Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Sam Bhattacharjee's Top 10 Films

Sam Bhattacharjee's Top 10 Films

After producing films like Commando 3, Tuesday and Fridays, Hate Story IV and co-producing projects Operation Cobra, and Welcome To New York, Sam Bhattacharjee made directorial debut with Barun Rai And The House On The Cliff.

The supernatural film starring actor Priyanshu Chatterjee, Nyra Banerjee, and Sid Makar was shot extensively across the UK and is now available on Eros Now.


Eastern Eye got the filmmaker to select movies he loves, in no particular order.

Chak De! India (2007): This film came into the limelight with a very different take on India’s most underrated game, hockey. The gripping drama drew attention to the popular sport in a way no other film had ever done before. Shah Rukh Khan is just brilliant as the determined coach and his motivational quotes are amazing. Who can forget the title track, which continues to be a rousing anthem and part of popular culture?

Top 10 inset 83 ranveer singh

83’ (2021): The sports biopic based on India’s historic cricket world cup win in 1983 is a great combination of beautiful storytelling and patriotism. Even though you know what will ultimately happen, the very well-made film keeps you hook until the rousing finale. I associated very well with the film, as the year before the win, my dad had got the TV set home in India.

The Matrix Franchise: This isn’t one film, but you can’t really separate the franchise. I have grown up with these films and glad they returned to the same world with the recent The Matrix Resurrections. The magic of cinema and creation of the characters, including Neo, was a revolution in digital and VFX in cinema.

Harry Potter films: Once again I can’t separate the films in this fantastic franchise. The big screen adaptations of the best-selling books are a firm family favourite that appeals to the young and reawakens the magical kid inside every adult. The relatable films make you realise the inner you and make you effortlessly flow with the magic.

Top 10 inset Love Actually ault

Love Actually (2003): This wonderful Christmas-themed romantic comedy from writer/director Richard Curtis is an all-time favourite of mine. He assembled a wonderful cast for a collection of individual stories that look at different aspects of love and relationships. The feel good film also shows you how Christmas is an important time to unite families.

Munna Bhai MBBS (2003): This wonderful comedy-drama introduced us to an iconic title character and a great filmmaker in Raj Kumar Hirani. The heart-warming story of a gangster with a heart of gold and loveable sidekick offered up a number of valuable life lessons for everyone. It was great storytelling and had an equally good sequel with Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006).

Top 10 inset Swades qyL. RI

Swades (2004): Director Ashutosh Gowariker followed up his Oscar nominated film Lagaan (2001) with another film that is very much rooted in Indian culture. The story of a man who unexpectedly gets reconnected to his roots after a trip to a village built a bridge between people settled outside India and those living in often forgotten rural areas. It has a lot of powerful moments.

Gol Maal (1979): The original Gol Maal made by legendary filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee is an all-time classic. The intelligently made comedy is hilarious and has so many memorable moments from start to finish. The name has been turned into commercial franchise and carried forward by filmmaker Rohit Shetty.

Top 10 inset Barun Rai and the House on the Cliff Priyanshu Chaterjee

Barun Rai and the House on the Cliff (2021): This film will always remain on my list of favourites because it marked my directorial debut and enabled me to tell a story I believed in. I learned a lot making this unique film, which will be carried forward into my future films. The film offers up plenty of surprises and I hope you will watch it on Eros Now.

3 Idiots (2009): Fantastic filmmaker Raj Kumar Hirani has been an inspiration for storytellers around the world. He has set a new benchmark with his record-breaking films. This multi-layered movie is iconic and will always remain at the top of his list. It is hugely entertaining, but like so many of his films teaches you something valuable, which is the essence of great storytelling.

More For You

Jasbinder Bilan

Jasbinder Bilan

Jasbinder Bilan’s journey of heart and heritage: From Himalayan tales to global acclaim

When Jasbinder Bilan first paused her teaching career to pursue a creative writing degree, she had no idea it would lead to a life-changing breakthrough. What began as a leap of faith became a journey filled with hope, rejection and ultimately triumph. Inspired by her beloved grandmother and her Indian roots, Bilan poured her soul into her debut manuscript Song of the Mountain. Though the publishing world was not immediately ready for her story, perseverance paid off when she won the 2016 Times Chicken House Prize, launching her celebrated writing career. Now, following the success of her Costa Award-winning Asha and the Spirit Bird, Bilan returns with a powerful new historical adventure, Naeli and the Secret Song. In this exclusive interview, she speaks about the emotional inspiration behind the book, her love for young readers and the importance of believing in your voice — no matter how long it takes to be heard.

What first connected you to writing?
It was stories more than writing that were my first love. My grandmother, Majee, was the storyteller in our house and it was those bonding moments that sparked my love for creating my own stories. She told me lots of Indian folk tales at bedtime, but she also shared stories of our life in India on the farm near the foothills of the Himalaya. So, I grew up feeling connected to a place that I then filled with my imagination. As a little girl I loved drawing and writing, and always wanted to be a writer, but it took me a long time to make that dream come true.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rachel Zegler’s ‘Evita’ Performance Sparks Broadway Buzz

Rachel Zegler stuns in Jamie Lloyd’s Evita as Palladium crowds grow nightly

Instagram/officialevita

Rachel Zegler shines in Jamie Lloyd’s ‘Evita’ as West End hit eyes Broadway transfer

Quick highlights:

 
     
  • Rachel Zegler plays Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s radical Evita revival at the London Palladium.
  •  
  • A viral moment features Zegler singing live from the theatre’s balcony to crowds on the street.
  •  
  • Lloyd’s stripped-down staging amps up visuals and sound but sacrifices storytelling depth.
  •  
  • Talks are on for a Broadway transfer as early as 2026 with Zegler confirmed to reprise her role.
  •  
 

Rachel Zegler commands the London stage as Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s daring reimagining of Evita, a production that trades subtlety for spectacle and could soon be heading to Broadway.

Following the success of Sunset Boulevard, Lloyd’s signature stripped-down style meets rock concert intensity in this revived version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical. Zegler, in only her second major stage role, dazzles with commanding vocals and presence, even as critics debate the show’s dramatic clarity.

Keep ReadingShow less
K Anis Ahmed

K Anis Ahmed’s new novel Carnivore is as imaginative as it is provocative

AMG

K Anis Ahmed’s 'Carnivore' serves up satire, class war and moral rot

From the blood-soaked backstreets of Dhaka to the polished kitchens of Manhattan’s elite, K Anis Ahmed’s new novel Carnivore is as imaginative as it is provocative. A satirical thriller steeped in class tension, culinary obsession and primal survival, Carnivore follows Kash, a Bangladeshi immigrant-turned-chef who launches a high-end restaurant serving exotic meats – only to become embroiled in a sinister world of appetite and ambition.

But this is no simple tale of knives and recipes. Ahmed – a seasoned journalist, publisher, and president of PEN Bangladesh – brings a sharp eye to the grotesqueries of power and privilege. In this exclusive interview with Eastern Eye, he speaks about his passion for food, the moral murkiness of his characters, and why even the most ordinary people can spiral into extraordinary darkness.

Keep ReadingShow less
Artists respond to a world shaped
by division at Summer Exhibition

Visitors view works in the main gallery

Artists respond to a world shaped by division at Summer Exhibition

THE theme of the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition 2025 is “dialogues”, prompting the question: can art help bring together the people of India and Pakistan? Or, indeed, Israel and Iran – or Israel and Palestine?

It so happens that the coordinator of this year’s Summer Exhibition is the internationally celebrated artist and Royal Academician Farshid Moussavi, who is of Iranian origin.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kanpur 1857 play

This summer, Niall Moorjani returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with 'Kanpur: 1857'

Pleasance

Niall Moorjani brings colonial history to life with powerful new play 'Kanpur: 1857'

This summer, Niall Moorjani returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Kanpur: 1857, an explosive new play that fuses biting satire, history and heartfelt storytelling. Written, co-directed and performed by Moorjani, alongside fellow actor and collaborator Jonathan Oldfield, the show dives into the bloody uprising against British colonial rule in 1857 India, focusing on the brutal events in Kanpur.

At its centre is an Indian rebel, played by Moorjani, strapped to a cannon and forced to recount a version of events under the watchful eye of a British officer.

Keep ReadingShow less