Tollywood Roundup: Bengali movies and celebs who made the headlines this week

Be it the interesting stories and rumours surrounding the two Puja releases ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ and ‘Kishore Kumar Junior’, Mimi Chakraborty’s comments on the ongoing gossip or Dev and Pratim D Gupta’s reported association, the uncertainty over the Bengal single screen theatres; 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.

Srijit Mukherji hits the shooting floor for his new project as soon as he wraps up one, he is well updated on social media, keeps a close eye on the Box Office numbers of his releases as well as his contemporaries’ and churns out hits after hits. But where from Srijit generates the ideas to make hits? “I am an avid reader. I extensively go through current affairs. If you see closely, most of the films these days are being made based on current affairs. ‘Uma’ is inspired by a news item I came across. ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ and ‘Gumnami Baba’ draws inspiration from history. ‘Vinci Da’ is an original story by Rudranil Ghosh and I am making a screen adaptation of it. Then there is ‘Gauranga’ which is based on the life of Shri Chaitanya. You see, I am a man of diverse taste,” explained the renowned filmmaker.

Indraneil Sengupta who has been receiving accolades for his performance in recently released ‘III Smoking Barrels’ signs for a Bangladeshi film titled ‘Nandini’. The romantic drama will see the popular actor sharing screen space with Bangladeshi actress Nazira Mou. Directed by Shoibur Rahman Russell, it’s based on a popular novel ‘Norok ‘Nandini’ by Paritosh Barai. The film has already hit the floors. Indraneil’s first Bangladeshi film was ‘Chorabali’ (2012) opposite Jaya Ahsan.

The title track of Bonny Sengupta and Koushani Mukherjee’s upcoming ‘Girlfriend’ is a passionate romantic ballad sung by our very own Rupam Islam. His hard rock voice in a romantic track is a refreshing change and it has managed to strike the right chord among the Bengali music lovers, especially the young couples. The title track has already crossed 2 million views on Youtube India. Composed by melody king Jeet Gannguli, the romantic track has been penned by Rupam Islam himself.

‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ will see Jaya Ahsan as the king Mahendra Chowdhury’s elder sister Mrinmayee Devi. Director Srijit Mukherji recently revealed how the Bangladeshi actress helped him in the research. “As soon as we planned the movie, I reached out to Jaya and she helped me a lot with the research work. She is not only a great actor, but also a key part of the film crew. She has a lot of emotions attached to the film’s story. She explored the Gazipur, Pubail area and even Bhawal Gor to find out some almost forgotten information for Ek Je Chhilo Raja’s storyline,” said the director.

Mimi Chakraborty grabs the headlines every now and then for an unwanted reason, her past relationship. Believe it or not, Subhashree - Raj - Mimi is still the most talked about triangle of Tolly world. However, these gossips haven’t gone well for the actress and while speaking about the same Mimi lashed out on those who actively take part in these gossips. "I think people should grow up now. Normal people go through breakups. I have always respected their relationship. Just because I am not dating right now, doesn't mean that I am still stuck in the past," Mimi said.

Directed by Atanu Biswas, ‘Out Of Focus’, a silent short film, sees popular actor Subrat Dutta as the only cast in the film. The shooting has been done entirely in Shantiniketan and the music is by Cactus fame Sidhu. The story revolves around a painter-photographer who lives with a cat and a plant in a single room and the mystery surrounding the death of his cat and the plant at the same time. Produced by Tarun Das, the 28-minute-long short film will be sent to Berlin Film Festival along with other international film fests.

Kaushik Ganguly's next ‘Kishore Kumar Junior’ which stars Prosenjit Chatterjee in the lead has already raised the bar high for yet another Blockbuster after ‘Drishtikone’. Both Kaushik and Prosenjit are flooded with best wishes ahead of their Puja release. Now, the upcoming musical drama has bagged an uncut "U" certificate from the Censor Board. While Aparajita Adhya essays the onscreen wife of Prosenjit, popular actors Rajesh Sharma, Lama and Masood Akhtar will be seen in other important characters in ‘Kishore Kumar Junior’ which is slated to release on October 12.

Arindam Sil’s ‘Byomkesh Gowtro’ will face a massive Box Office clash with as many as 5 Bengali films including Srijit’s ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ and Kaushik Ganguly’s ‘Kishore Kumar Junior’. But what’s next for Arindam Sil? His Indo-Bangladesh venture ‘Balighawr’ has been shelved as Bangladesh government didn’t give permission to shoot there. Next ‘Goyena Shabor’ film is also not releasing next year. While the renowned director hasn’t yet revealed any specific details about his next project we hear he is working on a hardcore thriller instead of the typical detective genre and he has also promised Bengali cinema hasn’t seen a hardcore thriller movie like the one he is making next.

Single screen owners who were planning to go on a strike from September 28 has finally called off the strike. The decision came after the state government promised to take care of the situation on an urgent basis. As per industry sources, exhibitors asked for maintenance cost of their single screen theatres already suffering huge losses due to the onslaught of piracy, digital marketing and multiplexes.

While Dev is busy with the promotional campaigns of his Puja release ‘Hoichoi Unlimited’, an interesting update about his upcoming projects has cropped up. Rumour has it if all goes according to plan, he will be a part of Pratim D Gupta’s upcoming thriller ‘Ink’. Ritwick Chakraborty and Paoli Dam will play the leads in this thriller. While Ritwick will be seen as a journalist, eminent director Goutam Ghose will essay out his editor’s role in ‘Ink’. Paoli will essay the role of a popular actress.