I can certainly say that after recently seeing Ritwick Chakraborty in Pratim D. Gupta’s “Maacher Johl” (2017), my interest in Bengali cinema has been reinvigorated. Unsurprisingly, Bengali filmmakers are the ones who gave rise to the term parallel cinema in India, and have created some of the most acclaimed seminal films in the history of the subcontinent’s film industry. Briefly, “Maacher Johl” is about selfish means in order to get to a selfless end: The victories achieved by being aided to follow your own path, and the perils experienced by those affected by your choice. It’s a foodie film (Ritwick portrays a chef) in line with the likes of “Like Water for Chocolate”, sans the eroticism. The film beats to French and Bengali cuisine.

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“When the son of the house becomes a cook, all the doors close.”

The only other film I’ve seen, leading Ritwick, is The Violin Player (Hindi), and I was captivated by his performance. Alongside Irrfan Khan, RajKumar Rao and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Ritwick has instantly become one of my favorite male leads in Indian cinema right now.  So watch this space, because I am on the look-out for some of his other performances, and I am sure I won’t be disappointed, neither will you…#CinepicksTME