Weekend Roundup: Here’s what made headlines in Bengali cinema this week

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:

After making a film on Hiralal, the first Indian filmmaker to make a full length feature film, director Arun Roy has come up with his next film titled ‘8/12’ revolving around Bengal’s bravehearts Binay Krishna Basu, Badal Gupta, and Dinesh Gupta, the freedom fighter trio. Actors Kinjal Nanda, Arna Mukherjee, Sumon Bose, Anushka Chakraborty and Bipasha Saha will be seen in the lead in this period drama.

“The film will remind us of our very own yet forgotten history. When we all can remember 9.11, we should all know about our own historic events that took place in the history of India’s freedom struggle. This is certainly the date which gave one of the biggest shocks to the colonizers. The British colonizers became quite afraid after the incident happened on 8.12 in 1930. Three men from the age group of 18-24 entered the writers building on that day and assassinated Simpson. These three men, the pride of Bengal, Binay-Badal-Dinesh are remembered today with reverence for their bravery, but the background of this incident is quite unknown to many of us,” said the director.

You have seen them on the big screen and now, Jeet and Subhasree Ganguly are all set to entertain you on TV as well. The duo will soon be seen as judges in a dance reality show. According to reports, veteran actor Govinda will also sit on the judge’s chair. Ankush will anchor the show.

The pair of Jeet and Subhasree were last seen in several hit commercial films, including Boss, Abhimaan, Boss 2 and so on. Jeet is hardly seen on television. Meanwhile, this project will be a comeback on TV for Subhasree after her maternity leave. Subhasree has so far been busy with little Yuvan and now gearing up to be back on her work mode.

Biswanath Basu is super happy. The actor, who is a big fan of Tarun Kumar, will reprise the actor’s part in Atanu Bose’s film, Achena Uttam. The movie showcases the life journey of Uttam Kumar, where the director will focus on his childhood, ups and downs in his career and many unknown facets of the matinee idol’s life. “Character artists are pillars of any film as they help move the story forward. Also, I always felt Tarun Kumar was a brilliant and spontaneous actor. Apparently, Tarun Kumar had the ability to improvise on the spot, which gave the scenes a new dimension. Tarun Kumar had no grammar of acting and I will try my best to play a character based on his life in this film,” said the seasoned actor.

Waiting to be released for more than a year now, Kaushik Ganguly-directed 'Lokkhi Chhele' will finally have its international premiere at the South African International Film Festival. It also becomes the only Indian film to make it to this prestigious stage this year. Revolving around the topics of superstitions, societal beliefs and struggle of humanity, ‘Lokkhi Chhele’ is a simple yet strong film. It’s a story of a young doctor fighting the dark side of blind religious belief and it's stubbornness to abolish inhuman practice. The film, bankrolled by filmmaker duo Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee’s production house, presents a beautiful amalgamation of human emotions and mindset.

With the vaccines rolled out already, this Poila Baisakh or Bengali New year was supposed to mark the revival of familiar New Year rituals or at least we hoped so but things turned out different. However, as our family, friends and relatives were anxiously waiting for this day despite the election frenzy coronavirus cases surged throughout the country, this time with new variants and new challenges, giving all a feeling of deja vu, but a pleasant one. Wear a mask, maintain social distancing, keep sanitizing - celebs have been pleading for a cautious celebration this Nabobarsho. Like many others, Paoli Dam, too, feels we can’t put the lives of our loved ones in risk just because it’s celebration time.

The projector had stopped in April 2019 and the curtains had come down on Mitra Cinema, one of the last single-screen theatres in north Kolkata’s Hatibagan, after an uninterrupted run for nearly nine decades. Now, after two long years it has been confirmed the property has been sold off to a retail chain. Speculation is rife that it might be turned into a supermarket. The theatre that had started operation under Birendra Nath Sarkar as ‘Chitra Cinema’ in 1931 and had screened iconic Bengali, Hindi and English films, closed for business after 88 years. Current proprietor Dipendra Krishna Mitra (75) has cited his poor health and the next generation’s lack of interest in the business as the primary reasons for the shutdown. Dwindling ticket sales was another reason.

Rituparna Sengupta who recently recovered from COVID-19 at a Singapore recovery centre will soon start shooting for Veena Bakshi’s Hindi film ‘Ittar’.

Talking about her latest project, Rituparna said, “It is a sweet yet mature love story that depicts the unusual nuances of two people from completely different backgrounds, who meet in different circumstances. The story of the film is actually about a middle-aged couple who find love and comfort in each other’s company. Dipak Tijori is cast opposite me in this film.”

Veena Bakshi, the National Award-winning filmmaker had earlier directed ‘The Coffin Maker’ starring Naseeruddin Shah, Randeep Hooda and Apoorva Sharma.

Anjan Dutt’s next is a gripping murder mystery set against the backdrop of Darjeeling. The thriller has an ensemble cast including Arjun Chakrabarty, Anindita Bose, Suprobhat, Rajdeep, Sourav, Sandipta, Rajat Ganguly, Saswati Guhathakurta among others. The thriller is about a suspicious death of a Bengali filmstar of the ’90s that exposes the underbelly of Darjeeling’s past. Arjun who will be seen as an investigative journalist in this thriller says it’s extremely dark story filled with very complex characters, who are all contemporary and young.