Tollywood roundup: Bengali celebs who made the headlines this week

Whether it’s the new film after Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy, the news of Dev and Kamaleswar Mukherjee pairing up, the intriguing poster of Srijit’s ‘Gumnami’, Ritwick Chakraborty paired opposite Jaya Ahsan in Atanu Ghosh’s next film or the rumours of Raj Casting Subhashree Ganguly in his film; it was a week full of rumours and exciting news from the Tollywood industry. Here is a quick look at Bengali cinema's some of the most exciting news from this week.

Celebrating Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s 123^rd birth anniversary on January 23, the first official poster of Srijit Mukherji’s upcoming film on Gumnami Baba was released this week. It’s based on the man who was often rumoured to be Netaji himself in disguise. Titled ‘Gumnami’, the poster surely evokes nostalgia introducing a mysterious bearded figure. Prosenjit Chatterjee, who will play the titular role, has already started preparing for this much anticipated mystery thriller.

His last directorial ‘Shonar Pahar’ raked rave reviews narrating the fading shades of an elderly person's life and how a strong bond is built between a kid and an old woman. Now, Parambrata Chatterjee is set for his next project as a director. The situational comedy ‘Khelechi Ajgubi’ tells the story of an African footballer in Kolkata. While Brazilian footballer and super model Bruno Vnechuro plays the titular character of the African footballer, Parambrata will be seen as a taxi driver Raju and Ritabhari Chakraborty plays a young journalist Bony. The upcoming comedy flick also stars Kharaj Mukherjee, Paran Bandopadhyay, Saswata Chatterjee and Kanchan Mullick among others.

Madhur Bhandarkar recently issued a clarification statement regarding a new film to continue the legacy of Apu created by Satyajit Ray. Bhandarkar is the co-presenter of this new film. The latest film in the Apu series will be directed by Subhrajit Mitra and has been titled as ‘Avijatrik’. It will start from where the story of ‘Apur Sansar’ ended based on a specific chapter of the iconic Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay novel ‘Aparajito’s which Satyajit Ray didn’t adapt in his 1959 film. The announcement confused the netizens whether Bhandarkar is remaking the Apu Trilogy.

Atanu Ghosh’s next 'Binisutoy' will see Ritwick Chakraborty and Jaya Ahsan pairing up for the first time. The film reflects on the eternal quest for an alternative lifestyle. While Jaya is not a trained singer, her character in the film will be seen singing some emotional songs. It’s Jaya's first film with Atanu Ghosh. The shooting will start from February 6 and the cast also includes Kaushik Sen, Chandrayee Ghosh, Kheya Chattopadhyay and others in important roles.

Young filmmaker Arpan Basak projects the so-called glamorous fashion world from a completely different angle as the story of his new short film ‘Inner Me’ promises to give you a reality check. The short film stars popular TV actress Adrija Roy in lead. ‘Inner Me’ revolves around an arrogant professional model Addy (played by Adrija Roy). It mainly focuses on the Indian notion of beauty compared to the Western world. What’s more interesting is this 5-minute short film will see Adrija Roy in ‘bald look’ onscreen for the first time.

While Aneek Chaudhuri is busy with wrapping up the shoot of his next ‘Cactus’, here’s a good news for the extremely talented independent filmmaker. After creating waves in the international film circuit including Cannes last year, his last directorial ‘White’, a silent black and white film on rape victims, has now been nominated for the Rome Independent Prisma Awards. ‘White’ narrates three stories about three women who’ve been raped.

Dev and Kamaleswar Mukherjee are set to join hands for an upcoming film based on a serious subject. It will be a thriller focusing on the negative impacts of digital surveillance. In this era of technological advancement and globalization we all are watched by someone. GPS locators can easily keep an eye on our whereabouts. Even when we use social media, our personal information can be accessed with a click of the mouse. Kamaleswar has decided to cast Dev and Rukmini in the lead. There will be another male lead with negative shades.

Based on a popular story 'Bou Kotha Kou' written by Tito Rahman, a political thriller 'Fagun Hawai' (In Spring Breeze) is being made on the 1952 Language Movement or Bhasha Andolon in Bangladesh. Directed by Bangladeshi director Tauquir Ahmed, ‘Doob: No Bed Of Roses’ fame Nusrat Imrose Tisha and Siam Ahmed plays the lead in this period piece whose trailer was recently launched. The film will hits theatres on February 15 in Bangladesh.

We all had our fingers crossed to hear the news. When will director Raj Chakraborty cast wife Subhashree Ganguly in his film? Now, it seems Raj has worked out in which role he will cast the pretty actress. According to industry sources, the ‘Adventures Of Jojo’ director is set to rope in Ritwick Chakraborty to play the lead opposite Subhashree in his upcoming film. If all goes according to plan, it will go on floors in March under the banner of Raj’s home production. Ritwick’s presence in the cast ensures the subject of this film will be unique and out of the box. The noted director has also insisted from now on he will work on concepts which are a bit different and others will avoid.

Arpita Chatterjee has managed carved out a niche for herself which surpasses her identity as the wife of Tollywood superstar star Prosenjit. Be it her soul-stirring performance in Arjunn Dutta’s soon-to-be-released ‘Abyakto’, or an interesting lineup of upcoming films, the pretty actress is on a roll right now. Speaking about her next projects, Arpita said she will share the screen with Aparna Sen for the first time in Anumita Dasgupta’s ‘Bohoman’. The film explores a mother-son relationship portrayed by Aparna Sen and Bratya Basu. Arpita will be seen as the daughter-in-law, and her relation with the mother-in-law has a significant part to play in the movie’s plot.