Bagh Bondi Khela

Bagh Bondi Khela (transl. The Caged Tiger Game) is a 1975 Indian Bengali-language political action thriller film co-written and directed by Pijush Basu. Produced by Ashima Bhattacharya, the film is based on Prafulla Roy's novel titled Prothom Tarar Alo. It stars Uttam Kumar, Supriya Devi, Partha Mukherjee and Mahua Roy Chowdhury in lead roles, while Tarun Kumar, Asit Baran, Tarun Mitra and Kalyani Mondal play supporting roles. It revolves around a businessman who enters into politics through unethical means.

The film marks fifth of the frequent collaborations between Basu and Kumar. The soundtrack of the film was composed by Dipankar Chattopadhyay in her debut, with lyrics penned by Pulak Bandyopadhyay and score by Ashima Mukherjee. The cinematography was handled by Ganesh Bose, while Baidyanath Chatterjee edited the film.

Bagh Bondi Khela theatrically released on 19 December 1975, coinciding with Christmas. It was a super-hit at the box office and ran for over 170 days in theatres. Apart from emerging as a major financial success, the film has become a cult film over the years due to its suspense, story, screenplay, soundtrack and performances of the cast. The film is considered to be Uttam Kumar’s best appearance as an anti-hero.