As the country just celebrated Durga Puja, let’s take a look at how over the decades Indian cinema has celebrated the Goddess through its memorable stories, scenes and song sequences…
Pather Panchali (1955)
Durga Puja celebrations portray society’s economic inequality in Satyajit Ray’s 1955 masterpiece Pather Panchali. The Bengali drama film features Karuna Banerjee, Uma Dasgupta and Subir Banerjee in the lead.
Devi (1960)
In Satyajit Ray’s 1960 Bengali drama film Devi, Sharmila Tagore and Soumitra Chatterjee, a young woman is envisioned as a goddess after her father-in-law has a vivid dream.
Amar Prem (1972)
Nandu (Vinod Mehra) takes Pushpa (Sharmila Tagore) home on the day Durga Puja begins in the Shakti Samanta-directed iconic Hindi romantic drama film Amar Prem (1972), starring Rajesh Khanna.
Utsab (2000)
Rituparno Ghosh’s Bengali drama film Utsab (2000) – starring Madhabi Mukherjee, Mamata Shankar, Rituparna Sengupta and Prosenjit Chatterjee – is about a family’s emotional upheaval during Durga Puja festivities in their old house.
Devdas (2002)
Chandramukhi (Madhuri Dixit) attends Durga Puja celebrations at Paro’s (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) residence in Shah Rukh Khan-starring Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2002 Hindi period drama film Devdas.
Parineeta (2005)
Sanjay Dutt (Girish) performs the iconic dhunuchi naach during Durga Puja celebrations, as Lolita (Vidya Balan) looks on in Pradeep Sarkar’s Hindi musical romance drama film Parineeta (2005), also starring Saif Ali Khan.
Kahaani (2012)
Durga Puja is both the backdrop and metaphor in Vidya Balan-starring Hindi thriller film Kahaani, directed by Sujoy Ghosh. The 2012 movie also features Parambrata Chatterjee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
Vicky Donor (2012)
Soojit Sircar’s 2012 romantic comedy film Vicky Donor shows the lead characters Vicky and Tuna (played by Ayushmann Khurana and Yami Gautam) go pandal-hopping in Delhi during Durga Puja.
Lootera (2013)
Vikramaditya Motwane-directed Hindi period romantic drama film Lootera begins with Durga Puja celebrations in the form of a jatra. The 2013 movie features Sonakshi Sinha and Ranveer Singh in the lead.
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023)The dance sequence of Dhindhora Baje Re, featuring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh, in Karan Johar’s 2023 Hindi romantic comedy family drama movie Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is filmed in front of a Durga idol.
(This listicle was first published on The Movie Mail’s Instagram page)
