Most awaited sequels of recent Bengali hits

The formula of sequels is nothing new in Indian cinema and we have seen a number of films have more than a couple of installments, with more in the making, especially in Bollywood. Looks like this format is not going anywhere anytime soon. While there are many Bollywood sequels in the pipeline already, Bengali cinema too has its share. Here’s a list of Tollywood sequels which we will see soon on the big screen.

With ‘Durgeshgorer Guptodhon’, Sona Da aka Subarna Sen (Abir Chatterjee), two of his sidekicks Abir (Arjun Chakraborty), and Jhinuk (Isha Saha) are all set to enthrall the audience in yet another exciting and thrilling treasure hunt drama after ‘Guptodhoner Sandhane’ last year. While the Bengali movie buffs are eagerly waiting for the movie to hit the theatres, film fraternity is also keeping its fingers crossed for the Dhrubo Banerjee directorial. ‘Durgeshgorer Guptodhon’ sees the story of Professor Subarno Sen, a history professor, who with his nephew Aabir and Jhinuk visits the ancestral mansion of Sona da's student at Durgeshgor. The great grandfather of this student was a zamindar and a renowned artist of Bengal. There is a myth in the family, he had once received a massive treasure but all traces and trails of it lost now. Sona da, Aabir and Jhinuk visit the mansion during Durga Puja and find the lost clues that may lead them to one of the greatest treasures of Bengal. The film produced by SVF also stars Anindya Chatterjee, Kaushik Sen, Kharaj Mukherjee, June Maliah, Debjani Chatterjee, Liliy Chakraborty, Aryann Bhowmick, Arindam Sil, Kamaleswar Mukherjee, Joydip Kundu and Lama in pivotal roles.

When the announcement of next Kakababu film came last year it surely brought a smile on the faces of millions of Kakababu fans! SVF and Srijit Mukherji have once again joined hands for their grand Pujo release in 2019 ‘Kakababur Protyabarton’. Prosenjit Chatterjee returns to play Kakababu aka Raja Roy Chowdhury once again. Aryaan Bhowmick revives his Santu character from previous two films. Srijit recently came back from Nairobi after a recce for the next Kakababu film. While his last film ‘Yeti Obhijaan’ didn’t enjoy a great audience response, will Srijit opt for a cautious approach for his next ‘Kakababur Protyabarton’? “See, many said ‘Yeti Obhijaan’ was my worst made movie, and yes, I have to admit that despite the box office success. I think the main problem was I loyally reproduced the novel as Sunil Gangopadhyay wrote, which in turn made some of the scenes a bit unrealistic. This time, I have decided to adapt Kakababu to 2019, and explore contemporary issues to give more of a cinematic adaptation, than a completely faithful literary reproduction,” explained the ‘Vinci Da’ director.

Ranjan Ghosh’s ‘Ahaa Re’ continues to woo the audience. It has received appreciation from all corners. And now, the overwhelming response from the audience has made Ranjan, the director, and Rituparna Sengupta, who is also the producer apart from playing the female lead in film, plan a sequel to ‘Ahaa Re’. Talks are on for the second instalment as the casting will most likely be the same. That means Rituparna and Arifin Shuvoo are set to team up yet again along with Paran Bandopadhyay. However, the title hasn’t been decided yet. “The first film had a magical ending which brings Raja and Basundhara close to each other. The second film will start from where the first film ended. The way NRC has stormed our country recently, will a Muslim man be able to live in a Hindu family or will Raja be able to stay in Kolkata with Basundhara –I would like to explore these areas,” said Ranjan adding that ‘Ahaa Re’ will soon release in Bangladesh as well given the huge popularity Arifin Shuvoo enjoys there.

With commendable acting, direction and screenplay Raj Chakraborty’s ‘Adventures Of Jojo’ thoroughly entertained the audience last year. The Children’s adventure drama, release on December 21, 2018, received an amazing response from the audience, especially the kids. Raj has already hinted if this film succeeds at the box office he will plan a sequel making a series on Jojo. Later he confirmed about making a franchise on Jojo but he will take his time to make the second film and it will be bigger than the first one. While ‘Adventures Of Jojo’ is set in India, for the next one Jojo will travel abroad and Joshojit Banerjee will reprise the lead character. Will Samiul Alam be part of the second installment as a well? Raj Chakraborty says it depends on the story. He has already started working on the story and plans to release the second flick in the 2020 winter.

Apu, the central character in Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy, will return to the big screen six decades after the last film was released. Apur Sansar, the last film in the trilogy, hit the theares in 1959 which also marked the debut of Soumitra Chatterjee in the title role. Subhrajit Mitra is now making ‘Avijatrik—The Wanerlust of Apu’, based entirely on the concluding part of ‘Aparajito’ by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. The story will take off from where ‘Apur Sansar’ ended. The Apu Trilogy - Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956) and Apur Sansar (1959) – is widely regarded as Satyajit Ray’s cult classic which started the neo-realist movement in Indian cinema.

Ayan Chakraborti is set for his second film after making ‘Shororipu’. Although the title of this film, ‘Shororipu 2: Jotugriho’, suggests it’s a sequel Ayan insists his second directorial is rather the next instalment in the ‘Shororipu’ franchise. The only similarity between the two films is detective Chandrakanta and his investigation. What’s more interesting is our very own Saswata Chatterjee plays an out and out negative character here and this is something everyone will look forward to. The detective thriller is a dark revenge drama penned by the director himself. Chiranjit Chakraborty will reprise the role of detective Chandrakanta while Rajesh Sharma essays the role of a DCP. Arunima Ghosh will be seen as the central character Megha and Saswata Chatterjee plays a completely dark character of Debraj. Rest of the cast include Sourav chakraborty, Darshana Banik, Debranjan Nag, Biswajit Chakraborty and Poulami Das.

Three years after the huge success of ‘Bela Seshe’ director duo Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy is ready to bring the second installment ‘Bela Shuru’ this Puja. The entire cast of ‘Bela Seshe’ will be seen in ‘Bela Shuru’ as well. The film has an ensemble cast including Soumitra Chatterjee, Swatilekha Sengupta, Rituparna Sengupta, Aparajita Auddy, Kharaj Mukherjee, Indrani Dutta, Monami Ghosh, Anindya Chatterjee, Shankar Chakraborty and others. The 2015 blockbuster 'Bela Seshe' gave us many learning experiences. It highlighted the value of a relationship and the bonding between family members. ‘Bela Seshe’ had a serious message about how we depend on our family to lead a healthy and happy life. Who could have played the challenging role better than Soumitra Chatterjee! His presence made the Shiboprasad Mukhopadhyay and Nandita Roy directorial a really special one.

While many believe it’s a sequel to 2017 treasure hunt drama ‘Jwaker Dhan’, director Sayantan Ghosal insists it has no connection with the original ‘Jwaker Dhan’ series written by Hemendra Kumar Roy. The upcoming adventure flick will see Parambrata Chatterjee and Koel Mallick pairing up for the third time. While Parambrata will be seen as Kumar, Gaurav Chakrabarty has been roped in for the character of Bimal, which was earlier played by Rahul Banerjee. The upcoming adventure drama also stars Kaushik Sen, Rajatava Dutta, Kanchan Mullick and Shantilal Mukherjee in key roles.