From Prosenjit to Abir: Bengali actors to look out for this Puja

There is only one day left for the release of six of the most anticipated films of this festive season. Tomorrow, on October 12, all these films featuring your favorite actors will hit the big screens. The list has big stars like Prosenjit Chatterjee, Abir Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta, and Dev. The fans are looking forward to seeing who steals the spotlight and who is overshadowed by others. Young actors like Anirban Bhattacharya and Arjun Chakraborty are also there to deliver a gem of a performance. Now we have to wait and watch; who emerges as the star of Puja this year.

Jisshu Sengupta essaying the Bhawal prince in Srijit Mukherji’s ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ may steal all the limelight this Puja. Jisshu unbelievable look as the Bhawal Sanyasi in Srijit Mukherji’s ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ has been generating a lot of attention ever since the film’s poster and teaser were released. The dashing actor is literally unrecognisable in the ash-smeared, bearded and disheveled avatar of a sadhu. The entire credit for this transformation goes to makeup artist Somnath Kundu, who used so many prosthetics and certainly loads of research to turn the glamorous actor into a Sanyasi. It used to take two hours to transform Jisshu into a Sanyasi. Somnath says, "Bhawal Sanyasi’s body had some unique characteristics, such as one of his fingers was fatter than the rest, and we had to recreate these features on Jisshu. The process was really challenging.”

Prosenjit Chatterjee will definitely grab a lot of attention portraying the struggle of a Kishore-Kanthi singer. Perhaps, no one could have done more justice to the titular character in this film than Prosenjit, as his debut film, ‘Pratisodh’ (1981), had a superhit song by Kishore Kumar himself. Also, Kaushik Ganguly’s films stand for fresh subjects which no one else can think of. Who could have imagined ‘Kishore Kumar Junior’ will have such an intrigued subplot where the ‘copy’ singer gets kidnapped by a terrorist group and it not just ends here. How music becomes a bridge between India and Pakistan can also be seen here, as the trailer has promised.

Abir as usual will be seen as the edgy and suave sleuth in Byomkesh Gowtro. A literary icon became a cinematic phenomenon in the Byomkesh franchise. An intellectual Bengalee Byomkesh to an agile Bakshi to an older one - Abir perfected each shade with each venture. A character like Byomkesh deserves recognition so does an actor like him. A gap of 2 years has made every Byomkesh fan eagerly waiting for him and now he is back in Arindam Sil’s next. The first teaser of ‘Byomkesh Gowtro’ left every Bengali movie buff in awe as Abir was seen donning a long coat with brown hat and a cigar in his hand, a completely different look to watch for. He will also be seen in a cameo in ‘Manojder Adbhut Bari’.

Bengal’s latest crush Anirban Bhattacharya will be seen portraying one of the most challenging roles in his career in Srijit's Ek Je Chhilo Raja. Anirban will be introduced as the brother-in-law (Satya Banerjee) of the titular character, the middle prince of Bhawal estate Mahendra Kumar Chowdhury and brother of Mahendra’s wife Chandrabati Devi. When Chandrabati weds Mahendra and comes to Bikrampur, her brother Satya too accompanies her and stays back. He becomes a close friend of the Raja. This is no doubt one of the biggest challenges Anirban faces as the character has so many shades with potentiality of turning out to be his career defining role.

Dev is all set to do some hoichoi in ‘Hoichoi Unlimited’. He was a boxer in ‘Chaamp’, a pilot in ‘Cockpit’ and a terrorist in ‘Kabir’. Dev will now bring on the funny side with a ghar jamai avatar in his fourth home production. His huge fan following has already made the comedy flick one of the most anticipated commercial potboilers this year. The Tollywood heartthrob will play a ‘ghwar jamai’ to a rich industrialist and Kaushani Mukherjee will be seen as his wife who is busy with religious rituals and doesn’t give enough time to her husband.

‘Byomkesh Gowtro’ sees Arjun as the good looking brat Satyakam, the ultimate debonair Casanova, who himself admits he is not born to be a family man rather he loves to destroy them. In the trailer we have seen him addressing Byomkesh, “Death is the only thing that’s certain in our lives Mr Bakshi.” In a prophetic approach Satyakam even urges the iconic sleuth to investigate, whether he is to die soon. The trailer has also offered an interesting montage of Satyakam engaging with several women. The stout appearance and the unique characterization of Arjun Chakraborty in a never-before-seen look, his conflicts with women make the murder mystery more interesting.