Is there an obsession among a few filmmakers to portray a magnanimous world, place real characters in unreal spaces or socio-political and cultural environments in their films as the backdrop of plot development? From the time without beginning, we have seen directors and writers depicting the same through their cinema. That has continued from the black and white era till today. The question is how effectively has the milieu been used and shot to aid brilliant story-telling. 

With tufts of flake white cloud floating in the sky and the drumroll of dhaak ready to reverberate all around, it is a wonderful opportunity to look back at how cinematographers down the years have handled such a milieu of Durga Puja by being visual raconteurs and helped directors of Bengali cinema to portray their vision on screen. It is also worth exploring if the visual aesthetics has romanced only clichés or evolved with time to create a new language of cinema. After all, in the words of the 'Citizen Kane'-maker Orson Welles, “A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet”.

Monochrome and the colours of festivity

Filming Durga Puja has brought some of the great masters of the craft including Subrata Mitra, Soumendu Roy, Ashok Mehta and Avik Mukhopadhyay to come up with images and frames that have stood the test of time. Since my growing years, I have been awe-struck by the way black and white cinema has depicted the colours of the pujas. What could have been the biggest challenge of filming in monochrome is to figure out how to deal with the absence of colour while depicting festivity. Yet films like ‘Pather Panchali’ (1955), ‘Devi’ (1960), ‘Nayak’ (1966), ‘Antony Firingee’ (1967), ‘Biraj Bou’ (1972) and ‘Titas Ekti Nodir Naam’ (1973) reveal that the limitations of absence of colour have not come in the way of filming some memorable shots in the history of world cinema. 

One of the most effervescent and heart-quavering works of Subrata Mitra is 'Devi' (1960). Emotions and deeper layers of human consciousness transcend through the rich contrast of framing and lighting of the master. The complex plot becomes all the more intriguing when the deity gets dissolved in the mortal life of flesh and blood. The master, through his deft compositions, gives goosebumps. Colour does not matter to me if the narrative is inviolable. Emotions do not ever get fenced by monochrome either. Over and above, it touches the soul to its core. In ‘Devi’, the other name of dramatic lift of emotion is chiaroscuro. The usage of black with optimum details is phenomenal. Deep shadows, minimised contrast scale, low-key lighting conditions take the film to spectacular heights. That, in essence, lends the phenomenal status to Subrata Mitra’s cinematography and creates an everlasting impact of ‘Devi’. 

Film Within A Film

Most films that have had a lasting impact on me have a plot where a character comes to a bonedi barir puja to film it. ‘Parama’ (1985) opens with a big close-up of Ma Durga’s face being unveiled through a viewfinder. Master cinematographer Ashok Mehta framed it so well from the front and then a slow zoom out to reveal the goddess and her beauty. The shot depicts boldness, confidence and independence. With few successive shots thereafter, we see some of the best close-up shots of Rakhee Gulzar as Parama. She looks resplendent in a vermillion bindi and red-bordered gorod saree. Red, I would like to point here, emphasises boldness, passion and love. This symbolism of colour only gets heightened when later in the film, Rakhee reveals herself as a bold and confident woman, who insists that she suffers from ‘no guilt’ for her passion and dreams of being independent.

Very classically composed and beautifully lit-up with good contrast, every shot in the puja sequence and of Parama is full of poise, passion and propriety. Shot from both the right and left-three fourth frontal angles, Parama’s broad and beautiful face appears all the more appealing. Though the rest of the film does not have the physical presence of the Durga Puja, it is the initial bold and beautiful close- ups of Parama that eventually brings out the image of a very independent and confident woman at the end of the film.

On another end of this spectrum is Rituparno Ghosh’s heart wrenching drama — ‘Utsab’ (2000). That too uses the film-within-a-film concept. Young Joy (played by Ratul Shankar) records the unfolding of the relationship drama through his camcorder as his family members come together to celebrate the 150-year-old Durga Puja at their ancestral home. In the process, his voiceover raises some seminal questions about the way Bengal and Bangaliana has dealt with clichés of the visual imagery when it comes to the Durga Puja shots. As he films his screen mother Parul (played by Mamata Shankar) and aunt Keya (played by Rituparna Sengupta) engage in rituals of boron, Joy raises the issue of how this depiction matches with the West’s idea of India and the way most Indian film-makers showcase Oriental exotica: “Beshir bhag bideshira India bolte thik ja bojhae, baa amader Bharotiyo filmmaker-ra Oriental exotica dyakhate ja bojhae, eta toh thik serokom”. Then he refers to the title sequence of ‘Parama’ and says, “Sekhaneo puja barite amar moto ekjon photographer chhilo. Aar traditional lal par sada sari pora mohilara chhilen. Achha, sottyi 'Utsab'-er bujhi kono uniform ache naki amra ektake jor kore unform kore diyechhi jaate ei lal par sada sarir ei sacred traditional appeal-ta Bangalir mone kokhono fade na kore jae?” Through the voiceover, director Rituparno Ghosh effectively throws up questions on Bengal’s penchant for the red-and-white scheme in the visual language that is underlined in what has almost become the uniform for all celebrating Durga Puja. 

Ace cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay largely uses wide angle lens to gives a feel of totality when it comes to filming the idol. The festival rituals draw a circumference for the family’s drama or the intricacies of the story to unfold. Everything that happens is within the precincts of this ancestral house. The style follows the humane documentation of joy and sorrow. There is a juxtaposition of totality and fraction by using wide angle shots of the Durga and a lot of close-ups of the family members. This exercise helps to heighten the drama. Whenever the camera focuses on the characters, they are either filmed in two-shots or solo. It shows them as nuclear units that exist as isolated islands within a larger whole. Of course, there are other angles and variations of lensing used by Avik-da. But the isolation of characters is heightened by the solo shots or two shots of family members and is in sharp contrast with the wide angles of the ‘ek chalar’ Durga idol that give a feeling of togetherness. Even the ending of the film where Joy’s video is being watched by his grandmother (played by Madhabi Mukhopadhyay) and aunt (played by Rituparna Sengupta), the emphasis is on solo photos. There are no group shots in the video. Each person is introduced with a narration by Joy. The accompanying photo carries forward the solo or two-shot format.  

The colour red is given a lot of importance in ‘Parama’ since it is a story of passion. It is also about empowerment of women – a theme so central to Durga Puja. In contrast, ‘Utsab’ is neither a passion tale nor is it about empowerment of women. It is more of a tale of reconciliation. Barring a few scenes between Keya (Rituparna Sengupta) and Arun (Prosenjit Chatterjee) at the end that are drenched in blue, celebration of passion takes a backseat when it comes to the characters in the film. There is not much emphasis on the colour red. In contrast to the usage of saturated red in ‘Parama’, ‘Utsab’ uses desaturated colours for all the characters except the goddess. This colour scheme also helps in exploring the mist enveloping the emotional crises that the characters are dealing with. 

The drama gets built with crests and troughs of optimism and pessimism. For this, various ranges of contrast lighting is used. In the backdrop of the Puja, Avik-da gives us the lighter moods with low contrast lighting situations where things appear bright and uses low key for characters with heavy hearts. Hard contrast lighting in ‘Utsab’ gives a build-up for enhancement of moods. Be it the forbidden romance between Parul (Mamata Shankar) and Shishir (Dipankar De) or that between Joy and Shampa (Arpita Chatterjee) or the reconciliation between Keya (Rituparna Sengupta) and Arun (Prosenjit Chatterjee), various ranges of contrast lighting give the narrative an apt mood.

Demon Vs Deity 

One of the most celebrated classics of Ray — ‘Joy Baba Felunath’ (1979) — begins with the advent of Durga Puja in Varanasi. As the festival comes closer, the clay idol gets shaped at the Ghoshal’s ancestral home. Soumendu Roy’s camera opens the film with a close-up of the demon or the asur instead of that of the holy deity. The camera then focuses on the attacking lion and quickly pans onto the face of the innocent child, Ruku. Undoubtedly one of the most-sought-after and admired Ray thriller is ‘Joy Baba Felunath’. What makes it more engaging is Soumendu Roy’s portrayal of Maganlal Meghraj. From the first frame itself, he has been lit up with very low contrast lighting giving the mysterious feel of the character and with a slight low angle camera movement to explore the towering personality of the demon or the villain. As the scene progresses, Maganlal is made to sit against the lamp shade. That is almost the only light source of the room. He is in semi silhouette to enhance his mysterious and villainous nature. This villainous and powerful nature gets established from the first shot itself through the same low-key lighting, where the shadow has dominated the frame bringing out a chiaroscuro of the shot of the asur. 

The Child and the idol 

Scenes showing children with the idol have been very common feature in Bengali cinema. Directors often keep scenes where a curious and slightly naughty child is placed in front of an idol. ‘Joy Baba Felunath’, ‘Hirer Angti’, ‘Utsab’ and even the most recent ‘Avijatrik’ that I shot have shots with children and the idol. 

‘Hirer Angti’ is very descriptively shot by Girish Padhiyar. A naughty kid (Habul) throws a volley of questions at the sculptor. First, he asks the size of mahisasur’s bicep. The next question is on why it is green in colour. His personal choice is blue since it matches that of Superman. However, there is a glitch there. How can Superman be killed? Though there is a naughty kid in most of the frames involving the deity, wide angle shots have been used.

In contrast, Soumendu Roy shot the child in ‘Joy Baba Felunath’ with tight lens. This kind of shots has helped since he plays a pivotal role in solving the mystery. The focus then solely rests on the child.

The child and the deity scene in ‘Utsab’ has close resemblance to the one from ‘Joy Baba Felunath’. Soon as the title card ends in ‘Utsab’, Joy’s camera focuses on his cousin, Bumba, asking a number of questions to the in-house artisan Bongshi-da. Before the camera captures this interaction, Joy’s commentary goes like: “Bongshi-da as usual ekhono thakur complete koreni. Boke cholechhe. Thik jeno Joy Baba Felunath-er opening scene...” Much like the other inquisitive kids in front of the deities, the camera then follows Bumba asking innocent questions like how many years senior is Ganesh from sister Lakshmi.

Contemporary Bengali cinema and the evolving visual language 

Often vermillion-smeared frames of puja rituals have become a metaphor for depicting anything to do with Bangaliana on screen. So many films in the recent times have tucked pivotal scenes of Durga Puja into the narrative. That includes ‘Antarmahal’ (2005), ‘Paran Jae Joliya Re’ (2009), ‘Jatiswar’ (2014), ‘Open Tee Bioscope’ (2015), ‘Belaseshey’ (2015), ‘Durga Sohay’ (2017), ‘Bolo Dugga Maiki’ (2017), ‘Bishorjan’ (2017), ‘Uma’ (2018), ‘Durgeshgorer Guptodhon’ (2019) and ‘Avijatrik’ (2019). 

In spite of Durga Puja being shot several times by different Directors of Photography (DOPs), it is Avik da’s ‘Antarmahal’ that has come across to me as a marvel of subtlety. Subtle use of warm and cool lights in various units of luminance on the characters, depending on the mood of the scene and demands of the script, startles the viewer. I love his usage of soft and warm lights on Soha Ali Khan’s face and get goosebumps when I see how the close-up shot has been used to resemble the idol at the climax. By doing so, I feel it turns our attention also to the enriching mind of the visualiser who has come up with such brilliance.

While revisiting so many movies, I feel that Durga Puja has offered an excellent opportunity for bringing together various characters and then taking the story forward. One question that has often been asked is whether or not the visual language of Bengali cinema has evolved beyond the clichés of using the artisans shaping the idol, vermillion-smeared faces of women on Bijoya Dashami and the dhunuchi dance scenes. Among the contemporary films I recently watched, one which really excited me was Gairik Sarkar’s cinematography in Arindam Sil’s ‘Durga Sohay’. I was amazed by his superb composition that killed the image sharpness with optimum softness in lens and very matured use of depth of field. The compassion of Durga gets enhanced with the softness created through lens or may be, usage of certain soft filters. The initial montage of bringing the idol from Kuramtuli to the house is captured in various locations of Kolkata. The shots captured on high speed (slow motion) in soft natural day light are excellent. Very few films have had such an exquisite journey shot. 

A lot of DOPs including me are very fascinated with a range of image softening filters (for removing the image sharpness to certain extent), like Classic Soft, Black Satin, Pro Mist, etc. This gives the image a feather- weight feel which, at times, heightens the emotion of the film a lot. In this film, the shots taken with the idol either in the foreground or in the background, while keeping the protagonist or tertiary characters, have been executed beautifully. 

Another interesting filming is the scene on the day of Mahalaya when the close-up shots of Debjani Chatterjee and Tanushree Chakraborty are taken along with the idol being painted (chokhhudaan) from unusual angles. It does not follow any pattern. The random yet well-composed shots need to be appreciated.

Cinematographer Souvik Basu gives an apt send-off to the protagonist at the crack of dawn in Kaushik Ganguly’s ‘Bishorjan’. ‘Bishorjan’ or the immersion process of idol is a metaphor. The send-off here is basically of the love of life and acceptance of reality. The send-off seems so heart-wrenching because of the mellowed- down daylight of the early hours. The soft blue light and the desaturated colours which appear in such early hours of the scene create a mystical atmosphere of longing. 

I love this juxtaposition of longing for love and the harshness of reality. The image of Jaya Ahsan heading to her new home sitting in a van reminds of the way idols are carried to be worshipped in pandals in the villages. The explicit camera work and sound design make the scene memorable.

I have very closely observed almost all films wherever the idol has been shot from the frontal angle. In most cases, it is been shot without any foregrounding. Everything is direct and very clear. But I wanted to break that style of framing in ‘Avijatrik’. Somehow, it seemed too head-on to see the deity that way. ‘Avijatrik’ gave me my first opportunity as a cinematographer to frame and light up an idol. It was from the perspective of the little boy, Kajol. I framed her through a flame and smoke emerging from an oil lamp. The flame swaying on the face of the idol generated life to the frame. I somehow felt Ma is alive and looking at Kajol and interacting. 

‘Avijatrik’ is the narrative of the wanderlust of Apu. Yet, in that process of self discovery, it also widens the horizon of Apu’s son, Kajol, from a tender age. As they visit their ancestral home during Durga Puja, Kajol is spellbound with the animals and birds we associate with Durga Ma and her children. Director Subhrajit Mitra wanted a close mental bond between Kajol and the vehicles (bahons). In a short span of few close-up shots, I had to do that. Close-ups and big close-ups describe the psychological state of the character. More than the deity, it is the montage of close-ups, assisted with the animal sounds, that enhances the innocence of Kajol. The child’s awe-struck mood breaks with the wide shot of the establishment of the puja arena.

I am certain that many more such films will be made with Durga Puja as a backdrop because life moves on, time moves on but customs and cultures remain. Cinema is nothing but a reflection of a society that is buzzing with people and their lives, customs and culture. In our conscious and subconscious mind, these get reflected through various forms of art, including cinema. I hope that newer spaces will be created for exploring unique cinematic languages. After all, cinematography is infinite in its possibilities. I wish that we get the opportunity to open windows that allow us to navigate beyond the obvious and the clichéd to create new sets of magical visuals.