Hawa Bodol

Hawa Bodol is a Bengali comedy film from 2013, directed by Parambrata Chattopadhyay. It follows two old school friends, Satrajeet (Jeet) and Rajarshi (Raj), who run into each other after many years. Jeet is a partner in a large architecture firm he inherited from his late father-in-law, while Raj is a struggling singer in a band. After a party for one of Jeet’s non-Bengali business clients, the two buy drinks and end up drinking outdoors.

Each wishes they had the other’s life. When they wake up, they discover their souls have swapped. Both struggle to navigate the other’s responsibilities. Raj, in Jeet’s body, visits his hometown of Chandannagar to see his parents, whom he left years ago to pursue singing.

Jeet, in Raj’s body, goes to his own house to see his child. Inka, the businessman’s daughter, comes to stay with Raj (actually Jeet’s soul) after a fight with her parents. Raj, in Jeet’s body, proposes using terracotta instead of gold plates in a bathroom for Indonesian clients. Jeet, in Raj’s body, introduces Inka as the lead singer of the band, and her performance is well received.

To reverse the swap, the friends repeat the same actions from the night it happened, and succeed. The film ends with Raj traveling to Chandannagar to visit his parents, and Jeet going on a family trip. The cast includes Raima Sen as Tanuka, Parambrata Chattopadhyay as Jeet, Rudranil Ghosh as Raj, Neha Panda as Inka, Dwijen Bandopadhyay, and Kaushik Ganguly as a music producer. The soundtrack was composed by Indradeep Dasgupta, with lyrics by Angshuman Chakraborty and Prosen, and includes a Rabindranath Tagore song, “Mor Bhabonare.”

Reception

The film received mixed reviews and ran for five weeks, earning 16 million in its first week, 5 million in the second, and a total of 20 million over its run. A sequel, Abar Hawa Bodol, was released in 2026.