Why so much sexuality in Bengali films?

It was with a mixture of shock and frankly arousal which I watched two Bengali films Gandu and Chatrak. Both have explicit sex scenes with rather mainstream actresses and I mean explicit ,unsimulated fellating(Gandu) and cunnilingus(Chatrak). The ladies in question are Rituparna Sen and Paoli Dam respectively.

                                  Ms Sen sporting a tshirt of a diety associating with erotic hijinks

                                         As attractive with her traditional clothing as without



Im in half a mind to link them but I think my readers, the males anyway, are industrious enough to find these features online.

When did Kerala cede its porno crown and when it was it taken up by Bengal?

It is quite possibly due to the slo mo sexual revolution that has occured in India since the early 90s which rendered Keralas most popular export after its people, rubber and spices. Not to chatise the performers, they are doing what they can to make ends meet under the glorious command control economy courtesy of illiterate supporters such as Ajit Vadakayil. But I will say this much- Rothschild never put to the gun to the head of the Kerala film industry and asked them to open up a porno division. There is a rumor circulating that the captains wife was a former soft core actress herself. I have no proof, so we will leave it at that.

Interestingly there were many similarities between Kerala and Bengal

• Both cultures considered to be an admirable synthesis of "Dravidian", tantric and Orthodox Brahminical cultures
• Kerala and Bengal are sandwiched between a sea and mountains
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• Bengali and Malayalam highly influenced by Sanskrit
• Each was colonized at various times by Karnata dynasties(Sena dynasty which overthrow the Palas were of Kannada origin)
• At one point both were known for their admirable warrior knights. Keralas under Nairs who were simply unbeatable until the East India company arrived with their superior weapons and Bengalis under the Palas who conquered the entire uttarapatha upto Afghanistan
• Both contributed disproportionately to the demographics and culture of Sri Lanka and South East Asia
• Both were declassified as martial races for fighting the British
• Women in both communities had more authority and power than perhaps other cultures in India
• Communists ruled(and wrecked) both states
• Malayalam and Bengali film industries are appreciated for the high quality of their product
• They are both highly literate socities
• Both are grossly underrepresented in Indias favorite past time . However they are both passionate about football and athletics
• Unlike the more enterprising Tuluvas and Tamils , Malayalees though not lazy are not particularly ambitious. Ditto for Bengalis whose industry is dominated by Marwaris

And having dated Bengali women and being rather familiar with their culture, I suppose in hindsight I am surprised it took so long for the industry to acknowledge their inherent sensuality.  Yes they are less inhibited about sexual matters than their Keralite sisters(though both communities are notorious for the escapades of their married women) . Honestly no offense intended, there are women of my community (Andhra) who are not exactly angels either. I think this stems from a perverse obsession with virginity before marriage so quite a few women who preserve themselves before marriage justify their escapades post nuptials as not really a big deal since they are not virgins anyway

I think the Hungarian count(no not that Hungarian count) said it best in Eyes Wide Shut(sorry cant find a video with that particular scene from YouTube) that women in the past looked forward to marriage as it gave them an opportunity to pursue the men they really liked!

I thought this to be cynical at the time but well seeing how generous married women were to me with the favors they bestowed, I think help but admire the wisdom inherent in that movie even more. But that is another post!

These movies in question on other hand are  they are just pretentious and suffer from an overdoes of angst. The nudity and explicit sex didnt seem relevant or requirement for advancing the plot but then again it rarely is(again Eyes Wide Shut-notable exception)


Yes these are art movies and there has been nudity in Indian art movies before. Idiot and Kasbah(both with Mita Vasisht), the Cloud Door(An Agarwal) and Trishagni(Pallavi Joshi) come to mind.
 But Ms. Dam and Ms. Sen went further than aformentioned actresses and they may well owe their boldness to Bengali culture and its lack of dowry system, honor killing ,female infanticide and other cruel and regressive social customs that target women.

Perhaps female infedility and sexuality is a neccesary by product of the growing pains of an otherwise enlightened and refined culture trying to attain an equilibrium.

I personally tentatively favor this new era of slow motion sexual liberation. Tentatively because I am aware of the destructive effects if it goes out of hand. Look how it devastated Western society and nearly destroyed its population growth rate.

I personally as a red blooded "chauvinist" "Westernized" Indian male dont care whether or not I marry a virgin. The chances are that I wont (but not porn star level of partners, lets not go nuts). And I prefer that she be Bengali. And I will ensure that she will not cheat but making I am the sort of man she truly desires.