day life about a few months before the Dec 6-th events takes place. The initial few reels are spent on strong character built-up based upon the interaction between the two of the main actors. Naseem, played by Mayuri Kango, is a teenage girl who needs answer to a thousand questions. The Grand-pa, played by Kaifi Aazmi, who is living his last few days amongst his memories. …