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First a ban on certain newspapers and now the arrest of a professor for allegedly circulating a cartoon targeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. People in West Bengal Saturday expressed outrage over the state government.s latest move, with some even wondering if it was .a move towards censorship and partial fascism..Venting their anger against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for arresting Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra for allegedly circulating a defamatory cartoon, majority of intellectuals and a cross-section of commoners Saturday said they are .scared. by the trend the state government has set.Mahapatra, a professor of physical chemistry, in his 50s, later claimed he had sent the mail for .pure fun. to his friends.Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay, a noted writer, termed the incident as .unfortunate...We feel pain when we see such incidents. We feel scared and terrified,. said Mukhopadhyay.This is not the first time that Banerjee has drawn...

A potent mix of sleek production, inspiration from literary works, sex and high quality music are behind a resurgent commercial Bengali cinema, which is again giving tough competition to Bollywood films in West Bengal..Bengali cinema has been going through an excellent phase for the last two-three years. But there is no place for complacency and we need to build up and improve on it,. filmmaker Sandip Ray told Ians.His latest film .Royal Bengal Rahasya., based on the detective series Feluda created by his father Satyajit Ray, has been a blockbuster hit.The year 2008-09 was the year of renaissance of the Bengali film industry as the new genre of talented directors with their fresh ideas and challenging attitudes changed the tide of the industry.Movies like .Antaheen., .Kalbela., .Autograph., .Aparajita Tumi., .Abohoman., .Moner Manush., .Arekti Premer Golpo., .Chalo Lets Go., and .Mahanagar@Kolkata. created a rage among the urban audience,...

With a balance of glamour and tradition, the 17th Kolkata Film Festival (Kff) started here Thursday with Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan and the popular Sharmila Tagore inaugurating the eight-day fest by lighting the ceremonial lamp.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, host of Bengali film personalities including top star Prosenjit Chatterjee and delegates from across the country and abroad, as also creme de la creme of the culture-loving city were at the Netaji Indoor Stadium to attend the opening of the Kff . the second oldest international film festival of India.The programme began with a lively performance by the Kolkata Music Academy Orchestra, which played tunes of Rabindra sangeet.Film directors Aparna Sen, Sandip Ray, poet Shankha Ghosh, writers Sunil Gangopadhay, Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay, and Bengali actor Dev were also present.The Mamata Shankar Ballet troupe performed after the inaugural speeches.There are many firsts attached to this edition of the Kff.

Kolkata, Oct 12 – Most people in Kolkata love to go hopping from marquee to marquee to witness Durga Puja festivities. But for Bengali celebrities like Ananya Chatterjee, Ranjit Mullick and Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay, it is the time to catch up with family and celebrate at home.

With the five-day festival beginning Wednesday, National Award winning actress Ananya Chatterjee will stay put in the city to soak up the festive mood. Giant ‘pandals’ or marquees have come up where idols of the goddess and her four children will be worshipped amid much community fanfare and celebration.

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