Weekend roundup: Bengali films and celebs which made the headlines this week

Anik Datta's next ‘Borunbabur Bondhu’ which stars Soumitra Chatterjee in the lead and was recently screened at the 25th Kolkata International Film Festival is now set for its theatrical release and its February 7. Initially the film was eyeing a December release but later it was pushed back for better screen time. Based on Ramapada Chowdhury's story Chhad, the film revolves around an octogenarian, played by Soumitra, who has somehow isolated himself from the society and his immediate family except a close friend who visits him regularly and his grandson. Soon others too start avoiding him since he is a quite aloof and reclusive and sometimes abrasive.

Produced by Surinder Films, the film also stars Arpita Chatterjee, Ritwick Chakraborty, Madhabi Mukherjee, Paran Bandyopadhyay, Sreelekha Mitra, Kaushik Sen and Bidipta Chakraborty among others.

Three years after ‘Bela Seshe’ became a runaway hit at the Bengali box office, director duo Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy are coming up with yet another love story-family drama ‘Bela Shuru’. 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. Windows had initially planned to release the highly-anticipated family drama during Durga Puja last year but later it was postponed and speculation was rife that it will hit the theatres during Christmas. But now, Nandita-Shiboprosad has confirmed ‘Bela Shuru’ will release in May this year.

The love ballad, the sweetest romantic melody ‘Je Kawta Din’ has made a sensational comeback with the reprise version in Srijit Mukherji’s upcoming thriller ‘Dwitiyo Purush’, a spin off to ‘Baishe Srabon’. Anupam Roy maintains the exact composition with a few added lyrics to match the current situation in ‘Dwitiyo Purush’. This time, the playback sees National Award-winning singer Iman Chakraborty joining Anupam for the romantic melody and both of them renders the song excellently. The music video captures the journey of the protagonists Abhijit and Amrita, played by Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Raima Sen.

Aparna Sen, by her own admission, has labeled her latest offering 'Ghawre Baire Aaj' as her most ‘political and outspoken’ work till date, which attempts to explore the dark side of society. Starring Jisshu Sengupta, Anirban Bhattacharya and Tuhina Das in the lead, the socio-political drama since its release has garnered quite a lot of praise. While Aparna Sen is showered with congratulatory messages here’s another piece of good news for the entire team. The film is now an official selection at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam.

‘Ghawre Bairey Aaj’ is a modern day adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s iconic novel Ghare Baire. It’s a modern retelling of Rabindranath Tagore`s classic novel, and chronicles a triangular love story which is as much a story of passionate romance as it is of clashing ideologies.

Anindya Bikas Datta’s upcoming thriller ‘Shokuner Lov’ sees a crime reporter risking his life to solve a 16-year-old murder. Can he overcome the challenges on the way? What will the outcome be? Sounds interesting, right! With an ensemble cast including Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Joy Sengupta, Tuhina Das, Shankar Chakrabort, Ratan Sarkhel and Tapati Munshi, the thriller is eyeing a February release. While the script is by Surbek Biswas and Anindya Bikas Datta, the DOP is Supriyo Dutta and Joydip is the editor.

Debutant director Manas Basu’s ‘Chobiyal’ sees a fresh pair of Saswata Chatterjee and Srabanti Chatterjee in the lead. We have seen both the actors in Aparna Sen’s ‘Goyanar Baksho’ but they didn’t have a single screen together. The story, by Indronil Boksi, revolves around Habol (Saswata) who is a photographer and his obsession for Labonyo (Srabanti). The music of ‘Chobiyal’ is by Megh banerjee. Produced under the banner of Paramhansha Chitram, the film will release on February 7.

Jisshu Sengupta made his Telugu debut with the biopic of Telugu superstar NTR. Now, the Tolly hunk has yet another south film in the pipeline and it’s again a Telugu film ‘Aswathama’ where Jisshu will be sharing the screen with Naga Shourya. Directed by Ramana Teja, it’s a complete action entertainer. The news broke out when Jisshu shared a shooting still from the sets of ‘Aswathama’ in Vizag. The dashing actor was recently seen in Aparna Sen directed ‘Ghawre Bairey Aaj’ and will soon play a pivotal role in Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Sadak 2’.

‘Parineeta’, Raj Chakraborty’s last film received appreciation from all corners. The teaser of his next ‘Dharmajuddha’ also looks quite promising. What’s more interesting is his one more upcoming venture titled ‘Habji Gabji’ has already made the cine buffs buzzing about the subject. The social drama will see Parambrata Chatterjee and Subhashree Ganguly in the lead for the first time. It’s also Parambrata’s second work with Raj after ‘Proloy’. Camera has already started rolling for ‘Habji Gabji’. It’s being shot in and around Kolkata. And now Raj has announced the release date of this family drama. If all goes according plan, the film will hit the big screens on May 29.