Weekend roundup: Bengali films and celebs who made the headlines

Whether it’s Rwitobroto Mukherjee playing a teen detective in Mainak’s next, Anik Dutta awaiting his film’s censor clearance, the controversy surrounding ‘Gotro’ and the shocking news of Prosenjit, Rituparna summoned by ED or Raima’s next Bollywood film; it was a week full of rumours and exciting news from the Tollywood industry. Here is a quick look at Bengali cinema's some of the most exciting news from this week.

Srijit Mukherji’s two blockbusters from last year, ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ and ‘Uma’ have just earned him three prestigious awards. While ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ has won the Best Actor for Jisshu Sengupta and Best Director awards, another runaway hit ‘Uma’ has won the Best Music award at the NABC Bengali Film Festival 2019 in Baltimore. Over the last few years, despite the commercial success Srijit Mukherji was giving, many were not that happy with few of his recent films. But last year with two back to back runaway hits ‘Uma’ and ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ Srijit returned to his best.

Anjan Dutt who floated the Byomkesh franchise in Tollywood way back in 2008-09 is the creative supervisor in Syantan Ghosal’s new Byomkesh film ‘Satyanweshi Byomkesh’. After Abir Chatterjee and Jisshu Sengupta, it will be Parambrata Chatterjee as the iconic sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi.

When asked why Parambrata was roped in as Byomkesh, Anjan Dutt said: “When I first cast Abir, he was taken into consideration as a fresh face because then a Byomkesh film was being made after long since Satyajit Ray’s Chiriyakhana. Since then there have been many successful Byomkesh films. Abir, Jisshu, Anirban and Gaurav, all have been quite popular in their own enactments. Therefore, we did not go for a fresh face, instead decided on casting someone who wouldn’t be thought as Byomkesh normally.”

Pratim D Gupta’s next ‘Shantilal O Projapoti Roshosyo’ has made social media abuzz ahead of its release in August. Well, who would have thought Ritwick Chakraborty will play a detective? When asked what convinced the director to try something new with Ritwick’s look he gave a peek into the character Shantilal.

“See, I have played with Ritwick’s look in both ‘Maacher Jhol’ and ‘Ahare Mon’. For the character Shantilal I wanted him to look like a common man in the beginning, like lower-middle class serviceman trapped in between his responsibilities and expectations. But, as we reach the climax of the film has transformed into a sharp truth-seeker who knows what he can do and how to handle power. Shantilal, the journalist is more like Tintin who is also a journalist by profession and seeks adventure wherever he goes. He can go to any extent to solve a case. He is like obsessed in finding the truth,” explains an excited Pratim.

Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta have been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection to the Rose Valley scam. According to reports, ED suspects Rituparna was allegedly a part of a money laundering process where many films were announced under the Rose Valley banner but never went on floor. On Tuesday, Prosenjit Chatterjee was also summoned by ED for his alleged connection with the Rose Valley scam. The Bengali star will have to appear before the agency on July 19. . ED has asked him to appear before them in order to investigate whether any monetary transactions happened between him and Gautam Kundu.

Churni Ganguly’s critically acclaimed ‘Tarikh’ saw her enacting the highs and lows of life and it earned her critical acclaims. And now, Raima Sen is ready for his next Bollywood project titled ‘Aliya Basu Gayab Hai’ directed by Preeti Singh. She will share the screen with Vinay Pathak and Salim Diwan.

The romantic thriller revolves around people with different sexual orientations and the complexities of human emotions. Raima will be seen in the titular character of Aliya. While Salim Diwan plays a drug peddler, Vinay Pathak essays the role of an ex-cop with so many grey shades in his character. The film was shot in two schedules in February and April.

Meanwhile, the versatile actress has one more Bengali film in the pipeline to be released soon. Directed by Ashish Roy, ‘Sitara’ is based on the popular novel ‘Bhorer Proshuti’ by Abul Bashar.

People never get bored of detective stories. That's why filmmakers are trying to bring in new sleuths to attract Bengali movie buffs. Now, Mainak Bhaumik is set to introduce a new teen detective in his next ‘Goyenda Junior’. The movie will see Rwitobroto Mukherjee in the titular role. Rwitobroto plays an orphan boy Vikram, an ordinary 16-years-old staying with his uncle who is a cop. He starts to assist him in a criminal case and solves it with his sheer observation power. The detective thriller will be produced by SVF.

Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy's next directorial ‘Gotro’ has already given a glimpse of its story in the teaser. However, the debate over the similarity between Gotro and Sanjhbati started when when the plot of the later was revealed and it sounded similar to ‘Gotro’. Shiboprosad-Nandita's film centers an elderly woman who lives with her maid, a young girl whom she loves dearly. A young man gradually makes a special place in her heart for his caring nature. In Sanjhbati, Lily Chakraborty plays a lonely woman, Paoli plays her maid and Dev plays her caretaker. The mysterious similarity didn't go unnoticed by Shiboprosad and he sent a legal notice to Atanu Ghosh, the producer of Sanjhbati.

After his controversial film ‘Bhobishyoter Bhoot, Anik Dutta is ready to send his next ‘Borunbabur Bondhu’ for a censor clearance. The shooting was wrapped up in March and he is now busy with the last-minute post-production work. Based on Ramapada Chowdhury’s story, ‘Borunbabur Bondhu’ is a social drama starring Soumitra Chatterjee in the lead. The ensemble cast also includes Madhabi Mukherjee, Arpita Chatterjee, Ritwick Chakraborty and Bidipta Chakraborty among others.