And not to overlook the large scale industries and small scale businesses thriving on the
puja sentiments. The Thums Up advertisement concept is noteworthy. The commercial is
based on the old and new traditions. The old traditions find expression in the Barir Pujo
(household Durga puja) organised by the rich families of West Bengal. The commercial
depicts that the festival provides extended family and the neighbourhood to look forward to
local household Durga puja which is almost in the dying state. A group of neighbourhood
youngsters offer to organise puja for the elderly man. They revive the lost tradition of barir
pujo with the modern expression of upholding the idea of puja being funded by public donations as well as theme, which in this case is Thumbs Up.The chandeliers and the festive
decoration here is mostly made with Thumbs Up bottles and cans. How perfectly does this
advertisement cut through the clutter and make use of public festive sentiment to market
their product! The advertisements of different consumer goods and battle of brands during
Durga puja is a common phenomenon. This is what has given way to commercialization of
Durga puja in a large way. The pathway to puja mandap these days is lined with festoons,
banners and bustings each trying to capture the reveller’s mindspace.The media houses too
try to promote their brands. Their focus is on the pujas at the several housing complexes that
now dot the city and its suburbs. There is never a moment to spare- loads of competitive activities like conch shell blowing, dancing with incense pots and quiz contests are sponsored
throughout the day.
This religious festival which has attained a cultural connotation of great stature has never
been overlooked by the movie makers. In Parineeta the director Pradeep Sarkar tried to use
Durga puja as a time travel device – where characters and their emotions unfolds within the
Durga puja settings over the years. Not to forget Kahaani by Shujoy Ghosh where Durga
Puja brings the narrative to a thrilling climax. The director captured sindoor(vermillion)
smeared women clad in red bordered gorod at Durga puja mandap when the protagonist attain her victory over the villain which is just as symbolic marking the undertone of Durga
puja being the victory of good over evil. That scene marks women empowerment in a very
allegorical manner using Durga puja as backdrop. Bengal’s biggest extravaganza Durga puja
has always been a vivid background to a lot of celluloid narratives. From Satyajit Ray’s Pather Pachali and Joy Baba Felunath, Aparna Sen’s Paroma to Rituporno Ghosh’s Utshab and
Antarmahal – Durga puja has always enticed movie merchants.Different directors have used
Durga Puja differently in their narratives .For some it is a metaphor of women empowerment
while others have simply put their characters in the social fabric and time setting of Durga
puja – to potray how Durga puja transcends its religious boundaries and unite people in their
cultural setups and observe their ever changing social behaviour.