An evening out at Flurys

The visit of the Chairperson and the Managing Director to the Kolkata branch office after long lead to a refreshing evening with a senior and middle level team at Flurys yesterday. This was my first dining experience at the legendary confectionery shop-cum-restaurant from the British era at Park Street (Past visits were for takeaway). Chicken puff, chicken sandwich and egg mustard sandwich were ordered, apart from Darjeeling tea to wind up. The food was really heavy as evening refreshment. The Branch Head really missed its famous pastries not being a part of the order. The pastries enjoy a robust following even today in the city and among the 'informed' visitors. The old-world experience that is poles apart from today's plush cafes has a distinctive charm. Flurys definitely counts in a must-have Kolkata experience.

The chicken sandwich was good, and it tasted better with mustard sauce. But the puff was a put off for me. Nothing wrong with it as such, only that I don't like the way they make chicken puffs and patties. It's basically a mash and one can't get even small chunks of chicken inside. The Darjeeling tea was perfect, with its fascinating aroma. The Branch Head's suggestion was to have it without milk and sugar, so that the real taste and flavour can be cherished.

When it comes to savoury snacks in a cake shop, my recommendation is Cakes. It's chicken patty and chicken quiche can hook you if you have a tooth for savouries. Hope to come back with more on Cakes.

Images: Weekend retreat

Some images of Purna Laxmi Hotel mentioned in the last post (A memorable weekend retreat) and The Ganga as viewed from the hotel.

A memorable weekend retreat

Attended the office workshop over the weekend (Friday-Sunday, December 3-5) at Diamond Harbour. It took place in the newly built Purna Laxmi Hotel at the bank of The Ganga. A launch jetty is just a stone's throw. The view of the river from the hotel lawn is fabulous. One can watch the launches and cargo ships passing by throughout the day, with a rare glimpse of dolphins. It made for a wonderful setting for the evening drinks sessions indeed. The view was so tempting that we sneaked in a couple of minutes to the riverside at every break during the presentations. Catching the sunset over the river was at the top of wishlist of many. My room balcony also gave a straight river view.

The hotel is reasonably priced and looks good too, spread over a few acres with a pristine white main building and an annexe building with lots of open, green space. The landscaping is nicely done. The food is good in Bengali cuisine (Don't go for Chinese or Mughlai unless you feel for a change in taste). A special mention will go for the home-style alur tarkari they serve in the breakfast, the mutton curry that is not rich and the tandoori pomfret. A definite recommendation for a refreshing weekend outing.

Scoop: The Tolly big daddy on 'Dadagiri'

Here's a tiny scoop: Mahendra Soni, or Moni of Moni-Shrikant of the formidable Venkatesh Films, the undisputed king among Bangla movie production houses, will be seen on Dadagiri soon in one of the special episodes. A great coup this by Zee Bangla, considering his extremely restricted visibility on media for occasions not related to his home productions.

Bihar polls

Development is addictive at a place that has been hungry for it historically. And the Bihar poll results vouch for that.

A nip in the air

There's a nip in the air, noticed day before yesterday afternoon onwards. People are contemplating pulling out the winter clothes. Train passengers are avoiding the slightly chilly wind blowing from the opposite direction. Is winter knocking at the door? This year it is predicted to be stronger than past. Am already thinking up the winter foods starting with 'Gurer mishti' (Jaggery-based sweets) and vegetable chop....ummm.

'Natobor Not Out' review

My Natobor Not out review is live on Washington Bangla Radio. Check the link for the review.

Natobor Not Out is a new Bangla release directed by debutant Amit Sen, with an ensemble cast of Raima Sen, debutant Mustafa Prakash, Ramaprasad Banik, Mausumi Saha, Kharaj Mukherjee, Chandan Sen, Kaushik Ganguly, Biswajit Chakraborty, Sudipa Basu, Saswata Chatterjee and debutante Ananya Dutta. The music is by Debajyoti Mishra.

My 'Tara' review

My Tara review is live on Washington Bangla Radio.

Tara is a new Bangla release directed by Bratya Basu, starring Prosenjit, Paoli Dam and Tota Roy Chowdhury, with music by Tapan Sinha.

The sensuous Sens

The morning was pleasant with the t2 cover story covering the Sens - the mother and elder daughter.

Moon Moon has slimmed down a bit and was looking gorgeous in a powder blue shirt and not-so-long white skirt. A refreshing change from her Natobor Not Out item number which would be best edited out. She looked old and minus her trademark oomph. In t2 she looks the way she would a couple of years back. What is amazing is she can carry herself effortlessly in such clothes at this age. Raima was gracefully beautiful as usual. She has a refreshingly natural look despite being a today's actress who is careful about her regular workouts.

For the full story click here.

The new 'Talk of Facebook'

Natobar Not Out- the new Bangla release is gaining recommendations on Facebook from Kolkatans whose opinions matter to many. The comedy is directed by debutant Amit Sen, with an ensemble cast comprising of Raima Sen, Mostafa Prakash, Kharaj Mukherjee, Saswata Chatterjee, Ramaprasad Banik, Biswajit Chakraborty, Chandan Sen, Kaushik Ganguly and Mir, and music by Debajyoti 'Autograph' Mishra.

Can't wait to chcek it out.

JJMT teaser

Loved the teaser poster of Jor Jar Mulluk Tar - a Haranath Chakraborty film starring Prosenjit. With ragging and dirty student politics as the backdrop, the poster is a collage of newspaper clips about the subject, with the initials 'JJMT' written in red at the bottom. Pretty imaginative work by Bangla mainstream standards. The film has a bunch of newcomers along with Rudraneel Ghosh (Who has conducted a workshop for the rookies) in the cast.

'Autograph' review

My Autograph review is live on Washington Bangla Radio. Please drop your comments here.

For the uninitiated, Autograph is a Bangla release in Puja 2010 directed by debutant Srijit Mukherjee, with Prosenjit, Indraneil Sengupta and Nandana Sen in the cast. It is a tribute to Satyajit Ray's Nayak.

Interesting array of nominations

This year's nominations of Anandalok Purashkar- the father of all film awards in this part of the globe are, honestly speaking, unintentionally funny. Here is why so.

1. Autograph has got a Best Actor nomination (Prosenjit) and one in Best Music Director (Debajyoti Mishra), but it hasn't been nominated in Best Film or Srijit Mukherjee (Director of Autograph) as Best Director!! And what are the deserving nominations in these two categories- Best Film and Best Director? Well, Le Chhakka, Byomkesh Bakshi, and ...hold your breath....Wanted and Josh in Best Film and Raj Chakraborty (Le Chhakka), Ravi Kinnagi (for Wanted, but not Josh), Anjan Dutt (Byomkesh Bakshi) and Rajib Kumar (Amanush) in Best Film. Wow!

2. Dui Prithibi has not got a single nomination, despite having been released on the same day as Autograph!

3. Indraneil Sengupta was overlooked in the Best Actor nomination, despite his sterling performance in Autograph. The nominees are Prosenjit (Autograph), Jeet (Wanted), Dev (Le Chhakka), Soham (Prem Amaar) and Abir Chatterjee (Byomkesh Bakshi). Has he been nominated in Best Supporting Actor instead?

Autograph

Loved the Puja release 'Autograph'. Good script, storytelling and performances (By Prosenjit, Nandana Sen, Indraneil Sengupta and others). Technically sound. And what music! The best after Antaheen. Three cheers to Srijit & Co., and also Venkatesh Films for believing in such a project that deviates so much from their bunch of mainstream offerings every year. Go for it!

Review coming soon at Washington Bangla Radio.

Beche thakar gaan

Loved Beche thakar gaan by Rupam from the Autograph album. It's instantly appealing material, the best heard after Antaheen. Excellent lyric by Anupam Roy, who's co-composed the song with Debajyoti Mishra, the principal music director. Also loved Amake amar moto thaakte dao, written, co-composed and sung by Anupam from the same album. Acquired the album today. Looking forward to listening to the other songs, some of which I liked from the clips heard on television. Watch this space for a complete review of the music. Looking forward to catch the film soon (Released today) as well.

The preparation

Another look at the preparation for this year's Puja: a detailed capture of the idol-making that's reaching a crescendo. By Shilbhadra Datta, posted on Calcutta Adda n Food, the Facebook group.

Park Street

Some lively images of Park Street, shot by Shilbhadra Datta, a photographer by profession, in the Facebook group Calcutta Adda n Food.

Puja.....is coming

Idols being made for Puja 2010. Shot by Shreyas Surya Dasgupta, a friend.

The stellar 'Bangla' show at National Awards

Just came to know this, thanks to friends' updates on Facebook. Thought of putting it up here as a token of pride. Bangla cinema has picked up 6 National Awards! The list goes:

1. Best Director: Rituparno Ghosh for Abohoman.
2. Best Actress: Ananya Chatterjee for Abohoman.
3. Best Playback Singer (Male): Rupam Islam for Mahanagar@Kolkata.
4. Best Playback Singer (Female): Nilanjana Sarkar for Housefull.
5. Best Editor: Arghya Kamal Mitra for Abohoman.
6. Best Bengali Film: Abohoman.

Cheerio, Tollygunge. And what a show by Team Abohoman! Take a bow. Hope Reliance Big Pictures is happy for their second Bangla outing (No matter the box office results), and the association continues.

Kolkata on Twitter I

Twitter is increasingly becoming a regular interaction platform for the who's who of Kolkata. Just spotted a well-known distributor-exhibitor-actor's tweet to the best known film & TV production and distribution house of the city (Twitter ID in co.'s name, though the partners have their own IDs and tweet regularly) suggesting to shift a well-awaited film by an acclaimed Bengali filmmaker starring a superstar to shift the release date from December '10 to avoid a clash with the Feluda release and a love story (Bengali). Such interactions happen generally on mobile, if not in person.

One also gets to know knows who attended which party, saw which play or movie with who (at home or theatre), who ditched who on a promise etc. Not to mention lots of pleasantries regularly exchanged among the entertainment fraternity of Kolkata in tweets. So you can experience the vibes. A curious development indeed.

The superstar on Twitter

It was interesting to see Prosenjit joining Twitter around the middle of August. The microblogging site is really catching up in Tollygunge. Though not very frequent in the beginning, he is tweeting big time in the last few days. It is indeed interesting to have a peek at the world of the superstar of Bangla cinema. His English needs a little help though. With 122 followers at the time of this post, the list includes big names like Koel Mallick, Shrikant Mohta, Mahendra Soni, script-writer NK Salil and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury.

An unusual 'Bandh' day

The third 'Bandh' (strike) called by CITU (who it seems has little else to do these days other than planning their next strike) in two months. Ventured out after checking on television that trains and metro were running smoothly. Gave the train entering Barrackpore station platform no. 2 a miss even after getting close to it as I had to buy the newspaper. The train was amazingly empty. A Barrackpore local was waiting to start, past its time, at the next platform (No. 1A). Couldn't spot a single newspaper vendor on the platform no. 2, so walked up and down the bridge to the next platform. There wasn't any vendor there too. I had a feel that I still have 2 minutes to me before the train starts. So I walked up and down the bridge twice again for buying the paper from platform no. 1 and catching the train which had just started. It was empty with only a handful of people sitting here and there. Till Dum Dum station not even one person boarded the train from each of the empty stations (6 of them). Got down at Dum Dum and went straight to the metro ticket counter as there wasn't a queue. Then casually walked into the metro after waiting for it (A contrast to a normal day when the seats in the entire metro are filled in a split second after the doors open). Got down at Chandni Chowk and walked down to the office. A dream journey to work.

A colleague who had a similar experience of coming to work wished a 'Bandh' was called everyday. Ha.

Sabir

Am ashamed to admit this. Being a confirmed foodie, I visited Sabir's Hotel (Popularly known as just 'Sabir') for the first time in life only last week though I have had planned to check out its legendary rezala umpteen times, and my new office (Since April 2010) is just minutes away from it. Tried the biriyani. It's good, and a dash better than Aliah's. The rice is good, the potato is decent, so is the piece of mutton (wish it were a little juicy). And the price is honest- Rs 70 (Back home in Barrackpore at the biriyani hotspot 'Dada Boudir Hotel' it has touched Rs 100 in all possibilities). The entire menu is honestly priced. Wish to come back soon.

Photo: Sabir's mutton rezala (Right), with chicken reshmi kebab (Centre) and tandoori roti (Left). Courtesy: Shilbhadra Dutta. Posted on Calcutta Adda n Food on Facebbook.

A nightmare in the morning

Went to visit a senior manager in a telecom giant in Srijan Tech Park in Sector V yesterday. As I got down at Webel More (crossing) and turned left, I found little place to walk towards RS Software on the main road. There's no sidewalk. And the road is full of trenches (not potholes, mind it!), the brick base is exposed at places, and has muck and muddy water all over, after the morning shower. Was as alert as possible to avoid getting the stuff on road come on my clothes, as buses, auto rickshaws and taxis were passing by endlessly, at the same time stepping on the right place.....but a mini bus proved fatal. Muddy water from a crater got spread all over my clothes, making my appearance absolutely unfit to meet a prospective client.

Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority was formed in 2006 to do justice to the civic job in the state government's showpiece tech zone- Sector V. By the current condition, it is everything but a showpiece. As Telegraph reports today, tech companies are deferring their senior people's visit to office apprehending their reaction to the condition of Sector V. A techie has left his car at home and coming to work in taxi.

The authorities are hopeless to say the least. There have been many other wrongdoings reported in recent times. I feel the management needs a change with immediate effect.

'Shukno Lanka' review

My Shukno Lanka review is live on Washington Bangla Radio.

Shukno Lanka is one of the recent Bangla releases directed by Gaurav Panday, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Debashree Roy.

Do read and drop your valuable comments here.

A hot debate on Facebook

Indranil Roy, a noted journalist of Ananda Bazar Parika, wrote on Facebook about taking a lesson from Raj Kumar Hirani showed in the making of '3 Idiots' in its recently released DVD........and it sparked a red-hot debate participated by producers, directors, actors of Kolkata, beside others (including yours truly).

Follow it here and drop your take in the comments section below.

The rally

My office at Chandni Chowk is at the core of action of today's annual martyrs' day rally by Trinamool Congress at Esplanade. And my desk is by the large window overlooking CR Avenue. Am curious to witness this historic annual affair that is known for, among other things, throwing life in the city out of gear every year and drew over 3 lakh last year by Kolkata Police estimate.

Saw the party supremo, Mamata Banerjee, last evening at the staircase to a dais at the venue near Income Tax building, in talk with Sovan Chattopadhyay, the newly-elected mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Madan Mitra and Mukul Deb, a central minister. That many in the crowd gathered there were busy shooting her picture with their mobile phones was evidence for her celebrity status attained by now.

Hope to update you about the development over the day. Watch this post.

10.41 am: Male voices throwing instructions through the mike for a smooth organisation of flow of people. A Trinamool anthem playing in the background and as the filler. No gathering at Chandni Chowk by now.

Evening snacks

A food post after long!

Was craving for good shingaras (samosa) post-work yesterday. Found this small food joint serving snacks and fried sweets in the evening on Bentinck Street. As a bonus got to dig into a vegetable chop too. Both were delicious and reasonably priced. The shop, named Shivam Food Centre, is at the beginning of the lane opposite the premium sweet shop Kanha near Paradise cinema, bang opposite a food products store.

'Ekti Tarar Khoje' review

My Ekti Tarar Khoje review is live on Washington Bangla Radio. Do read and post your comments here.

Ekti Tarar Khoje is the latest Bangla release produced by Screenplay Films- the house of Aniruddha Roy Choudhury (the producer-director of acclaimed films like Anuranan and Antaheen) and directed by noted cinematographer Abhik Mukhopadhyay, with an ensemble cast of Shayan Munshi, Arpita Chatterjee (erstwhile Arpita Pal), Dhritiman Chatterjee, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Rudraneel Ghosh, Tanushree Shankar, Biplab Chatterjee, Arindam Sil, Anindya Banerjee and Arijit Dutta.

The film is also being distributed in North America through theatres, DVD and other popular channels.

Shukno Lanka

Shukno Lanka was an experience! After Antaheen, it was a film that struck the right chord with the audience, almost effortlessly. Take a bow, Mr Gaurav Panday, for writing (story, script and dialogue) and directing this soul-touching piece. Mithun is another experience in himself. This film wouldn't have been possible without him. And folks, this new face Angana Bose was a revelation.

It felt so nice to see the good old urban family audience back at the Jaya Cinema show, incl. several elderly people, a full balcony and fast-filling stall seats, at the second Sunday after release.

A full-fledged review coming up. Watch this space.

The screen god on small screen

Dev was the celeb on Ke Hobe Biggest Star on Zee Bangla yesterday, and girls far outnumbered the boys in fan count. He has equal following among both, by the way. Dev wore his heart on his sleeves and one saw a level-headed, rooted, family-loving individual who can handle big-time following. He spoke lovingly and emotionally as he introduced his native place - a village near Keshpur in Medinipur and his father's joint family.

Dev is a star, who, knowing from a little personal experience on my last job in the entertainment industry, doesn't have an aura of a star. Many a time he doesn't behave like a star in public, which is not advisable for a current numero uno, but actually brings his fans closer to him and love him all the more and makes others take notice too (And it includes people of my father's age group). My father considers only him among today's lead actors in Bangla cinema as someone who perfectly makes the cut as a hero in the looks department.

All those in the last 3 were girls, somewhat proving when it comes to DQ (Dev quotient), it's girls who have an edge. Pratyusha, the winner, was cool and composed all through. She was ecstatic but didn't show it as she got to sit (after winning) just besides her matinee idol. It only came out in the warm hugs she gave him. She had brought nothing special, but a bouquet to present him. Others who lost made it up with the hugs and gifting.

That the show went into two episodes of one-and-a-half-hour each shows the popularity of Bengal's new heartthrob. It also helps maintain Zee Bangla's leadership position in reality shows (Mirakkel, Dance Bangla Dance, Dadagiri etc) among Bengali GECs.

Kolkata on social media

You get to know the result of an ongoing football match sitting at your desk, the accident that just took place a few kilometres away from your office, the current state of mind of a dear friend, see beautiful photographs of the day just shot by a friend or e-friend, know about an eagerly-awaited film's group just formed, join it and interact with its makers, and apart from all this and more, read the comments posted to a post by the member's friends and join the conversation......on Facebook that has hooked Kolkata. Orkut is passe.

You get to know what your favourite film stars are doing now: when and what Priyanka is shooting, when Konkona is lazing, Raima Sen is travelling, when Karan Johar is feeling exhausted after a rigorous gym session and what Bipasha is eating. You know when a star goes to the gym to shed the little weight she put on, how another is promoting his film, more interestingly what Abhishek is telling Bipasha or Priyanka and Amitabh Bachchan are telling the world. Closer home you get regular updates from Jeet about his work and life and Mahendra Soni about his films.......on Tweeter. And you don't get to know a large chunk of it in traditional media (Rather you get to read the tweets of a celeb in the morning newspaper, that you have already read last evening ). It's addictive to be in Tweeter if you wanna closely follow the celebs.

A long-delayed post. But now onwards Facebook and Tweeter, the faces of social media, will feature regularly at this space, about their Kolkata connection and otherwise.

Koel in LBD

My 200th post raises a toast to Koel, the queen of mainstream Bangla cinema, seen in a LBD (with Locket Chatterjee). Though fashionable, Koel is not really known to be glamorous or bold, and is rarely seen in a LBD. She evidently looks fab. The photograph was shot in the launch party for her new film 'Prem by Chance' directed by Sudeshna Roy- Avhijit Guha.


Photograph sourced from 'I Love Bengali Movies' group on Facebook.

'Le Chhakka' review

My review of Le Chhakka is live on Washington Bangla Radio. Do read and post comments here.

Le Chhakka is the latest Bangla release direcetd by Raj Chakraborty and produced by Srijan Arts, starring Dev and Payel.

Three cheers to green move

My morning felt good to read about the state environment department's new circular that lit hoardings now have to source electricity from solar power. Those using generator solely to light up have to make the switch immediately, while others drawing power from grid have time till December '10 to make the switch.

Once this happens, it will save 60-80 MW per day! And a few hundreds of tons of carbon dioxide in generating it. Isn't that wonderful in the times of global warming and climate change?

The move takes a bow from all environment-conscious citizens of Kolkata. As implementing greater use of solar power in core areas of usage (domestic and industrial) is not an easy ballgame and will take time to take place in a significant way, identifying outdoor advertising for this is indeed wise.

Mohun Bagan does it again

A happy news to share here: Mohun Bagan defeated Chirag United 1-0 a while back to become the Kolkata football league champion. And that's three times in a row! Congrats to the green-maroon brigade. A great feat.

Amanush review

My Amanush review is live on Washington Bangla Radio. Do read and post comments.

Amanush is the new Bengali release directed by Rajib (Who debuted with Dujone last year) and stars Soham and Shrabanti. It has been produced by Shree Venkatesh Films.

RIP

RIP, Goopi Gayen.

Tapen Chattopadhyay is no more. But he is immortal in our memory as his legendary screen character.

The leading men

Dev and Jeet at the sets of Dui Prithibi- a Venkatesh Films movie under production. It is Raj Chakraborty's next after 'Ley Chhakka'. Straight from the Tweeter photo album of the producer.

Pictures

Here are some pictures of the city lovingly shot by Sayantan Roy, a photographer by passion from the city.

Anybody interested in buying the photographs/ using them can contact Sayantan at sayantan.dts@gmail.com.

First look: Ekti Tarar Khoje

Here's the first poster of 'Ekti Tarar Khoje'- the next release from Screenplay Films (of Anuranan and Antaheen fame). Produced by Aniruddha Roy Choudhury, this film marks the Bangla directorial debut of celebrated cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay (who shot Antaheen) and the comeback of the beautiful Arpita Pal (surely looking her best in this film) who pairs with Shayan Munshi (who we all missed so much after his brilliant debut in Bangla cinema in 'The Bong Connection'). Kolkata can't wait to watch it.

The teaser

This teaser of a movie is all over the city now. Seems to be rolled out about two days back. No prizes for guessing the film for those who've been to this blog in the last few days. The release is more than a month later. Looks like the makers of the film are going to do the whole hog to generate a big initial.

Le Chakka trailer

The trailer for Le Chakka- Raj Chakraborty's ambitious film based on an original script (on which he made a telefilm called Nagar Basanta on Zee Bangla years back) is out. After his first three films that were remakes of Southern hits Raj deliberately changed direction. He ventured outside Venkatesh Films and made the kind of film he wanted to. Le Chakka, written and scripted by Padmanava Dasgupta (Who also wrote Cross Connection), is quintessential Bengali in subject that deals with gali cricket, North Kolkata and South Kolkata divide and Ghoti vs Bangal. Needless to say the film is keenly awaited.

Srabanti- the flavour of the season

First, a grand comeback in Bhalobasa Bhalobasa in 2008, then Dujone happened in 2009 with the new heartthrob of the audience- Dev, now the well-hyped Amanush is released by Venkatesh Films in whose Champion she last worked before bidding goodbye for marriage and family in 2003. She's doing another with Venkatesh opposite Jeet......and yet another with the same house opposite Dev.

She looks set to be the flavour of the season and being in the good book of Venkatesh takes care of everything to ensure that.

A little rewind: about a year back Subhashree was in the limelight for her two back-to-back releases opposite Dev from Venkatesh. Wonder what happened to the girl who's not known to have signed another movie after the last of those two mentioned (Paran Jaye Joliya Re).

A look at Bioscope

A look at Bioscope- the new 4-screener in the city multiplex circuit, at New Town, Rajarhat (Opposite Home Town).









1. Box office at the mall facade.
2. Entrance (second box office at the left).
3. The Egyptian theme decor in the Cleopatra auditorium.
4. The Satyajit Ray corner.
5. The spacious lobby.
6. Sandip Ray is checking out the pictures at Ray corner.

A family affair

I had noted that Future Group has positioned its pilot format Big Bazaar Family Centre, opened recently in Sealdah, as a family destination unlike your neighbourhood Big Bazaar. By design it is located next to the court adjacent to Sealdah station, thereby offering good access to the people going to and coming out of the station, also those from the locality and surrounding areas. Great choice of location indeed, since it will attract thousands of people passing through Sealdah station everyday, besides households in surrounding localities in equal measure, who possibly have wished they had a Big Bazaar in vicity.

The first thing I noticed on my trip two Sundays back was that there are ethnically built stalls selling phuchka to biriani at the right hand side, giving the place a 'mela' feel as one walks past the gate. There is an Aminia selling biriani and firni, a Bawarchi (Kolkata's largest roll chain) selling its enormous range of rolls and Metro Dairy selling ice cream. The store is four-storeyed and spacious. The food court called ‘Chowpatty’ at the top floor has offerings in snacks and main course in North Indian, South Indian, Mughlai and Chinese. Attached to it are other outlets like a Monginis, Wow Momo (a momo chain) and, interestingly and wisely placed, a Bengali cuisine outlet called ‘Bhuter Raja Dilo Bor’ (named after the famous song from the Satyajit Ray classic ‘Goopi Gayen Bagha Bayen’). The prices in Chowpatty are moderate in most dishes and ‘Bhuter Raja Dilo Bor’ too has got the pricing right- a veg thali comes at Rs 25 and fish thali at Rs 35. I strongly feel the portion sizes are not likely to satisfy an average rice-loving Bengali. But that’s OK, it is a filling meal for an average person for sure. The hypermarket will attract more and more floating customers thanks to Sealdah station and ‘Bhuter Raja Dilo Bor’ will be just the right offering for the rice-loving Bengali walking in during afternoon.

The price range is also pretty down to earth. For an instance Big Bazaar’s two new store labels in shirts have products at Rs 195 and Rs 295. I am not sure whether other Big Bazaars stock this range.

I always advocate a middle class solution in businesses like retail, food and entertainment. The prices vis-à-vis offering should be such that makes strong sense to an average middle class consumer who is highly value-conscious. If this balance can be achieved, the business will have a giant market to cater to.

Pantaloons and Big Bazaar originated from this city and turned into big success stories and cult retail brands giving shape to the Future Group empire. It will be interesting to follow the developments in this 'Big Bazaar Family Centre' format which is entrusted at the headquarters level with Ashni Biyani, daughter of Pantaloons head honcho Kishore Biyani.

Bioscope- the new baby

Bioscope- the new six-screen multiplex from the house of Priya Entertainments, and Axis, the mall by Bengal Peerless, where it is located were inaugurated in a grand event last evening, marking Poila Baisakh. After inaugural speeches, including one by Chief Guest Somnath Chatterjee(Ex-speaker), Chandrabindoo took the stage. It was followed by the premiere of Jodi Ekdin- Riingo's new flick with Priyanka, Indraneil Sengupta and Saheb Chatterjee in the cast.

Bioscope, the most ambitious project of Arijit Dutta (the Managing Director of Priya Entertainments) till date distinguishes itself being the first 'theme multiplex' in India, with a separate design theme on wall/ roof of each audi. So Cleopatra is the one, the largest with a proper stage with complete stagecraft for cultural shows, with an Egyptian theme decor, Aqua is with an underwater theme, Astro with a sky theme and 180 BC with a cave theme. The other two auditoriums will be used as a kids play zone (named 'Just Kiddin') and as a rehersal place for group theare (named 'Rangamancha'). The lobby is huge and has a Satyajit Ray corner, featuring film posters and rare stills of the behind-the-camera and personal life of the maestro, as its USP. But the pricing will take the cake. Mr Dutta has sworn to changed the paradigm and boradbase the multiplex audience by shifting his sight from the well-heeled and the upwardly mobile to the middle class through a down-to-earth pricing of Rs 50 to Rs 75 throughout the week for all shows. To add to it, Bioscope will accomodate Bengali cinema in its prime shows, unlike its peers, and just like Priya Cinema and Star Theatre- two of the best single-screen theatres in town (run by Priya Entertainments) where Hindi and Bangla releases co-exist smoothly.

The launch was well-attended by the dignitaries and celebrities. Spotted Koyel with father Ranjit Mullick, PC Sorcar with Joyshree Sorcar and daughters- Maneka, Moubani and Mumtaz, Dev, director duo Sudeshna Roy-Abhijit Guha, Mahendra Soni (of Venkatesh Films), Ashok Dhanuka (of Eskay Movies) apart from the cast & crew of Jodi Ekdin- Priyanka (with actor boyfriend Rahul), Indraneil (with actress wife Barkha Bisht), Saheb (never spotted in proximity of 'good friend' Mumtaz), Riingo and Rii(Rituparna Sen with a smart, trendy name, possibly to distinguish herself from her famous namesake in the industry). Post-premiere, a lavish cocktail dinner spread was laid out by Aheli- the Bengali cuisine restaurant of Peerless that opened its new branch at the same floor of Bioscope yesterday). There also was a fireworks show to add glitz to the event.

It remains to be seen how the audience warms up to Bioscope in the coming months. With exams over it's back to movie-watching time again and quite a few Bengali releases, both mainstream and alternative cinema, are waiting to be released in April-May. Here's wishing Bioscope all the best.

The attack

I had some regards for Mr SK Roy, the Peerless group head, having known his contribution in building a big corporation out of a modest entity. But watching him speak to the press after yesterday's mob attack to Peerless Hospital after it allegedly refused treatment to accident victims unless security deposit was made wasn't a pleasure. He kept on accusing the mob attack of an act of vested interest and defending his hospital. Never was there a mention whether treatment was offered to the hapless, some of who died because of the denial. It's a big question whether private hospitals, no matter however big a name, with possibly an exception of RTIICS, have changed much even after the Supreme Court ruling and state govt. circular that nobody can be denied emergency treatment.

Dress a Bong

11.13 am
It's 'Dress a Bong' today at my new workplace- a marketing services agency specializing in direct marketing, loyalty marketing and relationship marketing. An idea from HR, it's meant to be our way to celebrate Noboborsho, or Bengali new year, that's up middle of next week. The best and authentically dressed will be awarded today on spot.

The last few days post the announcement of this has witnessed a lot of girl talk about how to report to work in saree from someone's faraway home, how to manage a saree and even how to wear one. A Team Leader at the contact centre at my floor even suggested all the male colleagues should come in dhuti (dhoti) if the female counterparts are expected to come in saree (as many on both sides will be ill at ease managing the respective attire). The accessories were also discussed.

I couldn't take up the courage to walk in a dhuti. It's extremely risky to wear one travelling in local train and getting down at Dum Dum station among the crowd. Possibility is there that the dhuti comes off, leaving one in a mess. So it's punjabi-pajama (kurta-pajama) for me and kolhapuri chappals worn after years.

It's good fun for the security and housekeeping staff checking out everyone's dressing, as they are in their uniform.

Waiting for the announcement of winners.

1.13 pm
As expected, the female brigade looks set to give the males a run for their money. Some of them have changed in quintessential Bengali women attire (red border saree, matching red blouse and imitation jewellery etc) after stepping into office. Compliments like 'Oh, you are looking so cute' are flowing in every now and then.

Chhoy-e Chhuti review

Watched Chhoy-e Chhuti - the Bengali film directed by debutant Aniket Chattopadhyay (also known as the News Editor of Kolkata TV)- the other day and posted the review on Washington Bangla Radio as my first professional writing assignment. Do post your feedback here.

Kudos, Team Antaheen

It is so heartening and feels so proud to know the honours Antaheen bagged at the National Film Awards. It won the Best Film award, Abhik Mukhopadhyay the Best Cinematographer, Shreya Ghosal the Best Singer and last but not definitely the least our very own Anindya Chattopadhyay and Chandril Bhattacharya the Best Lyricist.

Take a bow- winners (Including Screenplay Films- the production house) and Team Antaheen. Do keep up the good work and keep us- hungry souls for enjoyable, meaningful cinema- hooked.

Thana Theke Aschhi

Thana Theke Aaschhi- Saron Dutta's screen adaptation of the Bengali drama of the same name written by Ajit Gangopadhyay sixty years ago, featuring Ajitesh Bandopadhyay and Tripti Mitra, and not a remake of the well-known Uttam Kumar film, also of the same name, as revealed by the director, is hitting the theatres on 29 January.

While the Facebook group on the film, a thriller, is uncannily silent (No discussions by any of the 216 memners, not even by the producer who's the admin), with the solo thread posted by me last July requesting a character sketch, the latest addition there are the stills. Perhaps the makers didn't find a better way to promote it on Facebook. Bangla cinema, especially alternative cinema, really needs a social media consultant. It does make sense to make the best of this emerging media platform at hardly any cost, thereby suiting the tiny promotional budget of alternative cinema.

Here's some select stills.

Two new offerings at Priya

Priya, Kolkata's most loved cinema hall, has two recent additions in its F&B bouquet. In November '09 came Gelato Italiano near the advance ticket counter- the first ever gelato parlour in a single-screen theatre in the city. And Arambagh's Chicken opened a counter at the balcony floor this month.

Gelato Italiano, a brand of Pan India Food Solutions- a Future Group company, had a flying start as it bowled over the Priya customers, and may be some passers-by too, being located almost on the footpath, at the main gate, with its super tempting inaugural offer of Rs 9 a cup for all flavours to generate quick trials.

Arambagh's seems to be a bit struggling and there's an interesting insight here. The balcony tickets are priced Rs 115 and Rs 125, and there are few Bengalis, known for being extremely value-conscious, who prefer that place. And the non-Bengali customers have a marked preference towards vegetarian food. Was it of better sense to locate the counter at the first floor that houses all the stalls- rear to front, thereby getting exposure to more Bengali customers who love their chicken dishes? time will tell.

Tolly wishlist 2010

Here'a my 2010 wishlist for Tollygunge- the hub of Bangla cinema.

1. Sri Venkatesh Films continues dabbling in alternative cinema (starting again after years with Iti Mrinalini , and Autograph in the pipeline) and does a good job of it.

2. Raj Chakraborty and Anjan Dutta turn successful producers.

3. The industry gets a handful of good writers in mainstream cinema.

4. (By some strange twist of luck) Rrishii Kaushik is cast as Feluda in Jato Kando Kathmandute- the next Feluda flick to be shot this year.

5. Shantanu Moitra makes more music. Pherari mon and Jao pakhi are refusing to go out of the system.

6. Radhika Apte comes back to act in more films. Her Antaheen debut has left a mark that no other fresher has been able to match in a long time.

7. Saran Dutta's Thana Theke Aschhi doesn't take long to release. Those who liked his Shikar (2006) are finding the wait for his next movie endless.

8. Mainak Bhaumik gets on the floor to shoot his next film as a 'director'. It's too sad the 'Aamra' director has to wait for this long to start his next film (Machh, Mishti and More- a sequel to The Bong Connection that he edited).

9. Deserving Bengali films get prime time shows in the multiplexes regularly.

10. More directors who know their craft (after Raj Chakraborty), are hardworking and focussed join Bangla mainstream cinema taking it to an aspirational level of entertainment.

A look at Bangla cinema 2009

1. The year of Shri Venkatesh Films: 5 releases (Jackpot, Challenge, Saat Pake Bandha, Poran Jaye Jwoliya Re, Prem Amaar), 2 superhits, 1 flop.

2. Emergence of Screenplay Films: With the success of Antaheen, they proved that they can make their kind of films (that fall in the alternative cinema space), yet have a strong audience connect. Antaheen brought a new slice of audience to theatres, among others- middle-aged, urban, educated, upper middle class housewives in groups. In the coming years this house seems set to move from strength to strength, with all eyes currently on their under-production Ekti Tarar Khoje that brings back Shayan Munshi after his impressive debut in The Bong Connection in 2007 and Arpita Chatterjee (erstwhile Arpita Pal) in a delightful comeback after her marriage with Prosenjit.

3. Rise of Raj Chakraborty: He consolidated his position this year with the blockbuster Challenge that took Bangla cinema a few notches up in the entertainment quotient, and Prem Amaar, after last year's thunderous debut Chirodini Tumi Je Amaar, and skyrocketed to the top slot of directors. The entire industry is watching him and audience expectation is rising with every release. His mantra is: Never repeat yourself.

4. The copyright suit: The makers of Namaste London taught a lesson to the makers of Poran Jaye Jwoliya Re and their peers that indiscriminate remaking can be dangerous. It resulted in acknowledging 7G Rainbow Colony in the opening credits of Prem Amaar as the original film.

5. More success in alternative cinema: Antaheen, Madly Bangalee and Cross Connection have had a good to decent run at the box office, injecting more promise in sensible cinema.

6. Fading out of Rituparno Ghosh: The erstwhile toast of the educated urban Bengali had just one release- Shob Choritro Kalponik- that failed to make a mark. In the last few years audience waited too long to watch his films to hold patience and stay interested. All his films are lying in the post-production stage or in the cans for too long leading to a substantial loss of interest in him.

7. Comeback of Jee-Ko:The most successful pair of the last decade, Jeet-Koel, came back in Saat Pake Bandha to hit the screens after they parted ways two years back.

8. The magic of DI: DI or Digital Intermediate- a special effects tool- transformed 'Dujone' and lent the film a never-seen-before gloss that hooked the audience.