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Bhilet Pherat
aka The England Returned 1921 St c.4000 ft b&w dlco-s N.C. Laharry pc IJ1do-British Film plea-s Dhirendranath Ganguly cJyotish Sarkar lp Dhirendranath Ganguly, Manmatha Pal, Kunjalal Chakraborty, Sushilabala
Dhirendranath Ganguly made his acting debut in this famous satire contrasting conservative Bengali culture with that of the colonial elite. Advertised as a story about 'a young Indian [who] returns to his native land after a long absence and is so mightily impressed with his foreign training that, at his parental home, he startles everybody with his quixotic notions of love and matrimony' (Bombay Chronicle, 20 August 1921). Ganguly's acting incorporated Hollywood slapstick and a number of 19th century performance traditions from Calcutta. A long time in the making, the film was promoted as the first Bengali film, with a live 'all-Bengali' band to accompany the screening.