বাংলায় পড়ুন
“Shob khelar shera bangalir tumi football...” the famous Manna Dey song from the movie “Dhanyi Meye” is still true for every Bengali. Since time immemorial, football has been synonymous with Kolkata. This city was regarded as "The football capital of India" and not to forget, the father of Indian football Nagendranath Sarbadhikary was indeed a Bengali. Hence, from the very beginning, football has been in the blood of the people of Bengal.
Now let's just talk about Kolkata, which was considered the Mecca of Indian football, there was a time when Indian football was incomplete without any player from Kolkata. And the ever-lasting verbal fight between Mohan Bagan and East Bengal supporters within the same family is nothing short of a war front. Football for Bengalis, is like a philosophy that defines our life and provides us strength, to face the ups and downs of life bravely and sportingly.
Us, Bengalis have always been crazy about the game and quite interestingly it has found its way in Bengali films, literature and even theatre. Famous theatre personality, Ajitesh Bondhyopadhyay staged a play, about football in the year 1977 and received critical acclaim all over the country. Bondhyopadhyay’s play dealt with contemporary socio-political turmoil and how a youth faces criticism from society. His only way to channelize frustration and anger was through the game of football. For the Tollywood Industry, football has always been monumental; some of the great cult movies were made about this very enticing sport.
Take for example the famous 1971- hit movie “Dhanyi Meye”, Uttam Kumar’s character was a football fanatic. The match in the movie became a fun-filled event when his club scores 10 goals in one match. Angry villagers’ interference changed the whole scenario and it took a hilarious turn.
Another movie released in 1976 named as Mohan Baganer Meye, the light-hearted comedy movie highlighted the eternal Bangaal-Ghotis trifle between supporters of Bengal’s 2 iconic football clubs: East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.
Tollywood has also spoken of soccer players, their challenges, and their talents. How can we forget about “Saheb”, the movie deals with a heart-wrenching tale of a gifted young footballer who pursues his dreams despite a strong opposition from his family, and still manages to get selected in the national team. Then the historical soccer movie “Egaro: The immortal XI” released in the year 2011 was a tribute to the historic win of ‘Mohun Bagan’ against East Yorkshire Regiment. “Egaro: The immortal XI narrates the match and the lives of the legendary footballers, who redefined patriotism in the Swadeshi Movement. In the year 2015, actor/director Parambrata Chatterjee’s “Lorai” was released on the under dogs of football. Sebastian Ryan, an alcoholic ex-footballer who was assigned to govern a group of youth in a politically disturbed village of Purulia district. Later, the government plans to scrap the project, which disheartens Ryan. Now, his team must perform well in the match against Kolkata Ekadosh to retain the project. The film delivered a story that is entailed with loss, love, heartbreak and redemption.
As the world is jammed with Madrid and Barcelona, similarly for Kolkata it is Mohan Bagan vs East Bengal. Football is and always will be a Bengali’s love and has a far-reaching impact on the Bengali psyche. It has always been an integral part of Bengal’s history.
