Weekend roundup: Tollywood’s top newsmakers of the week

If you have missed the exciting news, gossip or latest developments that made headlines in Tollywood this week, here is a weekly roundup for you. Take a look:

They are all big players, doing their best: Kaushik Ganguly

Dev had earned accolades for playing Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari, the father of Indian football, in Dhrubo Banerjee’s ‘Golondaaj’ in 2021. Now, after the huge success of Projapoti, a modern day family drama, the Tollywood superstar is again travelling back in time for a historical fiction. This time he’s playing freedom fighter Jatindra Nath Mukherjee, best known as Bagha Jatin, in Arun Roy’s upcoming film. Dev’s new look as Bagha Jatin is already out and it will surely give his fans goosebumps, especially those who want to see him in his once popular larger-than-life action avatar. After a period of extensive pre-production work and thorough research the historical film has finally hit the floors. What will make his fans more excited is Dev has already revealed his character in the film has gone through various transformations. The shooting will start on January 27 and a large portion will be shot in Odisha. Versatile actor Sudiptaa Chakrabarty will be seen as Bagha Jatin’s elder sister in the film which is eyeing a Puja release this year.

Author Sujan Dasgupta, who created the popular fictional detective character Eken Babu, was found dead in his flat near EM Bypass on January 18. According to police statement, the probable cause of death is cardiac arrest. Dasgupta was alone at home when their house help pressed the doorbell around 10am. Receiving no response, she called security personnel from the main gate. The 78-year-old writer’s brother-in-law rushed to the flat and cops were alerted. Police said he was found lying on his bedroom floor in front of the washroom and was declared dead at Baghajatin State General Hospital.

Three much-anticipated Bengali films Kaushik Ganguly’s ‘Kaberi Antardhan’, Saptaswa Basu’s ‘Doctor Bakshi’ and Rahool Mukherjee’s ‘Dilkhush’ released in theatres on January 20. Focusing on three different genres all three received a warm response from the audience. ‘Kaberi Antardhan’ starring Srabanti Chatterjee, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Kaushik Ganguly, Churni Ganguly and others in key roles is a romantic thriller set against the backdrop of the infamous Emergency era in '70s Bengal. ‘Doctor Bakshi’ is a spin off from Saptaswa’s previous film ‘Pratidwandi’. With Parambrata, Subhashree and Bonny in the lead, this medical thriller highlights the dark world of medical scams. On the other hand, ‘Dilkhush’ is a story of eight different people from different classes but joined in a common thread of melancholy, later who discovered love. The film has an ensemble cast including Soham Majumdar, Madhumita Sarcar, Kharaj Mukherjee, Aparajita Adhya, Anasua Majumder, and Paran Bandopadhyay among others.

While her latest film ‘Maayakumari’, directed by Arindam Sil, has received rave reviews Rituparna Sengupta has yet another film lined up. According to reports, the seasoned actress might be seen opposite Indraneil Sengupta in Indrasis Acharya’s next film. Although there hasn’t been any official confirmation about the project it will be an interesting watch since Indrasis and Rituparna’s last film ‘Parcel’ had received critical acclaim as well. Meanwhile, Indraneil is riding high on the success of his last release ‘Hatyapuri’ wherein Sandip Ray introduced him as the new Feluda. Buzz is strong that this Indrasis directorial will be a joint venture between Kerala and Bengal. Apart from Rituparna and Indraneil in the lead, we might also see Anirban Bhattacharya and Ananya Sengupta in the film. The plot is likely to be a unique love story with loads of twists and turns.

Before the pandemic hit us hard Ranjit Mallick’s last work was with Haranath Chakraborty in ‘Ekti Tarar Mrityu’. The plot of this film also starring Parno Mittra and Ritwick Chakrabotry revolves around his character. Then it’s been a long gap of three years. Now, the veteran actor has returned to the sets. This time, he is shooting for a web series that’s being directed by the same man Haranath with whom Ranjit Mallick shares a close friendship. The series titled ‘Ghosh Babur Retirement plan’ is being shot in and around Kolkata. Not just Ranjit Mallick making his OTT debut but this series has another interesting catch. According to a source close to the production team, actor Koel Mallick, the veteran actor’s daughter, might also be seen in a cameo.

A lot has been written over Ishaa Saha’s presence at the premiere of Indraneil Sengupta’s recent Bengali release ‘Hatyapuri’ and the industry is abuzz with her relationship rumour with Indraneil. The bubbly actress finally broke her silence and slammed the baseless media reports doing the rounds on social media. A furious Ishaa said, “I am exasperated with the media reports. I don’t owe anyone any explanation. But some publications wrote that I ‘secretly’ went there in a ‘de-glam look’. It is rubbish. I went there, posed for the media, and talked to everyone. There was no secrecy. Also, those publications linked me up with another actor and director. This is ridiculous. I won’t tolerate this lack of dignity. The ‘Indu’ actress further added that she never talked about her previous relationship and decided to keep mum about her breakup as well. So, she won’t talk about this latest linkup rumours as well.

While he’s still basking on the success of his last release ‘Hawa’, Bangladeshi actor Chanchal Chowdhury has a monumental task ahead. The seasoned actor is set to play none other than Mrinal Sen in Srijit Mukherji’s film ‘Padatik’, a biopic on the life of the legendary filmmaker. Chanchal’s first look as Mrinal Sen is already out and receiving quite a lot of applause from critics and fans alike. On January 15, camera started rolling for the film creating much hype among cine buffs. While Chanchal Chowdhury will be seen as the iconic filmmaker, Monami Ghosh is set to play his wife Geeta Sen. Samrat Chakrabarti will be seen as Mrinal sen’s son Kunal Sen in the film and Korak Samanta takes on the younger version of Sen.