2018 Puja releases: See which film stands where after a great festive weekend

This year as many as six Bengali films released during Durga Puja. Now that Puja is over, everyone is speculating about the result. Which film has grabbed the top spot and which one had a drastic failure? As expected, almost all the movies attracted audiences this festive season. Among them, Srijit Mukherjee's ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ wins big and has managed to sit at the number one position with maximum box-office collection. ‘Manojder Adbhut Bari’ with very little promotion has somehow shocked cine trade analysts with its amazing collection. On the other, few biggies have surprisingly failed to rake the expected numbers. Right now, the makers are keeping faith in the post-Puja run of these films. Scroll down to see the list of these films which made it big during Puja and which has moderate success so far.

Srijit Mukherji once again won the race at the Box Office. Jisshu Sengupta starrer ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ became the biggest earner of Durga Puja this year. Trade analysts claim the movie's box-office collection has already crossed the three crore mark within just eleven days and it's still going strong. Based on ‘A Princely Imposter’ by Partha Chatterjee and starring Jisshu Sengupta, Anjan Dutt, Aparna Sen, Jaya Ahsan, Anirban Bhattacharya and Rudranil Ghosh among others it revolves around the famous 1975 ‘Bhawal sanyasi’ court case. The period drama weaves around Mahendra Kumar Chowdhury, the middle prince of Bhawal Estate, who was down with syphilis and had to be taken to Darjeeling for better treatment along with his wife Chandrabati Devi, brother in law Satya Banerjee and a family doctor Ashwini. He apparently breathed his last in Darjeeling and was cremated there. After 12 long years, a sanyasi returns to the estate and a rumour spreads like wild fire that he is none other than the lost prince of Bikrampur estate.

Arindam Sil’s latest Byomkesh flick received an overwhelming response from the audience and became the second biggest hit of Durga Puja. It strikes the right chord when it comes to portraying deep lying truth of the sins of mankind. Be it the elements of jealousy, greed or lust - they navigate all the characters with ease and makes the film engaging for the most part. It’s also one of those rare occasions where antagonist Satyakam somehow overshadows the quintessential Satyanweshi Byomkesh Bakshi (Abir Chatterjee). Portraying a twisted negative character of Satyakam with such perfection makes Arjun Chakraborty stand out among all.

The Anindya Chatterjee directed children adventure flick surprised everyone by beating the biggies and holding the third place with no promotional gimmicks whatsoever. It once again proved content still remains the king. ‘Manojder Adbhut Bari’, based on Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay’s popular novel by the same name, evokes nostalgia among the Bengalees in every sense. Those who grew up in the 90’s when parents believed TV is not good for children have so many sweet memories involving such children’s adventure books. Kids had only these books to their rescue which took them away from the tensions of study.

‘Kishore Kumar Junior’ grabbed the 4^th position based on its business at the multiplexes. According to a number of hall owners the Kaushik Ganguly directorial didn’t do well in the rest if West Bengal. The story revolves around a popular Kishore Konthi singer (Prosenjit Chatterjee). The personal life of the ‘macha’ singer isn’t as flashy and glittering as his clothes on live performances. His son is not that happy with his father’s profession as a ‘copy’ singer. However, it’s not just a singer and his depressed personal life, there are also other layers to explore. The film also showcases the other side of the plot as it addresses the increasing tension between India and Pakistan. A large portion of the film has been shot in Rajashthan near the Indo-Pak border where Kishore Kumar Junior, his wife and band members get kidnapped.

The multistarrer comedy flick enjoyed average business at multiplexes but did well at the single screens throughout Bengal. Dev plays a ‘ghawr jamai’ to a rich industrialist and Kaushani Mukherjee will is his wife who is busy with religious rituals and doesn’t give enough time to her husband. Kharaj Mukherjee is a promoter and he has two wives played by Manasi Sinha and Konineeca Banerjee. Kharaj’s character is having a tough time to maintain this secret. Saswata Chatterjee plays an unmarried middle aged man who is threatened by a lady don. Beside this, actor Arna Mukhopadhyay also plays a key role. All of them visit Uzbekistan for vacation and meet a beautiful guide played by Puja Banerjee. In Uzbekistan, their plane gets hijacked and the situation becomes worse for them. But some comic twists and turns ultimately saw them rescued by a mysterious man.

Despite doing a moderate business at the single screens of outskirts, ‘Villain’ managed to stay at 6^th position based on its business at multiplexes. Ankush tries his best, from his new rugged avatar to flaunt the hunk body language on point, to encourage hoots from his fans. Mimi Chakraborty and Rittika Sen, with superb sense of style, manage to add to the glamour quotient but couldn’t do much more than that. The music is no doubt peppy with Bollywood rapper Badshah’s inclusion. The story picks up pace only in the second half. Romance seems to be short lived in the plot. The forced thriller angle also loses the momentum half way.