Weekend Roundup: Soumitra tests COVID-19 positive, next Shabor film, Dev to resume shoot; 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:

Soukarya Ghosal whose much-awaited emotional thriller ‘Rawkto Rawhoshyo’ is finally releasing in theatres on October 21, has high hopes for the film and why not? The second official trailer which released this week has grabbed all the attention it needed. Starring Koel Mallick as Swarnaja, a radio jockey, the story traces the contours of a mother-child relationship, using an array of complex situations. It also has Santilal Mukherjee, Rwitobroto Mukherjee, Lily Chakraborty and Chandan Roy Sanyal in pivotal roles. The talented director tells ETimes, ‘Rawkto Rawhoshyo’, produced by Surinder Films, primarily chronicles the journey of a mother. “The film might raise several questions regarding motherhood, on whether a mother is a protector or a best friend?” However, he insists the strength in Swarnaja’s character lies in her ability to combat evil with good.

The wait will finally be over in November when Arindam Sil starts the shoot of his next Shabor film and the acclaimed director is eagerly waiting for it just like many Shabor fans. “The next one in the Shabor franchise is ‘Tirandaj Shabor’ which will completely be a humane story with a realistic approach,” revealed the director. Speaking about the cast ‘Tirandaj Shabor’, the Arindam said: “Saswata Chatterjee, Subhrajit, Devlina Kumar, Padmanabha Dasgupta, Joydip Kundu, Anirban Chakraborti, Shankar Chakraborty, Debjani Chatterjee and many more are in this film. There will be a really special actor in a crucial character which remains a surprise. I will also introduce Rammani who is a brilliant dancer and she plays one of the important characters.”

Jaya Ahsan who is stuck in Bangladesh right now wrapped up the shoot of a full-length feature during the lockdown. “It wasn’t easy. It is the first full-length feature by documaker Piplu R Khan. I liked the idea of the film. It was imminent that we would work during the pandemic outbreak because of the content of the film. We had a very small onset unit - maximum of 10 people. The entire unit worked from remote areas. I took part in the production process also. The entire team did a covid test before and after the shoot. During the shoot, I stayed in a hotel as I have elderly mother at home. But this is an experimental film and we will try to reach out to the global audience with this one,” the Bangladeshi actress told ETimes.

Bonny Sengupta will share the screen with Ankush and Ritabhari Chakraborty in Joydeep Mukherjee’s upcoming thriller. Bonny plays a corrupt police officer but after Ankuh joins as his boss, he changes slowly. Falaque Rashid Roy has been cast opposite Bonny. Ritabhari, who plays Ankush’s love interest, will be seen as Esha, a doctor, who helps Ankush and Bonny with forensic reports to solve a case. Bonny is also part of Sayantan Ghosal’s yet untitled film which also stars Soham, Ayushi, and Kouhani in the lead. The film revolves around how a diamond is being found which got lost. The talented actor will soon start shooting for Abhimanyu Mukherjee’s upcoming film as well where Om, Soham, Manali manisha Dey and Srabanti will play pivotal roles. Three stories of lockdown will run parallel in this film which will finally culminate into one ending.

This is for the first time in 14 years that Dev doesn’t have a release during Durga Puja. But the actor has no qualms about it. He said, “I am happy for the industry people and wish everyone luck. It is good to see so many new producers investing in Bengali films and that’s a good sign. Every industry is going through a bad phase because of this pandemic and so is our entertainment industry. This is a year of survival and not about profit or loss. But I am sure things will get better now that theatres are reopening.” The actor will fly off to Dubai on November 1 to resume shoots for ‘Commando’, which got stalled because of the pandemic.

Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee, who was suffering from fever for the last couple of days, was admitted to a private hospital on Monday morning after his test reports confirmed he is COVID-19 positive. Giving us an update on the octogenarian’s health, his daughter Poulami Bose said, “The only symptom he showed was fever. He was running a low-grade temperature for two days. We admitted him to a private hospital on Tuesday after his report came positive the day before. However, he is stable now and his temperature is normal.” Soumitra’s hospitalisation has put several projects on hold. The actor, who recently completed shooting for Parambrata Chattopadhyay’s Abhijaan, is yet to do the dubbing.