Tollywood roundup: Bengali cinema’s top 10 newsmakers this week

Whether the announcement of Birsa Dasgupta’s next rom-com, the news of Priya cinema reopening after 7 months, the controversy surrounding Anik Dutta’s ‘Bhobishyoter Bhoot’, rumours of Parambrata directing Soumitra Chatterjee’s biopic to Jisshu-Abir starrer ‘Bornoporichoy’s first poster; it was a week full of rumours and exciting news from the Tollywood industry. Here is a quick look at Bengali cinema's some of the most exciting news from this week.

After Crisscross, director Birsa Dasgupta is set for his next titled ‘Bibaho Obhijaan’. It’s a rom-com revolving around two married couples played by Ankush, Mimi Chakraborty, Rudranil Ghosh and Sohini Sarkar. After Crisscross, Mimi and Sohini will be seen in another of Birsa's directorial. Rudranil Ghosh has also penned the story, script, screenplay, and dialogue for the upcoming venture which will hit the floors soon.

After staying close for almost 7 months, Priya Cinema is opening this Friday. Kaushik Ganguly's ‘Nagarkirtan’ will be screened at Priya on its re-opening week. Bollywood film ‘Total Dhamal’ will also run in the same theatre. A special screening of ‘Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen’ was also held to celebrate the event. The famous south Kolkata theatre was shut down after a fire broke out last year during the screening of a film.

Shiladitya Moulik’s next directorial ‘Sweater’ sees Ishaa Saha in titular role. It’s a coming-of-the-age story revolving around a simple girl and knitting. Ishaa plays Tuku who is an under-confident girl. Before marriage her would be mother-in-law (June Malia plays the character) places a condition that she has to be an expert in knitting. Tuku reaches out to a relative to learn the art and eventually it transforms her into a different person. Recently the first poster of the film was dropped online and it looks every bit intriguing as we get to see Ishaa’s first look in ‘Sweater’.

Nabarun Sen is set for his directorial debut with ‘Dwikhondito’ which revolves around a man who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder. The psychological thriller will hit the theatres on March 29. Saswata Chatterjee here essays the role of Kaushik, an author who starts writing a novel based on a fictional character Bipin who has lost his wife, daughter and mother in a land-dispute in his village. When Kaushik finishes the novel he starts hallucinating about the characters of his own story and feels for them. Things go to such an extent that eventually Kaushik’s wife Sumana (played by Anjana Basu) finds it really hard to handle things at home. That’s when Saayoni Ghosh, playing psychiatrist, enters the narrative.

Last year cinematographer Premendu Bikash Chaki’s comedy caper ‘Honeymoon’ had a decent outing at the box office. The comedy flick starring Soham Chakraborty, Subhashree Ganguly, Ranjit Mallick and Rudranil Ghosh in the lead was Premendu’s directorial debut. Now, he is all geared up for his second offering. Based on a novel by Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay aka Bon Phul, the film has been titled as ‘Aghoton’ and will be produced by Camellia Productions. This Bon Phul story was earlier adapted into a play as well. There hasn’t been any news about the cast but we hear Premendu is planning a surprise package for the audience.

According to industry sources, a biopic on Bengali cinema’s living legend Soumitra Chatterjee is in the making. So, who will don the director’s hat for this project? Speculation is rife actor-director Parambrata Chatterjee is likely to helm the biopic. Soumitra Chatterjee himself has admitted the discussions are in primary stage only and there hasn’t been any decision on the cast as well.

Anik Dutta's ‘Bhobishyoter Bhoot' saw its screening stopped in most of the cinema halls and multiplexes from the day after it hit the theatres on February 15 following what’s rumoured to be an instruction allegedly from the police. The producers have already lodged a complaint with Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) and are contemplating legal action, while the Tolly industry including a number of artistes, musicians and technicians staged a sit-in protest against such blocking of the film.

Some movies create characters penned with a special actor in mind. Legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray proved it on several occasions, most famously in ‘Nayak’ (1966), which featured Bengal’s matinee idol Uttam Kumar in lead role. Director Aniket Chattopadhyay did the same for his ‘Shankar Mudi’, which has actor-director Kaushik Ganguly in titular role and after being shelved for a long time has finally locked its release date. The social drama will hit the theatres on March 15. The film is all about a locality in suburban Kolkata, and how the people living there struggle to adjust to their daily life when a shopping mall comes up.

The first look poster of Mainak Bhaumik's upcoming thriller ‘Bornoporichoy’ is here to double excitement of Bengali movie buffs. It also marks the International Mother Language Day, so the poster’s release on the same day grabbed more attention to the much anticipated film. The action thriller features Jisshu Sengupta and Abir Chatterjee, the two most desired actors of Bengali cinema right now along with Priyanka Sarkar in a key role.

Director Riingo Banerjee had to start the day with the worst news ever. Young actress Sanghamitra Roy Chatterjee passed away on Thursday morning following a cerebral attack in sleep. She was only 27. The model turned actress was supposed to play a key role in Riingo’s upcoming ‘Damini’ which also stars Rituparna Sengupta in the lead. She was also a part of Agnidev Chatterjee’s 2018 film ‘Gaheen Hriday’ which again had Ritu in the lead. In Riingo’s film the actress was supposed to play a doting wife opposite seasoned actor Kaushik Sen. In 2017, she played a supporting role in Soham-Subhashree starrer Dekh Kamon Lage’.