Silhouette, a state-of-the-art publication on cinema and allied art forms, a space for discourse on
Silhouette Magazine publishes critical, analytical and research based articles on cinema, music and allied art forms.
03/09/2025
The Making of Do Bigha Zamin
Nabendu Ghosh recaps in his autobiography, Eka Naukar Jatri/ Journey of a Lonesome Boat , vivid memories of the making of Do Bigha Zamin , which was to initiate a new chapter in Indian Cinema.
PLUS A special feature by Ratnottama Sengupta
Nabendu Ghosh recaps in his autobiography, Eka Naukar Jatri vivid memories of the making of Do Bigha Zamin, which was to initiate a new chapter in Indian Cinema
30/08/2025
From the Archives: Remembering
A poet has a bit of him in every piece of poetry he writes, even if it is a so called ‘custom-made poetry.’ After all, our film songs are written to fit pre-conceived situations. Even within that water-tight requirement, the poet sprinkles bits of himself, like squeezing lemon juice on a delightful spread. Inconspicuously the juice dissolves into the song but look a little closer and he’s there, sparkling. If we just listen to Shailendra’s songs, we can trace that sweet and tangy Shailendra, embedded in his poetry.
Amla Shailendra Mazumdar, the daughter of ‘Kaviraj’ Shailendra in conversation with Antara of Silhouette Magazine dives deep into his amazing repertoire of songs and a treasure chest of memories to understand the person behind the poet – a loving tribute to the legendary poet-lyricist on his birth anniversary.
Amla Shailendra Mazumdar in conversation with Antara dives deep into Shailendra's amazing repertoire of songs and memories.
29/08/2025
Sholay’s Poster Tops Film Memorabilia, Fetches ₹1.61 lakh at aABC Auction
Suman Mukhopadhyay's latest feature film Putulnacher Itikatha was released recently in August 2025. As it garners critical acclaim, Silhouette magazine editor Amitava Nag speaks to two of the film's most important crew members — editor Tinni Mitra and cinematographer Sayak Bhattacharya .
সম্প্রতি মুক্তি পেয়েছে সুমন মুখোপাধ্যায় পরিচালিত ছবি 'পুতুলনাচের ইতিকথা' । বিভিন্ন পত্রপত্রিকায়...
18/08/2025
Hamari Atariya Re | Raag Mishra Bhairavi | Samina De
Thumri exponent Samina De presents an acclaimed and highly commendable composition in Raag Mishra Bhairavi, which was made popular by the legendary Begum Akhtar ji and later Vidushi Shobha Gurtuji.
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Thumri exponent Samina De presents an acclaimed and highly commendable composition in Raag Mishra Bhairavi, which was ...
12/08/2025
Putulnacher Itikatha: A Tale of Allegory, Rupture and Symbolic Order
Suman Mukhopadhyay’s film adaptation of Manik Bandyopadhyay’s novel Putulnacher Itikatha , explores themes of isolation, tradition versus modernity, and existential crisis. An analysis by Nirabari Bandyopadhyay .
Suman Mukhopadhyay's Putulnacher Itikatha explores themes of isolation, tradition versus modernity, and existential crisis. An analysis.
08/08/2025
71st National Film Awards, 2023: A Travesty of Purpose
Since the last four decades that it was introduced, this year is the first time when there has been no announcement of a winner for the Best Book on Cinema award at the 71st National Film Awards. What does this mean in the context of writing books on cinema in India? Amitava Nag questions.
Read here:
This year is the first time that there has been no announcement of a winner for the Best Book on Cinema at the 71st National Film Awards. Amitava Nag questions.
06/08/2025
Kuchh Dil Ne Kaha – A Whisper of Simplicity in a Haunting Tune
In a lyrical tribute to Hemant Kumar’s hauntingly minimalist composition Kuchh dil ne kaha, Shirish Waghmode explores the song’s poetic depth, emotional restraint, and the sublime synergy of music, lyrics, and visuals.
Read it here:
A lyrical tribute to Hemant Kumar’s haunting composition Kuchh dil ne kaha, exploring its poetic depth and the synergy of music, lyrics, and visuals.
05/08/2025
The 2024 National Film Awards Controversy
By Ratnottama Sengupta
Ashutosh Gowariker had seen The Goat Life at IFFI 2024 in Goa last November. The celebrated director who was chairing the jury for the National Film Awards 2025 had "serious concerns about the adaptation and ex*****on of Blessy's film," Pradip Nair, one of the 11 members, was quoted in The Indian Express, August 2, 2025. Seriously? Gowariker has "serious concern" about the film directed by Blessy? A film that highlights the exploitation of migrant workers in tariff-ridden world where the economy is a tool for extracting political might?
But he merrily signed on the dotted line to award a "dangerously divisive" The Kerala Story! It's an act that Jitesh Pillai has described as "a travesty of judging cinematic excellence" that will force "lovers of good cinema to hang their heads in shame."
The Kerala Story has bagged the Lotus "for its relevance in addressing a major social issue in India." But the seasoned critic has questioned not only the film's polarising content. The selection of "the worst film ever made" by the NFA jury sends wrong signals, he says, because "it is an insidiously fake narrative, shoddily scripted, poorly acted, horribly photographed, amateurishly directed."
Strong indictment? Perhaps, but then why did the Chief Minister of the state condemn the award, saying "it defames Kerala for a propaganda purpose"? Pradip Nair had conveyed these very concerns to the chairman of the jury. Other members, however, had maintained that "though controversial, Kerala Story tackles a relevant social issue" – that of love jihad and terrorism across the world, especially in West Asia.
This selection hurts because it has sidelined the other Malayalam film that had competed at an international level in IFFI 2024. Prithviraj Sukumaran's essay, based on the literary classic Aadujeevitham, was submitted for multiple awards but failed to secure a single recognition. Nair has revealed that the chair “wasn't entirely convinced." This has left a bitter taste among fans and cinephiles.
Reportedly Gowariker felt the adaptation "lacked naturality, and the performance didn't feel authentic." The song Periyone Rehmane was entered for Best Playback and Best Lyrics. It lost out because the producers did not submit a proper translation in English. Further, K R Gokul's characterization that had been richly praised for its freshness and impact, did not cut ice with the chairman. Because "the overall quality of a film is a decisive factor in deciding the NFAs," the jury declared.
The central jury included M N Swamy, Geeta M Gurappa, V N Aditya, Aneesh Basu, Paresh Vora, Sushil Rajpal, Vivek Pratap, Maniram Singh, Prakruti Mishra. The 332 feature films entered were 2023 and 2024 productions first filtered by regional panels.
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Check out Ratnottama Sengupta's interview of director Blessy about his film Aadujeevitham/The Goat Life. (From Silhouette Archives)
Aadujeevitham/The Goat Life — a harrowing true story of a Malayali worker trapped in modern slavery in Saudi Arabia's desert. An interview with Blessy
04/08/2025
Kishore Kumar was known for adding such nuggets in his songs that would leave you either awestruck or in splits - be it yodelling, impromptu words or rhymes. He inserted a funny Bengali nonsense rhyme 'Aikum baikum taadatadi' in the song Jhoome re in (Jhumroo 1961) 😂
And if that wasn't enough, listen to him crooning "Posto khaiyya, mast huye, waah re barkhurdar!" to Anoop Kumar.
Meaning? Posto refers to khus-khus or poppy seeds - a beloved ingredient in Bengali cuisine, and it does have a slight stimulating effect on the senses. So there you go! 😁😁
Sun Mere Bandhu Re Podcast clip
Did you know there is funny nonsense rhyme Aikum baikum taadatadi in the song Jhoome re, jhoome re, dil mera dil mera in (Jhumroo 1961)?Listen to Antara and ...
03/08/2025
What is the 'costume link' between the two films - 'Amrapali' and 'Patthar ke Sanam'?
Tune in to know more about many such interesting facts on Sun Mere Bandhu Re new !
Block prints like ‘Naandna’ find a special place for the first time in the history of Indian cinema!The mark of Bhanu Athaiya ji is unmistakable in the selec...
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Silhouette, a space, is born not of conviction rather of profound confusion in our understanding of the world. It seeks to be a platform for gathering myriad views on film (and allied art forms) and to continue with the flux of discourse. The Silhouette publications are our attempt to achieve this goal.
Silhouette magazine started its journey in January 2002. The annual paper edition used to be a bilingual magazine in English and Bengali from Kolkata (India) and survived 8 editions. For quite sometime the editorial board of Silhouette dilly-dallied with the web option of the magazine – whether to continue with a sluggish and expensive medium or not was the supreme question. And finally the web editions started in 2011 – we had 8 issues collected under Volumes IX and X in a not so state-of-the-art website. Our urgency to move to the web and let the ball roll again was the main reason for this.
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