Tollywood Roundup: Bengali celebs who made headlines this week

Whether it’s the crazy behind-the-scenes news of ‘Bidaay Byomkesh’, latest update on Chinmoy Roy’s health condition, rumours about the release date of ‘Shah Jahan Regency’ or budding director Pavel’s explosive revelation about Srijit Mukherji’s next Hindi film; it was a week full of rumours and exciting news from the Tollywood industry. Here is a look at Bengali cinema's 10 of the most exciting news from this week.

While Srabanti Chatterjee has appeared mostly in commercial potboilers throughout her career, she is now shifting her focus more towards content oriented films like Srijit Mukherjee’s recently released ‘Uma’ where she played a mother to a terminally ill child. There have been so many ups and downs in her acting career but Srabanti insists she has no such regrets in her professional life. Speaking about her career the actress said, “I don’t have any regrets. Why should I? God has given me so many things to be happy. I just want to continue my good work.”

Good news for those who were constantly praying for veteran actor Chinmoy Roy after he was hospitalised following multiple injuries on June 30. The actor has finally been shifted to Step Down Unit from Intensive Treatment Unit at a city private nursing home. He has recovered from the injuries remarkably and is even speaking to his family. The 77-year-old actor, after a minor operation, received 15 stitches on his head. Apart from this, he had a severe injury on his left hand and a major fracture in both legs, particularly the upper limb and femur areas. But the doctors have assured that he is out of danger now.

After winning hearts as a young detective Byomkesh Bakshi, Abir Chatterjee plays the roles of both, a 70-year-old detective, and his grandson Satyaki in Debaloy Bhattacharya’s ‘Bidaay Byomkesh’. In the recently released spin-off, his double role has left both, the audience and critic in awe. But very few people know that when director Debaloy Bhattacharya first offered the role to Abir, he wasn’t convinced and was about to turn down the offer. However, he changed his mind at the last moment.

Veteran Bengali actress Basabi Nandi passed away on Tuesday after suffering a massive cardiac arrest at the age of 82. Basabi Nandi made her film debut with the Bengali cult classic ‘Jamalaye Jibanta Manush’ (1958). Directed by Prafulla Chakraborty, the superhit comedy film had an ensemble cast including Bhanu Banerjee, Chhabi Biswas, Pahari Sanyal, Kamal Mitra and Tulsi Chakraborty in pivotal roles. Her captivating performance in ‘Bon Palashir Padabali’ (1973) opposite Uttam Kumar is still remembered by the movie buffs.

Soumitra Chatterjee once turned down offers from as many as three Hindi films from renowned directors which eventually became big hits. The veteran actor went down the memory lane while reminiscing those days recently and said, “Hrishikesh Mukherjee in his 1971 film ‘Anand’ approached me to play the role of the famous character Dr. Bhaskar Banerjee. I had to say no because the shooting dates clashed with my commitments to Bengali cinema, the But I have no such regrets for not accepting the role.” Later Amitabh Bachchan played the doctor’s character in Rajesh Khanna starrer ‘Anand’.

Saptaswa Basu’s directorial debut ‘Network’ sees Saswata Chatterjee as a film personality suffering from a terminal disease and seeking revenge against those who betrayed him once. After ‘Jawker Dhan’, Sabyasachi Chakraborty will once again play a negative role in this upcoming thriller. Apart from these two popular actors, the cast includes Bhaskar Banerjee, Indrajit Mazumder, Sayoni Ghosh, Rini Ghosh, Eshani Ghosh and others. Parambrata Chatterjee will have a special appearance in ‘Network’.

Srijit Mukherji’s ‘Shah Jahan Regency’ is a retelling of Sankar's best-selling novel ‘Chowringhee’ in present times against a completely changed socio-economic and political backdrop. The film initially had an ensemble cast including Prosenjit Chatterjee and Jisshu Sengupta. But Prosenjit and Jisshu later backed out. Now Abir Chatterjee has replaced Prosenjit, while Parambrata will be seen in place of Jisshu. Swastika Mukherjee has also replaced Jaya Ahsan. While speaking about the film, Srijit recently revealed he wants to wrap up the shooting part as quick as possible, eyeing a Christmas release this year.

In Krish Somak Bera’s upcoming short film ‘Cinemar Porday Shob Choritro Kalponik’, Saayoni Ghosh has been paired up with Bangladeshi actor Mamnun Hasan Emon in the lead. The 60-minute-film delves deep into the actual meaning of love and its varied implications in our society. It also explores whether the tradition of ‘getting married’ remains the only triumph for a couple. The plot tries to establish the fact that despite several relationships not getting culminated into marriage; the bond between the couple always remains strong enough to reject a ‘social stamp’ in the form of marriage.

After the success of ‘Begum Jaan’ in 2017, Srijit Mukherji is all set to make another Hindi film. He has already signed a contract with a production house from Mumbai, but he can’t divulge any more details about the project before September due to contractual norms. ‘Begum Jaan’ had Vidya Balan in the titular role. Set in the backdrop of India’s Independence period of 1948, it’s a Hindi remake of the critically acclaimed Bengali film 'Rajkahini' (2015). Srijit is right now busy in shooting for ‘Shah Jahan Regency’.

‘Sonar Pahar’ has received an overwhelming response from the audience and critics. But did you know the script of the movie was actually written by Pavel, the young filmmaker whose ‘Rosogolla’ is releasing this December? However, his name was just mentioned in the title card. Even in the promotional campaign, Pavel's name was missing. An upset Pavel recently revealed, "At first I decided not to write the screenplay for others. However, I changed the decision on the request of Rituparna Sengupta and Haranath Chakraborty. Now on, I will write a script on my terms." Pavel will soon start working on a film featuring Jeet in the lead.