Tollywood roundup: Bengali celebs who made headlines this week

Be it the first look of Abir from ‘Byomkesh Gowtro’, rumours on Raj-Subhashree working together, ‘Ek Je Chilo Raja’ release date or Dev’s comment on making remakes again; 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.

Arindam Sil’s next ‘Byomkesh Gowtro’, slated to release this Durga Puja, is largely inspired by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay’s ‘Rakter Daag’. The film has garnered a lot of attention ever since it was announced. Now, to intensify the craze, the much awaited first look poster from ‘Byomkesh Gowtro’ has been released and the most intriguing part about the poster is the new look of Byomkesh. Abit Chatterjee steals the show in a long coat instead of the sleuth’s usual dhoti-kurta.

Raj is looking forward to making a movie with his newly-wed wife Subhashree in lead for a long time. He missed one chance when the sequel to ‘Kathmundu’ got shelved. It was really difficult to put such huge cast including Jisshu, Abir, Rudranil, Subhashree together. Raj has moved on, he has already wrapped up the shooting of his next ‘The Adventures Of Jojo’. According to industry sources, he is now working on a project with his Subhashree in lead. The duo tied the knot on May 11 this year.

Director Debaditya Bandopadhyay’s short film ‘2 Taka’ marks the return of former TMC MP and actor Tapas Pal as he plays the lead in this short film. ‘2 Taka’ explores the burning issues associated with financial fraud in recent times. Apart from Tapas Pal, Tulika Basu, Krishnakishore Mukherjee, Nimai Ghosh will be seen in pivotal roles. Earlier in February, Tapas Pal was released on bail after almost a year in detention. CBI arrested him back in December 2016 for his alleged involvement in helping the currently defunct Rose Valley group run their fraudulent schemes.

Ever since Ankush stepped into Tollywood with his debut film ‘Kellafate’ in 2010, he has been loved for the unique boy-next-door image rather than a ragged one. But, did you know the popular actor doesn’t like the cute image, instead he has transformed himself into a rough and tough young man over the years. Recently he took to the social media share a picture in which Ankush looked outstanding in a ragged avatar donning a gym vest. The dashing actor underwent a rigorous fitness regime in Mumbai under celebrity fitness trainer Prashant Sawant before he started shooting for Baba Yadav's upcoming action thriller ‘villain’.

Remakes of South Indian films have served a big role in making Dev a superstar of Tollywood and interestingly the actor turned producer has no shame in admitting it. Two of the highest grossing films in his career ‘Paglu’ and ‘Paran Jaye Joliya Re’ were actually remakes of Telugu hit ‘Devadasu’ and 2017 Bollywood hit ‘Namastey London’ respectively. The interesting part is many directors in the Bengali industry now believe that Dev is only interested in films which have original content. However, the Tollywood heartthrob assures that he is open to working in remakes of South Indian films but he won’t be doing any film which is a scene-by-scene copy of the original one.

Featuring Jisshu Sengupta in the titular role, ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ is a period drama based on ‘A Princely Imposter’ by Partha Chatterjee. It draws inspiration from the famous 1975 ‘Bhawal sanyasi’ court case. The film has garnered a lot of attention ever since it was announced. Now, director Srijit Mukherji has announced the release date of ‘Ek Je Chilo Raja’ and it’s October 12. The official teaser of the film has already been released on the 72nd death anniversary of Bhawal Sanyasi.

Srabanti Chatterjee, whose latest ‘Piya Re’ has received rave reviews from the audience and critics alike, is all geared up for a murder mystery titled ‘Drishyantar’. Directed by Rana Bandopadhyay, the film is slated for a release on August 24. The upcoming thriller sees debutant Vicky Deb opposite Srabanti. While Indrani Haldar plays a private detective, Debshankar Halder will be seen as a stage theatre director. Srabanti essays out the role of a popular stage actress. In the film, Arpita Mukherjee’s character who was not on good terms with Srabanti gets killed in a late night party and Srabanti gets involved in the murder mystery. What happens next forms the crux of the film.

Prabir Roy’s much-awaited documentary-feature film on mahanayak Uttam Kumar ‘Jete Nahi Dibo’ is all about matinee idol Uttam Kumar's huge contribution to the film industry, his personal attachment with the technicians and team along with his versatile acting capabilities. It will also narrate the inspiring stories about his life and his struggle beyond the much talked about scandals. The documentary-feature is releasing on September 3, on the 92nd birth anniversary of Uttam Kumar.

Amid the recent ATM fraud incidents in Kolkata, a Bengali film on the nuances of ethical hacking is all set to release next month. Directed by debutant duo Siddharth Sen and Subrato Mondal, the thriller 'The Hacker' sees an undercover RAW agent on the hunt for a serial killer with the help of a young hacker. Ena Saha and Aryann Bhowmik play the lead in this film. If all goes according to plan, ‘The Hacker’ will release by the end of September.

Actor Anindya Chatterjee has joined hands with independent musician Tanmoy Saadhak for a new video song to spread awareness against drug abuse. Directed by Atreyee Sen, the video is supported by Kolkata Police. Anindya has always been an active campaigner for Kolkata Police generating awareness on substance abuse. The recently released music video sees Depopriyo Mukherjee playing a youth addicted to drugs and the music has been composed and performed by Tanmoy himself.