Welcome back to a new episode of Parde Ke Peeche! So far, we have focused on the development & popularization of Hindi cinema in India. However, just as there is no one language in India, there is no ONE cinema in India.

For today’s episode, we explore how Bengali Cinema culture, with its focus on social realism & consciousness, emerged during the same time as popular cinema and how the stalwarts of post-independence Bengali cinema broke conventions of popular Indian cinema.

Opening Clip: Interview of Satyajit Ray with Kevin Thomas, LA Times, 1977.