While Durga Puja, the biggest festival of West Bengal, is undoubtedly high on spirituality, an unmistakable part of the festivities, as every local will agree, is the no-holds-barred indulgence in the state’s legendary cultural side. Apparel lines have already unveiled their special collections, restauranteurs we know are all set with special Pujo menus, musicians and singers are releasing albums of different genres every other day, there are Pujo annuals of publications out for the dedicated readers – as there are new film releases lined up.
This Durga Puja, brace yourself for not one or two, but three big banner film releases perfectly timed with the festive mood, so you can go binge on them with your friends and family. Each of them promises to pack quite a punch with impressive cast and crew. Here’s Cam-on-go looking at them:
Bohurupi – Helmed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee and also written by the duo, Bohurupi is scheduled for release on October 8, 2024. Bohurupi is a fairly-common wandering character in rural Bengal, who entertains onlookers through an eye-catching display of makeup and acting. In the action-thriller, Bohurupi is an itinerant showman who amuses people by impersonating demonish characters and earns a living. He undergoes a psychological transformation after having a miraculous dream. The film stars Shiboprosad Mukherjee in the titular role as Bikram, Abir Chatterjee as SI Sumanta Ghosal, Ritabhari Chakraborty as Pori, Koushani Mukherjee as Jhimli. Other names in the cast include Pradeep Bhattacharya, Sujan Neel Mukherjee, and Reshmi Sen.
Presented by Windows Production established by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee, the film is based on a series of real-life crime events between 1998 – 2005. Speaking to Cam-on-go about his role, Abir Chatterjee said,” It is definitely more challenging to portray a real-life character on screen. I have personally met and interacted with SI Sumanta Ghosal who is an honest and responsible police officer. How does he tackle the situation despite the personal issues he faces, is he able to do a fair balance between his personal and professional life? A couple of questions whose answers viewers will get in Bohurupi.” The teaser that has been released on YouTube has notched up more than 12L views. A comment goes – “Bohurupi captures the charm of rural Bengal and at the same time, it is an edge-of- the-seat action thriller. What a combination!” Don’t miss on checking out the peppy number, ‘Dakatiya Banshi’ that has vocals by folk musicians and climbing charts fast.
Radar Report/ Here’s What We Heard If the film were a dish, what would it be for you, Cam-on-go asked Subhrajit Dutta, part of Bohurupi’s cast. “Dal and Aloo-Posto,” he says,” to be had with simple boiled rice. All-in-all a wholesome, and immensely flavourful dish for me. I love how the ingredients blend with an assortment of spices in dal and aloo-posto to create a unique, distinct composition.” He adds,” In a sense, let’s liken the members of the cast with the ingredients, all mingling together to create a distinctive dish.”
Shastri – Slated for a release on October 8,2024, Shastri from Surinder Films and Soham’s Entertainment stars timeless actor, Mithun Chakraborty along with Sohan Chakraborty, and a clutch of well-known actors like Saswata Chatterjee, Kaushik Sen, Rajatava Dutta, and last but not the least, Debasree Roy. They are ably supported by Anirban Chakraborti, Sauraseni Maitra, and Ayush Das. Shastri will see fans of Mithun Chakraborty and Debashree Roy collaborating after more than a decade – 16 years, in fact, making it a highly anticipated revival of the screen magic of yesteryears Bengali cinema. The film, exploring family ties and fate, is directed by Pathikrit Basu.
“Shooting with Mithun da is always fun, as he is like family to me. We are being paired together in this film after quite a long time, and we are having a really great time on the sets. Most of the time, he cracks jokes on the sets or pulls some prank. The audience showed our jodi a lot of love earlier, and I do hope they will shower us with the same love,” said Debasree Roy talking about her experience of shooting with Mithun Chakraborty. The pair had great on-screen chemistry in the film Troyee (1982) that was a big hit. A popular on-screen couple in the 80s and 90s, the actors have collaborated in over a dozen films, many of which were major blockbusters. In 2010, they appeared together in Shukno Lonka but were not cast opposite one another as a couple in the film. Soham Chakraborty, talking about his character in the film, said, “My character is an astrophysicist by profession. He’s against those who misinterpret astrology and promote superstition. Shastri is all set to be the biggest Pujo film. I’m positive that the viewers will find our caption justified after watching the trailer.” Speaking of which, there is already considerable buzz around it on YouTube, expecially amongst followers of the superstar, Mithun Chakraborty. One commenter wrote – “Mithun vs Soham. Dhamaka!” Another fan commented – “Mithun Da just phatiye diyeche. Jio Mahaguru!”
“Shooting with Mithun da is always fun, as he is like family to me. We are being paired together in this film after quite a long time, and we are having a really great time on the sets. Most of the time, he cracks jokes on the sets or pulls some prank. The audience showed our jodi a lot of love earlier, and I do hope they will shower us with the same love,” said Debasree Roy talking about her experience of shooting with Mithun Chakraborty.
The pair had great on-screen chemistry in the film Troyee (1982) that was a big hit. A popular on-screen couple in the 80s and 90s, the actors have collaborated in over a dozen films, many of which were major blockbusters.
In 2010, they appeared together in Shukno Lonka but were not cast opposite one another as a couple in the film. Soham Chakraborty, talking about his character in the film, said, “My character is an astrophysicist by profession. He’s against those who misinterpret astrology and promote superstition. Shastri is all set to be the biggest Pujo film. I’m positive that the viewers will find our caption justified after watching the trailer.” Speaking of which, there is already considerable buzz around it on YouTube, expecially amongst followers of the superstar, Mithun Chakraborty. One commenter wrote – “Mithun vs Soham. Dhamaka!” Another fan commented – “Mithun Da just phatiye diyeche. Jio Mahaguru!”
Tekka – Also set for release on October 8, 2024, is the action-thriller, Tekka, directed by Srijit Mukherji and produced by Gurupada Adhikari and Dev Adhikari under the banner, Deve Entertainment Ventures. “The stakes are high and every move is a gamble. Dare to Play?” – the official teaser on YouTube challenges you. The impressive cast has a clutch of big names of the Bengali entertainment world – Dev, Swastika Mukherjee, Paran Bandopadhyay, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Rukmini Maitra. In the film, Iqlakh (Jack), played by Dev, is a poor janitor who loses his job and hence, his means to a decent livelihood. In a bid to get it back, he turns into a kidnapper and abducts a little schoolgirl right from the gates of her school. He goes on to hold her hostage in a building in the city.
Rukmini Maitra in the role of ACP Maya is assigned the duty to rescue the child and get her safely back from the kidnapper’s clutches. Brishti (Sreeja Dutta) and Tintin (Aryan Bhowmik) are both young journalists who are reporting the incident. Ira (Swastika Mukherjee) is the kidnapped girl’s mother. Tekka is a suspense thriller film that is played out majorly in an office building where the police and defence personnel surround the kidnapper and their attempts to rescue the little schoolgirl. One comment goes – Dev X Srijit Mukherji. Something extraordinary is coming!”
Durga Puja 2024 seems to be an exciting time as the three hugely-anticipated films wait in the wings to make their debut. So, book your tickets and grab your seats with some popcorn.
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