Weekend Roundup: Prosenjit on favouritism controversy, ‘Khela Jakhan’ pushed back, Amala Shankar passes away; here’s what made headlines 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:

Rituparna Sengupta who is currently spending time with her family in Singapore met with an accident recently. The seasoned actress has developed a habit of cycling to stay fit these days. However, recently she twisted her wrist and currently recovering from the injury. “It happened when I was about to turn the cycle but in the process twisted my wrist on right hand. The third finger is also injured. It’s paining really bad. But I am slowly recovering. I have also tried acupuncture. Let’s see how long it takes to recover. Otherwise, I am fine. There’s no fracture,” Rituparna shared in an exclusive chat with ETimes.

Amala Shankar, the legendary danseuse and choreographer, who along with her husband, Uday Shankar, played a key role in modernizing traditional Indian dance forms on the global arena, died at the age of 101 in the city. Noted for her grace and luminous stage presence, the feisty artiste and guru was an inspiration to young Indian women, who could never dream of performing in public or in front of the camera in the ’30s and ’40s. In a condolence message, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Amala Shankar's death is an "irreparable" loss in the world of dance.

Anshuman Pratyush’s ‘SOS KOLKATA’ is on the floors and the team had scheduled shootings on Thursday and Saturday and even on next Wednesday which had been declared as lockdown days by the West Bengal government. “We cancelled those days. The shooting was supposed to happen at a city hotel, which had been booked much before. So the financial loss will be there. We will shoot at the hotel again on Friday. We were prepared for all these uncertainties in this new normal before the film went on the floors,” revealed the direrctor. The film stars Yash Dasgupta, Mimi Chakraborty, Nusrat Jahan and others in pivotal roles.

Goutam Ghose directed ‘Raahgir’ which received appreciation from all corners is now an official selection at the 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival. Due to the COVID-19 crisis the festival will be held virtually just like any other film fest. ‘Raahgir’ will be screened in the Global Village-India Film Week section. It stars Adil Hussain, Tillotama Shome and Neeraj Kabi in the lead and revolves around three strangers – Nathuni (Tillotama), Lakhua (Adil) and Chopatlal (Kabi) – who cross each other’s path accidentally on a journey and develop a strong bond.

Indraadip Dasgupta’s next film ‘Asatoma Sadgamaya’ reflects the struggle of human existence and will have only five characters. After Atanu Ghosh’s ‘Robibaar’, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Jaya Ahsan will reunite for the film which also stars Rudranil Ghosh and Arun Mukhopadhyay. Speaking about the storyline, the director told ETimes, “This film will show how the pandemic has made its way into our psyche, bringing in a lot of change in our overall behaviour. Though COVID-19 remains the main backdrop, it’s not completely on the pandemic. While working on the story, we didn’t even have social distancing thing in mind. But eventually we ended up with only five characters, so it will be easy to follow the new safety guidelines. I am eagerly waiting to go behind the camera after such a long time.”

Ever since Arindam Sil announced his much-awaited thriller ‘Khela Jokhon’ will star Mimi Chakraborty and Parambrata Chattopadhyay in the lead, social media was abuzz with speculations as when the shoot will start. However, Arindam wants to wait before he starts shooting for ‘Khela Jokhon’. “We had to push back ‘Khela Jokhon’ since it has many outdoor shoots which we cannot do right now. We will require a lot of people for it along with action directors from Mumbai, which is not happening right now. ‘Khela Jokhon’ has some high-octane action sequences and to execute these scenes a lot of stuntmen are needed,” revealed the acclaimed director. The plot sees protagonist Urmi coming out of coma and taken care of by her husband Sagnik and her in-laws. However, Urmi can’t adjust to her new life as the current situations contradict what she believes and Urmi becomes violent.

When Prosenjit Chatterjee was accused of favouritism by another senior actress Sreelekha Mitra it sent a shockwave through the Bengali film industry. Well, the Tollywood superstar now retorts insisting he has worked with the most number of newcomers in Bengal throughout his decades-long career. “I am well aware of the debate around favouritism that’s going on over the last one month and frankly speaking I really don’t want to comment on anyone’s comment to make the matter more complex. All I can say is that as an actor I have had the privilege of working with the maximum number of new actresses and directors,” Prosenjit told ETimes. He added till this day, when he decides to produce a film or a TV show, out of 10 films, he plays the lead in maybe two films. For the rest of his productions, he works with new directors, fresh talents, and a new breed of actors.