Tollywood Roundup: Bengali celebs who made headlines this week

Whether it’s the latest announcement of Srijit’s upcoming ‘Gumnami Baba’, Dwijen Mukhopadhyay’s critical health condition, Prosenjit’s upcoming birthday celebration or the sad news of Malancha cinema hall shutting down to the latest update on Aparna Sen’s ‘Ghare Baire’; 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.

Anirban Bhattacharya will play Nikhilesh in Aparna Sen’s upcoming adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Ghare Baire’. Earlier Satyajit Ray made a film based on the same novel. Anirban replaces Kaushik Sen as Nikhilesh in the latest flick. Tuhina Das will be seen as Bimala who has been rechristened as Brinda, a Dalit girl married to Nikhilesh. As per the story, Nikhilesh is an editor of an online news portal known for its progressive and liberal content. Jisshu Sengupta has been roped in to play Sandip, a Leftist student leader who later turns into a pro-Right wing activist.

Veteran singer Dwijen Mukhopadhyay was admitted to the SSKM Hospital with severe lung infection last week but according to hospital sources now his condition has improved slightly. Initially, two medical boards were formed to look after his treatment as the lung infections allegedly spread quickly. SSKM’s MSVP Raghunath Mishra said: “The problems Dwijen Mukhopadhyay have are mainly due to his old age. He was admitted to hospital last Thursday for some checkups. The breathing problem is quite normal for aged persons. Almost 80% suffer from this condition. But his condition is stable now. The necessary tests have all been conducted. We will once again check his condition later today.”

With the ‘Guptodhoner Sondhane’ rap winning hearts, Bickram Ghosh has created another masterpiece for Arindam Sil’s Puja release ‘Byomkesh Gowtro’ and he is super excited about his latest work. “In Byomkesh Gowtro, I have created a unique rock ’n’ roll composition which may remind you of the works done by Elvis Presley. It’s like going back to the 1950s. The only difference is a female singer has lent her voice for it. The song starts at a pub with a live performance by a group of amazing musicians. You would find everything in the song - piano, saxophone, drums, guitar and it’s in both English and Bengali. The soundtrack aims at a blend between urban and a mountain feel as the film is set in Mussoorie,” said Bickram.

Srijit Mukherji’s next ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ has already grabbed a lot of attention with its intriguing teaser. Meanwhile, Srijit has also wrapped up shooting for his Christmas release ‘Shah Jahan Regency’. In no mood for a break, recently the renowned director announced another project. The upcoming film, tentatively titled ‘Gumnami Baba’, will be based on a mysterious sadhu many believed to be the legendary Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Prosenjit Chatterjee is all set to play the titular role. If all goes according to plan, ‘Gumnami Baba’ will release during Durga Puja next year.

Anindya Chatterjee’s Puja release ‘Manojder Adbhut Bari’ has set the industry into a tizzy with everyone going gaga over it, especially the nostalgia it has evoked with the recently released ‘postcard’ poster. Now, one more surprise for the fans. Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, the creator of the original novel ‘Manojder Adbhut Bari’, will have a special appearance in the big screen adaptation of his famous novel. On Tuesday, August 22, a special scene was shot at the renowned author’s very own place involving Soham Maitra, who is playing the titular character, and the author himself. However, it’s not yet clear what role Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay is playing.

Next month Prosenjit Chatterjee will celebrate his 56th birthday. He has already proved age is just a number for him. Even after three decades in the industry, the Tollywood superstar still remains an automatic choice for any director. Now, if all goes according to plan, the day before his birthday, on September 29, Prosenjit aka Bumba Da will walk on the ramp. Yes, you heard it right! A fashion show will be organized by his home production Nideas Creation. A number of popular Bengali actresses will walk on the ramp with the Tollywood heartthrob including Rituparna Sengupta. The show has been divided into many segments related to his film career.

To pay a special tribute to Uttam Kumar, on his 92nd birth anniversary a special calendar will be launched with posters from his famous films. According to industry sources, posters from as many as 24 Uttam Kumar films including ‘Harano Sur’, ‘Shapmochon’, ‘Nayak’, ‘Dui Bhai’, ‘Dhannyi Meye’, ‘Ogo Bodhu Sundori’ and ‘Putrobodhu’ will feature in this 2019 calendar which will be released on September 3. Not only hit films, posters from a few lesser-known films of Uttam Kumar like ‘Shikar’, ‘Kankabotir Ghat’ has also been included. If all goes according to plan, the calendar release program will be organized at Uttam Mancha.

A proud moment for Raima Sen! ‘Thinking Of Him’, in which the Bengali diva played a key role, has been selected for the 58th Asia Pacific Film Festival this year in the Competition section. ‘Thinking Of Him’ is an Indo-Argentine venture which narrates Rabindranath Tagore’s relationship with Argentinian feminist, writer and activist Victoria Ocampo. Directed by Pablo Cesar, the film juggles between two timelines: the present day and 1924 when Tagore visited Argentina and met Ocampo. Apart from Raima, veteran actor Victor Banerjee plays the Nobel Prize-winning Indian legend and Eleonora Wexler essays the role of Ocampo. It also features Hector Bordoni.

In another example of a single-screen theatre biting the dust, Tollygunge’s Malancha cinema hall has now downed its shutters and has also sent its employees an unofficial closure notice. Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam 2 was the last movie which was screened at the theatre on August 14. Earlier in June Elite, once called one of the most prestigious cinema halls in Kolkata, permanently downs shutters after its last show of ‘Parmanu’ on May 31. Sadly, it attracted merely a hundred audiences.

Veteran dancer and actress Arati Das, best known as Miss Shefali, has finally received some good news. She is all set to receive a monthly pension of 5,000 from now on. The pension will be given by a Kolkata-based jewelry house which often helps ailing artists. Earlier in April, Miss Shefali had to be admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata due to internal bleeding. Being a single woman with no savings at all, her immediate kin was having a hard time to arrange the money for her treatment which was quite costly. The hospital expenses were later borne by actress Rituparna Sengupta who has always been there for so many Tollywood artists.