Weekend Roundup: Ankush, Sayantika in Raja Chanda’s next, Hobu Chandra Gobu Chandra release, Uttam Kumar in Srijit’s film poster and more from 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:

On Uttam Kumar’s 95th birth anniversary, Srijit Mukherji shared the official poster of his much-anticipated ‘Oti Uttam’. The vintage look of the poster, featuring Uttam Kumar himself, gives us dollops of nostalgia. Uttam Kumar is all set to make his presence felt in a large portion of the film. He will be seen as one of the lead characters along with Anindya Sengupta and Gourab Chatterjee. In a VFX marvel, the director aims at recreating Uttam Kumar’s character, dialogue and presence as real as possible. Oti Uttam is a romantic comedy. It talks about a PhD scholar, played by Anindya Sengupta, who is pursuing his research on Uttam Kumar. He likes a girl but gets rejected. He decides to bring Uttam Kumar’s spirit with the help of Gourab Chatterjee, the legend’s grandson in this film, and in real life. The film also stars Roshni Bhattacharya, Laboni Sarkar and Shubhashish Mukherjee.

‘Hobu Chandra Raja Gobu Chandra Mantri’ finally locks its release that and it is during Durga Puja this year. Directed by Aniket Chattopadhyay, the children’s fantasy drama was initially scheduled for May 1 release last year. But due to the lockdown, the release was postponed. Now, the makers have shared a motion poster of the film, inviting the audience on a ride to Bombagor, this Durga Puja. Starring Saswata Chatterjee as Hobuchandra Raja, the king of Bombagor, and Kharaj Mukherjee as Gobu Chandra Mantri, the film is based on Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar’s stories Sarkar Moshaiyer Thole and Hobu Chandra Raja Gobu Chandra Mantri.

Goutam Ghose directed ‘Raahgir’ continues to fetch accolades in international festival arena. The latest being four awards at the prestigious Washington DC South Asian Film Festival. The critically acclaimed film has won awards in the categories of the best feature film, best director for Gautam Ghose, best female actor for Tillotama Shome and the best male actor for Adil Hussain.

The film starring Adil, Tillotama and Neeraj Kabi in the lead revolves around three strangers – Nathuni (Tillotama), Lakhua (Adil) and Chopatlal (Kabi) – who cross each other’s path accidentally on a journey and develop a strong bond.

She’s just five and a half years old and Sudiptaa Chakraborty’s daughter is already making headlines and it’s a moment of pride for her parents. Little Shahida has won the Best Child Actor award at the Washington DC South Asian Film Festival for her performance in “Searching for Happiness…” Interestingly, this Suman Ghosh directorial stars both Sudiptaa and her daughter in the lead. This film is precious to the director as well since the idea of the story had actually generated from his daughter Maya. When she shared the concept (which she implemented in her own life too) with Suman he immediately realized that it should to be told and is so relevant, especially because of the world we live in now. So, in a way, it’s a gift from a father to a daughter as well.

Darshana Banik is on a roll down South! It looks like the talented actress is making quite rapid strides. After ‘Aatagallu’ and ‘Black’, she has been roped in for a big-budget movie starring none other than Nagarjuna and Naga Chaitanya, the two superstars of South cinema. Darshana will be seen in an important role in the socio fantasy drama titled ‘Bangarraju’. It will be directed by Kalyan Krishna. Besides Darshana, the film will also see Kriti Shetty and Ramya Krishnan in pivotal roles. ‘Bangarraju’ is touted to be a prequel to Nagarjuna's 2016 film ‘Soggade Chinni Nayana’.

Raja Chanda and Ankush have joined hands once again. Their previous outing ‘Magic’ became a hit among cine lovers. Now, Ankush and Raja Chanda are teaming up yet again for a film titled ‘Savings Account’. It will star Ankush, Paean and Sayantika Banerjee in the lead. “The backdrop of this film is a busy bank. On one fine morning, like any other day, usual works start at the bank. Ankush’s character comes to the back to open a savings account. Paean will be seen as one of the bank employees. Suddenly a person enters the bank with a gun in his hand and takes control of everything creating panic. Soon police intervenes and we see so many twists and turns in the story. I can’t divulge anything else right now. All I can say is I have never worked for a film with such excitement,” shares director Raja Chanda.

Director duo Rajdeep Paul and Sarmistha Maiti have every reason to celebrate. Their latest film ‘Kalkokkho’ is set for its world premiere at the prestigious 26th Busan International Film Festival alongside Natesh Hegde's Kannada film ‘Pedro’. This year’s edition is scheduled to be held from 6 to 15 October. ‘Kalkokkho’ will be screened in the New Currents section that highlights Asian cinema. Director Deepa Mehta is the head of the jury for the New Currents award along with Cristina Nord, head of Berlinale Forum, and filmmakers Jang Joonhwan and Jeong Jae-eun. Starring Sreelekha Mukherji, Janardan Ghosh, Tannistha Biswas, Amit Saha, Deep Sarkar and Ahana Karmakar in key roles, the film explores magical realism and existential horror against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.