Underplayed Gems

Monpura (2009)

Monpura poster
Original title
মনপুরা
Directed by
Giasuddin Selim
Genre
romance film
Country
Bangladesh
Runtime
2h 16m
Rating
7.7 of 10 from 26 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

In a rural Bangladeshi village, a romantic tragedy unfolds between a young man and a woman. Their love story faces obstacles that lead to sorrowful consequences.

romantictragicfolk-inflectednostalgicemotionally intensevisually poeticbittersweetslow-paced

What happens

Monpura (Bengali: মনপুরা), is a 2009 Bangladeshi Bengali film, directed by Giasuddin Selim. It is considered by reviewers to be one of the greatest Bangladeshi films ever made. It has become a cult-classic over the years due to lead's performance and the music album. A romantic tragedy film set in rural Bangladesh, Monpura stars Chanchal Chowdhury and Farhana Mili in leading roles. The other supporting actors were Mamunur Rashid and Fazlur Rahman Babu. The soundtrack of the film was composed by Shayan Chowdhury Arnob. With the film being Selim's large-screen debut and the contemporary-folk soundtrack being released to widespread recognition ahead of screenings, Monpura received large amounts of media hype and publicity leading up to its release. A record number of box collections were sold in the first week of release, and the accompanying soundtrack album became one of the most popular in the country. Monpura is the highest-grossing Bangladeshi film of 2009 and the 23rd highest-grossing film of all time. The film was critically acclaimed, especially for the cast's performance and cinematography. Monpura won five awards at the 34th Bangladesh National Film Awards, beating out the competition in the categories of Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actor in a Negative Role, Best Female Playback Singer, and Best Screenplay, and became the first only film in the 21st century to do so. The film was remade into Indian Bengali in 2010 as Achin Pakhi, which was directed by Anjan Das. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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