Tollywood Roundup: Bengali celebs who made headlines this week

Be it Soumitra Chatterjee’s shocking revelation, rumours of Rituparna Sengupta’s next film, Koel Mallick’s journalist avatar or the latest update on Srijit’s ‘Shah Jahan Regency’, Paoli Dam’s injury; it was a week full of rumours and exciting news from the Tollywood industry. Here is a look at Bengali cinema's 10 of the most exciting news from this week.

Arindam Bhattacharya’s ‘Flat No 609’ has locked a release date. The horror-thriller featuring Abir Chatterjee and Tanushree Chakraborty in the leads will release on August 31. The intriguing plot of the film revolves around a newly-wed couple (Abir and Tanushree), who moves to a new flat in near Kolkata and the wife starts encountering strange incidents. What happens next intensifies the mystery surrounding the flat. The horror-thriller also has Soumitra Chatterjee, Mamata Shankar, Kharaj Mukherjee and Ruranil Ghosh in pivotal roles.

The captivating story of one woman’s journey back to her ancestral roots is already winning hearts. Leena Gangopadhyay and Saibal Banerjee’s just released ‘Maati’ starring Paoli Dam and Adil Hussain has hit all the right notes from the beginning. While asked whether there is any dream project that the director duo is working on, an excited Leena Gangopadhyay revealed they are planning to make something based on Rabindranath Tagore’s works. But it all depends on ‘Maati’s success because it’s their first production.

For an iconic figure like Soumitra Chatterjee, it’s quite embarrassing to see modern Bengali actors not having the credibility to speak even their mother tongue properly. While speaking about the same during a media interaction, the legendary thespian reportedly said in the late 1990s he once needed 40 actors for one of his plays. For budget constraints, he couldn’t hire professional actors. Soumitra had no other choice but to recruit a group of ambitious young artists who were apparently passionate about acting. But during rehearsals, Soumitra reportedly discovered almost all of them couldn’t even properly speak Bengali. He further added this problem is more prominent in recent times.

After winning hearts with his first two films ‘Open Tee Bioscope’ and ‘Projapoti Biskut’, Anindya Chatterjee is all set for his third venture. It’s a screen adaptation of popular writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay’s famous story ‘Manojder Adbhut Bari’. Bankrolled by director duo Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy’s home production, ‘Manojder Adbhut Bari’ has finally got a release date. If all goes according to plans, it will hit the theatres on October 12. It has an ensemble cast including Abir Chatterjee, Soumitra Chatterjee, Sandhya Roy and Rajatava Dutta.

While Rituparna Sengupta is all set for her next ‘Gaheen Hriday’ based on Suchitra Bhattacharya’s novel releasing this Friday, the latest update has cropped up about his next projects. According to industry sources, the popular actress will be seen as a female detective ‘Mitin Masi’ in an upcoming thriller. Interestingly, this fictional sleuth is also the creation of late writer Suchitra Bhattacharya. Rituparna has always said that most of the literary works of Suchitra Bhattacharya are very close to her heart and she is lucky to win the National Award for ‘Dahan’ which was also inspired by the late writer’s novel.

Ankush, who spent last few months under rigorous training, has returned to the working front with a bang. The dashing actor has started shooting for his next film ‘Villain’ which will introduce him as a character with grey shades for the first time. He has already started shooting for the upcoming thriller. Directed by Baba Yadav, the romantic thriller will see Mimi Chakraborty as the love interest of Ankush. This is the first time Mimi and Ankush will share screen space after the 2016 romantic drama ‘Ki Kore Toke Bolbo’. According to industry sources, there will be another female lead in the film but the director hasn’t yet taken the final decision. Produced by SVF, ‘Villain’ is eying for a Durga Puja release this year.

After the success of Kaushik Ganguly’s ‘Drishtikone’, we could have seen another stellar performance from the Prosenjit-Rituparna jodi in ‘Gaheen Hriday’. Yes, you heard it right. Prosenjit Chatterjee was initially interested in doing a film under the direction of Agnidev Chatterjee but when the script writing for the film was completed by Sudipa Chatterjee, the celebrated actor couldn’t give a date due to his busy schedule. However, Prosenjit Chatterjee’s absence doesn’t make ‘Gaheen Hriday’ less attractive. Debshankar Haldar and Kaushik sen are playing the male leads opposite Rituparna Sengupta in this film.

After ‘Hemlock Society’ and ‘Highway’, Koel Mallick is all set to share the screen with Parambrata Chatterjee for the third time in Sayantan Ghoshal's next ‘Jawker Dhan’ sequel. Now according to latest reports, Koel has bagged another film which is touted to be a thriller. Directed by Abhimanyu Mukherjee, this upcoming flick will see the actress as a hardcore journalist Bidisha. The rest of the casting hasn’t yet been fully finalized but rumour has it Shantilal Mukherjee and Gaurav Chakrabarty will play key roles in this thriller.

Paoli Dam, whose latest ‘Maati’ has earned a great response from the critics and audience alike, is right now in extreme pain due to a slipped disk problem. She had to attend the ‘Maati’ premiere after popping some painkillers. Now, as per doctor’s advice, she is in complete bed rest for a few days. However, the beauty has assured her fans that she is getting better. Paoli was scheduled to start dubbing for her next film ‘Kantho’ in which she will be seen opposite Shiboprosad Mukherjee but it has been pushed back due to her health condition.

The mahurat of Srijit Mukherji’s upcoming ‘Shah Jahan Regency’ recently took place in the presence of the entire cast and crew. The film has already gone on the floors. Based on notable writer Shankar's popular novel Chowringhee, the film is a modern day on the classic story of a five-star hotel. Srijit had initially had an ensemble cast in hand with Prosenjit Chatterjee and Jisshu Sengupta supposed to play lead roles. However, Prosenjit saw himself too old for the role of Sata Bose and opted out. Meanwhile, Jisshu rejected the offer as he is still recovering from the recent gall bladder surgery. To compensate for the loss of star attraction, Abir Chatterjee has been roped in to replace Prosenjit, while Parambrata Chatterjee is set to play the character Jisshu Sengupta was supposed to essay. Swastika Mukherjee too has made a late entry to the cast replacing Jaya Ahsan.