Weekend Roundup: Ankush-Darshana to pair up, film on NRC issue, Soumitra shows marginal improvement; here’s what made headlines this week in Bengali cinema

If you have missed the exciting news, gossips or latest developments that have rocked Bengali cinema this week, here is a weekly roundup for you. Take a look:

Soumitra Chatterjee’s condition is still critical but stable. The thespian remains on ventilator support while his haemoglobin and platelet counts are on the lower side, according to the medical team treating him at a Kolkata private hospital. A statement issued by the medical team says there’s no significant change in the Soumitra’s health. His neurological condition, too, remains the same. He hasn’t been given dialysis as the urea and creatinine levels have now come down. Doctors have revealed there has been no new change in the veteran actor’s organ functions and the ventilator support is still on. However, his liver and organ functions remain okay.

Dev and Rukmini Maitra will once again pair up for a film. Their jodi will next be seen in Rahul Mukherjee’s film ‘Kishmish’. Rahul has earlier directed Ami Sairabanu which hasn't hit the theatres till date. ‘Kishmish’ was supposed to release this Durga Puja but it was later pushed back as shooting got stalled due to the pandemic. Now, according to industry sources, if all goes according to plan, the shooting will resume early next year since it will require large crew members and cast. ‘Kishmish’ is a romantic comedy and it will also feature 2D animation. Dev will be seen in three avatars in this film. It also stars Kharaj Mukherjee, Anjana Basu and Kamaleswar Mukherjee in the lead.

Bratya Basu will soon resume the shoot of his next directorial ‘Dictionary’. Most of the film's shoot was already completed before the corona pandemic stalled shooting in Tollywood. Now the rest of the filming will start again at a film city in Jangalmahal. Buddhadeb Guha’s two short stories ‘Baba Howa’ and ‘Swami Howa’ are being adapted for this film. Nusrat Jahan will be seen as Abir Chatterjee’s wife in this social drama. Popular Bangladeshi actor Mosharraf Karim and Bratya’s wife Poulami Basu are also notable names among others. Mosharraf will be seen as a businessman while Poulami has been cast opposite her. Talented actor Arna Mukhopadhyay is also a part of the film.

Mumbai-based filmmaker Saif Baidya who hails from Siliguri has made a Hindi film on the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The film titled, Noise of Silence has been shot completely in Tripura and sheds light on the pain and struggle of a couple left out of the NRC list in Assam. There is a parallel story, too, which is about a Rohingya Muslim girl who comes to India searching for her mother. The film followsthe couple, Sujoy Ghosh (played by Firdaus Hassan) and Kanika Ghosh, their struggles and the court visits ( for foreigner tribunals) to prove their Indian citizenship as their names were left out of the NRC. The Rohingya girl Muniba Zahidi’s role has been played by Pooja Jha.

Shaheb Chatterjee has been busy rehearsing for his next ‘Antony Kobial’ directed by Kamaleswar Mukherjee. “It is a new format in which Kamal da is working. It is called theatrical cinema. We will be shooting from October 12 to 14 at a studio with a proper camera set up and technicians as we do for films. I remember in the early days of my career, Sandip Ray shot Mayar Khela in an opera format. It was a complex love story written by Rabindranath Tagore, which was woven in melody. Similarly, Kamal da is shooting Anthony Kobial in a theatrical cinematic format. I play the titular role in this project while Kharaj Mukherjee plays Bhola Moira,” informed the actor, who has recorded 17 songs which are part of this project.

Ankush already has quite a few interesting films in his lineup and now he’s set to play a special task force officer in debutant director Souvik Bhattacharjee’s film ‘Mrigaya’. The story begins with five close friends disappearing on a vacation trip at a mysterious beach of Gokulpur. Does it sound simple? No, it isn’t simple as we move ahead to find out about different unpleasant, dark, and shady characters and their deeds. These five students are not just from rich prosperous and noble imposing families, but one of them has a political background and is a brother of a state youth minister. What happens then? Are they found out? While Ankush plays Anjan Sengupta a Special Task Force (STF) cop called up to take charge of the missing case. Subrata Dutta plays a local police officer Inspector Maity while Darshana Banik will be seen as Ankush’s wife. It will be shot in and around Kolkata, Odisha, and suburbs. Filming starts on November 19.

In the past five years we have seen Anirban Bhattacharya in diverse roles. So, how does Anirban select his roles? Well, the versatile actor says while selecting he just recalls that his career kicked-off like that. “I got to play different roles in every film I have appeared. I should also thank my directors for giving me the opportunity to portray such wide range of characters. I am thankful to Srijit Mukherji. He has taken me in six of his films in six completely different roles. So yes, Srijitda has a contribution in building my image of a versatile actor. Arindamda (Sil) also took me in such diverse roles. Now, I have this specific image that I can act in versatile roles and while selecting characters I don’t like to remain static. I think my audience also loves to see me in that way. But there has to be a weight in maintaining this and I always keep that in mind,” explains the terrific actor.

Koel Mallick is super excited to see her Puja release ‘Rawkto Rawhoshyo’ has been well-received by Bengali cine buffs. “The film is about a mother’s journey, so I can relate to it more after becoming a mother,” said the actress while speaking to ETimes. Koel who plays RJ Swarnaja in the film adds: “The film shows how eventually Swarnaja banks her emotions as her strength and rediscovers herself.” ‘Rawkto Rawhoshyo’ directed by Soukarya Ghosal and also starring Chandan Roy Sanyal, Rwitobroto Chakraborty, Lily Chakraborty in key roles is a story of Swarnaja, a radio jockey, the story traces the contours of a mother-child relationship, using an array of complex situations.