Mahalaya Revisits the Controversial 1976 Replacement of Birendra Krishna Bhadra

Mahalaya is a film about a famous radio programme heard by many Bengali families.

For years, Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s voice announced the arrival of the Goddess on Mahalaya morning.

In 1976, All India Radio chose film star Uttam Kumar to narrate the programme instead.

The film shows how that decision affected the people involved and listeners’ connection to the tradition.

Hemanta Mukhopadhyay wanted to make the broadcast bigger and more elaborate.

Uttam Kumar knew that taking Bhadra’s place would be difficult.

The review praises several performances and says the film handles its emotions with restraint.

Bhadra later returned to the programme, and his voice remained part of the tradition.