Most anticipated Tollywood releases in the first half of 2023

It’s a great start for Tollywood in 2023 so far, especially after Christmas release from last year ‘Projapoti’ continuing it’s fascinating box office run. However, this year has a lot in store for Bengali cinema. In fact, five most-anticipated films with attractive star cast are gearing for theatrical release in January itself. Whether it’s a directorial debut, star jodis making grand entry or a popular detective’s big screen return – the first half of 2023 looks every bit impressive. So, without much ado, let’s take a look at these seven films releasing between January and June.

Prajna Dutta on ‘Pathaan’ song 'Besharam Rang' row

Releasing on January 6, this is poet-lyricist Srijato’s debut as a filmmaker. The story follows Sanket (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) and Kuhu (Priyanka Sarkar) who are the cutest couple in town. Kuhu, with her NGO Manobjomin, dreams of building a school for girls in the village to fight child marriage. Sanket, works in a bank employee and helps Kuhu in her dream project. On the other hand, Sanket’s uncle Boren Babu (Paran Bandyopadhyay) is busy with his religious obsession and wants to spend all his money to buy a parcel of land in heaven. However, Kuhu urges him to invest the money for her school. The emotional turmoil between these three characters forms the crux of the story.

Releasing on January 13, Arindam Silm’s film, celebrating the centenary year of Bengali cinema, primarily revolves around the legend of Maaya Kumari, played by Rituparna Sengupta and Kanan Kumar (Abir Chatterjee), who formed a hit pair with her in the 1940s. However, she retired at the peak of her career, raising much speculation, to lead a reclusive life with her husband Sital Bhattacharya (Rajatava Dutta), far away from the glamour world. In the film, filmmaker Soumitra Mallick (Indrasish Roy) decides to make a film, exploring the reasons behind her disappearance. The story apparently shifts between various time periods.

Expected to release on January 20, Kaushik Ganguly’s romantic thriller, starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Srabanti Chatterjee, Ambarish Bhattacharya, Indraneil Sengupta and Koushik Sen is set in ’70s Bengal against the backdrop of the Naxal insurgency and the Emergency. A mysterious death of senior police officer Mrinmoy Ghosh (Koushik Sen) in his Hatimara residence kicks up a storm. A visitor, Arghya Sen (Prosenjit), arrives and figures out the mystery surrounding Mrinmoy’s death and a shocking discovery — Mrinmoy’s sister Kaberi Bhattacharya’s (Srabanti) suspected murder – makes things worse. Meanwhile, Pritam Singh (Indraneil Sengupta), the new officer-in-charge, and Arghya join hands to unravel the mystery.

Scheduled for a January 20 release, this is Rahool Mukherjee’s second film after the success of ‘Kishmish’. It is a story of eight different people from different classes but joined in a common thread of melancholy, later who discovered love. However, in every fairy tale with the good comes the grin, one bears. But as the name of the film suggests it will leave an aftertaste of sweetness that love prevails in the heart and minds of the audiences. The film stars Soham Majumdar, Madhumita Sarcar, Kharaj Mukherjee, Aparajita Adhya, Anasua Majumder, Paran Bandopadhyay, Ujan Chatterjee and Aishwarya Sen among others in pivotal roles.

Gearing up for a January 20 release, Saptaswa Basu’s medical thriller is a spin-off of his 2020 film ‘Pratidwandi’. Pratidwandi followed a series of murders in Kolkata after a doctor’s son was kidnapped. This spin off sheds light on medical ethics and scams. Here Dr. Bakshi (Parambrata Chattopadhyay), a writer (Subhashree Ganguly) and an ex-convict (Bonny Sengupta) cross each other’s path. Dr. Bakshi wants to expose a medical scam and a public servant who’s behind several medical scams. But while doing so the doctor forgets the ethical side of his profession.

Eken Babu - the quick-witted, sharp-tongued quintessential Bangali sleuth - will once again rule our hearts and minds in this film, directed by Joydeep Mukherjee. The tentative release date is April 14. Anirban Chakrabarti along with Suhotro Mukhopadhyay, Somak Ghosh returns in the new Rajasthan adventure. Eken Babu while enjoying his vacation in the picturesque Rajasthan with Bapi and Pramatha stumbles upon a mystery that challenges his skills. The film also has Sandipta Sen and Rajatava Dutta in key roles.

This is the most-hyped film of Jeet in recent times after the success of ‘Raavan’. Directed by Rajesh Ganguly, Chengiz is an intense action-thriller revolving around underworld gangs that used to rule the streets of Kolkata from the 1970s to the mid-’90s. Jeet plays Chengiz, a larger than life character of a don with a multi-layered character. Directed by Rajesh Ganguly, the story has been penned by critically acclaimed director Neeraj Pandey along with the director. This time also we will get to see Jeet in a larger-than-life avatar. The expected release date is April 29.