Kolkata Curry cheers to the news of Belur Math and Dakshineshwar Temple going solar (Published in Times of India today). Due credit goes to the newly set up green research centre at Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) for taking up the project. It's also heartening to know that Bengal's green energy champion SP Gon Chaudhuri who was the Managing Director of West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation (WBGEDC) some time back is now the advisor to the state on renewable energy and involved with the project.
These heritage institutions with large campuses, drawing thousands of people regularly, will be showing the way in saving a great deal of conventional energy that can be used to light up other places.
The next on line are two more heritage institutions - Indian Museum and Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah. Kudos to BESU for championing green energy, starting off with public places that matter in terms of scale, at this critical time of global climate change.
The flavour of Kolkata
The city is known for its old alleys. One such is shot by Atanu Pal.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
'Makha sandesh' from Bhatpara
Relished the famous 'Makha sandesh' (It is the sandesh in dough form - a distinct variant of the famous Bengali sweetmeat) from Bhatpara, located near Kankinara railway station on the Sealdah main line. It was gifted by our next-door neighbour hailing from that place. Packed in a saal leaf inside the paper box, it was utterly d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s.
I didn't have high regards for sweets from Bhatpara, as my brush thus far was limited to a reddish syrupy sweet (typical of the place) that I had been offered on several occasions and found to be excessively sweet. But I loved the makha sandesh. Shall look forward to more of this delicacy.
I didn't have high regards for sweets from Bhatpara, as my brush thus far was limited to a reddish syrupy sweet (typical of the place) that I had been offered on several occasions and found to be excessively sweet. But I loved the makha sandesh. Shall look forward to more of this delicacy.
A cool Bengali tongue-twister
Kolikatar Kalighater Kalichoron Kormokarer Konishtha Konya Komolkoli Kormokar Kopal Kunchito Koriya Kohilo,'Kalukaka Kalukaka,Kak Keno Ka-Ka Kore'?
Shared by Shreyas Surya Dasgupta, a friend, on his Facebook wall. Couldn't resist sharing this with you, the KC readers.
Do try it if you are game for tongue-twisters. Tongue-twister is a part of Bengali and Indian culture and finds its place in films (A good example would be the picnic sequence in Ray's Shakha Prashakha) to reality shows to good old Bengali adda.
Shared by Shreyas Surya Dasgupta, a friend, on his Facebook wall. Couldn't resist sharing this with you, the KC readers.
Do try it if you are game for tongue-twisters. Tongue-twister is a part of Bengali and Indian culture and finds its place in films (A good example would be the picnic sequence in Ray's Shakha Prashakha) to reality shows to good old Bengali adda.
Friday, March 18, 2011
MySpace debuts in t2
Ever since t2 has become 24 pages (from 1st January this year) I've wondered like some others I know if team t2 knew what to do with the additional space. I saw regular sections (like Tollywood, Bollywood et al.) expanded to 2 or more pages to utilise the space. Larger pictures, a signature characteristic of t2, are being seen in higher numbers and more often. Not much of new sections or sub-sections are visible.
So it was pleasant to look at MySpace which debuted as part of the Tollywood section today featuring a close look at Koneenica Banerjee's life at home in Kolkata (She has shifted to Mumbai for greener pastures three years back).
Findings about Koni (as she is referred to in industry circuits)? She is a cleanliness freak, and cleans up her place or put things in order everyday, she loves to Facebook, she can cook and rustle up a machher jhol, one of her favourites, in 5 minutes flat, does pranayam every morning (for the past three years) and...........has put back all the weight she had lost a few years back.
Read MySpace here. Would love to have your comments.
So it was pleasant to look at MySpace which debuted as part of the Tollywood section today featuring a close look at Koneenica Banerjee's life at home in Kolkata (She has shifted to Mumbai for greener pastures three years back).
Findings about Koni (as she is referred to in industry circuits)? She is a cleanliness freak, and cleans up her place or put things in order everyday, she loves to Facebook, she can cook and rustle up a machher jhol, one of her favourites, in 5 minutes flat, does pranayam every morning (for the past three years) and...........has put back all the weight she had lost a few years back.
Read MySpace here. Would love to have your comments.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Run-up to elections 1: Two distinct candidates
Amit Mitra, Padmashree, Ex-Secretary General of FICCI, noted ecomoist.
Being fielded by Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the Khardaha constituency for 2011 assembly elections in West Bengal, against Asim Dasgupta, Finance Minister. Looks like a smart move.
Bratya Basu, noted playwright, actor (Play and television), play and film director.
Being fielded by Trinamool Congress in the Dum Dum constituency, against Gautam Deb, Housing Minister. His getting a ticket wasn't unexpected.
If they and their party win, will they become the Finance Minister and Information & Culture Minister respectively?
Monday, March 14, 2011
The mystery is over
Srijit Mukherjee unveiled his new film this month. Finished with the controversial script (Read my earlier post Storm over the mystery pages), he let out that this is a ‘Serial killer-cop drama’ where a group of special branch police officers are investigating a series of murders in the city.
Crime thriller is a less-explored genre in contemporary Bangla cinema. Hence Srijit is spot on in picking the subject of his second venture, curiously named 22shey Srabon, after his immensely successful debut with Autograph. Enriching the film that will show the dark side of Kolkata will be the ensemble cast. Prosenjit will be playing Prabir Guha Neogi (the protagonist), a senior police officer, with a mix of attitude, sense of humour and body language that will make him different from familiar cop characters in Bangla movies (Rahul Bose also played an intelligent senior police officer in Antaheen, but he wasn’t shown much in work). Working with him will be Abhijit Pakrashi, an intelligent, bright, young officer coming from small town Bengal, played by Parambrata Chattopadhyay, and Rajesh Sharma as another interesting cop. Raima Sen and Abir Chatterjee play two characters who happen to be childhood friends, working in a television channel. Raima Sen and Abir Chatterjee will be shown as childhood friends who work in a television channel. Raima plays Amrita- a spirited and tough journalist. Parambrata is her love interest (they will be seen in a relationship again after The Bong Connection in 2007). And Srijit has done no short of a casting coup in bringing back Goutam Ghose before the camera to portray an eccentric poet from the sixties. I still recall his tough nut investigative journalist act long back in Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Grihajuddha (1982). He last acted in a cameo in a French film called The Wall (1983), so it’s a gap of 28 years before he’s going to face the camera again! Anupam 'Autograph' Roy will be scoring the film which will have five songs, including two romantic songs, and two intense ones “heavily influenced by classical music” as he put it.
A little peek into Prabir Guha Neogi - He lives in an old mansion in north Kolkata, and has a rich, old-fashioned taste. The pride that Srijit has showed in this character was once immortalized by Chhobi Biswas in many films, including Jalsaghar. He is clued into modern technology but prefers gramophone to CD player for listening to his favourite music. Termed ‘mad’ by his department and suspended, he is recalled to solve the murder case. He is arrogant and treats his juniors like slaves, but eventually bonds with them as a father figure as the story progresses. A very, very unconventional and intriguing protagonist, isn’t he?
Am keen to come back on 22shey Srabon, produced by Shree Venkatesh Films. Watch this blog.
Crime thriller is a less-explored genre in contemporary Bangla cinema. Hence Srijit is spot on in picking the subject of his second venture, curiously named 22shey Srabon, after his immensely successful debut with Autograph. Enriching the film that will show the dark side of Kolkata will be the ensemble cast. Prosenjit will be playing Prabir Guha Neogi (the protagonist), a senior police officer, with a mix of attitude, sense of humour and body language that will make him different from familiar cop characters in Bangla movies (Rahul Bose also played an intelligent senior police officer in Antaheen, but he wasn’t shown much in work). Working with him will be Abhijit Pakrashi, an intelligent, bright, young officer coming from small town Bengal, played by Parambrata Chattopadhyay, and Rajesh Sharma as another interesting cop. Raima Sen and Abir Chatterjee play two characters who happen to be childhood friends, working in a television channel. Raima Sen and Abir Chatterjee will be shown as childhood friends who work in a television channel. Raima plays Amrita- a spirited and tough journalist. Parambrata is her love interest (they will be seen in a relationship again after The Bong Connection in 2007). And Srijit has done no short of a casting coup in bringing back Goutam Ghose before the camera to portray an eccentric poet from the sixties. I still recall his tough nut investigative journalist act long back in Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Grihajuddha (1982). He last acted in a cameo in a French film called The Wall (1983), so it’s a gap of 28 years before he’s going to face the camera again! Anupam 'Autograph' Roy will be scoring the film which will have five songs, including two romantic songs, and two intense ones “heavily influenced by classical music” as he put it.
A little peek into Prabir Guha Neogi - He lives in an old mansion in north Kolkata, and has a rich, old-fashioned taste. The pride that Srijit has showed in this character was once immortalized by Chhobi Biswas in many films, including Jalsaghar. He is clued into modern technology but prefers gramophone to CD player for listening to his favourite music. Termed ‘mad’ by his department and suspended, he is recalled to solve the murder case. He is arrogant and treats his juniors like slaves, but eventually bonds with them as a father figure as the story progresses. A very, very unconventional and intriguing protagonist, isn’t he?
Am keen to come back on 22shey Srabon, produced by Shree Venkatesh Films. Watch this blog.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Challenge Nibi Na....
Shooting stills of Challenge Nibi Na - the under-production reality show on Bangla television (Re: Earlier post Bangla avatars of national shows) jointly produced by Kaustuv Roy's RP Techvision and Nitesh Sharma's Bangla Talkies, targeted at an adult audience. The show will have celebrities 'fighting' it out in the real sense of the term for the top prize (Rs 10 lakh). As per media reports the fight often got dirty and abusive. The show will be aired on ETV in a few months.
The first photograph shows Silajit in a sack race. And the last shows the men behind-the-scenes including co-producer Nitesh Sharma (First from left) and line producer Saran Dutta (second from left, in specs).
'Memories in March'
.
Loved the promo of debutant Sanjay Nag-directed Memories in March. It's an English film made in Kolkata with Deepti Naval, Rituparno Ghosh and Raima Sen in the cast, under the banner of Shree Venkatesh Films. It's about a mother's discovery of a slice of her son's life (he lives in a different city for work) after his death. The well-made promo gives a peek into this sensitive film that may touch a raw chord. Looking forward to the release on April 1.
Loved the promo of debutant Sanjay Nag-directed Memories in March. It's an English film made in Kolkata with Deepti Naval, Rituparno Ghosh and Raima Sen in the cast, under the banner of Shree Venkatesh Films. It's about a mother's discovery of a slice of her son's life (he lives in a different city for work) after his death. The well-made promo gives a peek into this sensitive film that may touch a raw chord. Looking forward to the release on April 1.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Royal Bengal Rahasya
It's news now! Feluda's next - Royal Bengal Rahasya - one of the most thrilling adventures of Feluda - is being produced by Shree Venkatesh Films. Directed by Sandeep Ray of course, starring Sabyasachi Chakraborty as Feluda, Saheb Bhattacharya as Topshe and Bibhu Bhattacharya as Jatayu.
SVF will be the fourth banner producing a Feluda film directed by Sandeep Ray, after D Rama Naidu (Bombaiyer Bombete), T Sarkar Productions (Kailashe Kelenkari and Tintorettor Jishu, after taking over the latter from RD Banshal & Co. under-production) and V3G Films (Gorosthane Sabdhan).
Am sure the SVF stamp will be visible on Royal Bengal Rahasya, from production to the marketing.
SVF will be the fourth banner producing a Feluda film directed by Sandeep Ray, after D Rama Naidu (Bombaiyer Bombete), T Sarkar Productions (Kailashe Kelenkari and Tintorettor Jishu, after taking over the latter from RD Banshal & Co. under-production) and V3G Films (Gorosthane Sabdhan).
Am sure the SVF stamp will be visible on Royal Bengal Rahasya, from production to the marketing.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
A new breakfast option
I lament at the fact that Kolkata does not have a good breakfast market. The options are handful for a breakfast. The main choices are toast (with butter or jelly), omelette and kachuri-alur tarkari.
Was surprised to find this tandoori roti stall that operates in the morning by the flyover at Sealdah (on the road at the right from Jagat cinema end to the station). There were many takers, including some students presumably on way back from their coaching class, relishing the healthy breakfast option. The curries they serve with the over-fresh rotis include tarka, matar paneer, mixed paneer (paneer with veggies) and 1-2 other paneer dishes, alur dum, chana masala and mixed vegetables. And the prices are at market rates of street vendors (Tandoori roti at Rs 2 apiece and half a plate of tarka at Rs 7).
The makeshift stall operates in the evening also, feeding lots of hungry, Sealdah rail station-bound officegoers, and I suppose they are open at lunch hours too. A day's business must be pretty good for the youngsters who man it, as they are strategically located on way to the station. Their success may inspire many others to open up roadside eateries serving tandoori roti right since the morning.
Was surprised to find this tandoori roti stall that operates in the morning by the flyover at Sealdah (on the road at the right from Jagat cinema end to the station). There were many takers, including some students presumably on way back from their coaching class, relishing the healthy breakfast option. The curries they serve with the over-fresh rotis include tarka, matar paneer, mixed paneer (paneer with veggies) and 1-2 other paneer dishes, alur dum, chana masala and mixed vegetables. And the prices are at market rates of street vendors (Tandoori roti at Rs 2 apiece and half a plate of tarka at Rs 7).
The makeshift stall operates in the evening also, feeding lots of hungry, Sealdah rail station-bound officegoers, and I suppose they are open at lunch hours too. A day's business must be pretty good for the youngsters who man it, as they are strategically located on way to the station. Their success may inspire many others to open up roadside eateries serving tandoori roti right since the morning.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Real women...
.....have curves. And real men truly appreciate that.
And thank you t2 for always celebrating real women, like in todays cover story.
And thank you t2 for always celebrating real women, like in todays cover story.
Friday, March 04, 2011
LCD screens at metro
Was happy to learn from a junior colleague that LCD TVs are being installed at metro stations in the city, replacing the old, bulky television sets. Never thought the process would be rolled out so fast. Noticed the other day one LCD TV at Dum Dum station, at the platform where a journey begins, and heard that the other sets there have also been replaced.
The old sets far outlived their lives, and at Dum Dum some of them adopted their own colour themes. So in one set the picture looked green and it looked purple in another. Such was the pathetic state they were in. Now, this new development indeed is far ahead of expectation.
It seems to be a reflection of the large funds sanctioned for Kolkata metro by the new Railways minister, after years of neglect by central government.
The old sets far outlived their lives, and at Dum Dum some of them adopted their own colour themes. So in one set the picture looked green and it looked purple in another. Such was the pathetic state they were in. Now, this new development indeed is far ahead of expectation.
It seems to be a reflection of the large funds sanctioned for Kolkata metro by the new Railways minister, after years of neglect by central government.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Chinese street joint 1
Had lunch from this Chinese joint on RN Mukherjee Rd on 26 February. Run by an old Chinese man, this place offers what every average middle class Bengali identify as the basic Chinese dishes – fried rice, chowmein and chili chicken, along with Vegetable Manchurian. Unlike an average roadside Chinese joint they serve chili dipped vinegar along with chili and tomato sauces (Though not a Chinese sauce, they possibly serve it on popular demand).
I ordered a plate of vegetable fried rice and two pieces of Chili Chicken (they sell it by pieces like an average street joint, reflecting the democratization of this dish that happened more than a decade back) and took two more pieces later. They didn’t spoil the fried rice by adding soya sauce, and the chili chicken had adequate chicken in it, unlike some of the joints where you find little of it inside the thick cornflour crust. The rice was well-cooked with the right vegetables. The chicken was not pungent and the gravy was slightly lighter than its street counterparts. And the prices were as per market rates only (Vegetable fried rice at Rs 14 a plate).
They cater to the lunch market and wrap up by 5 pm. The joint is located at the crossing of Mangoe Lane and RN Mukherjee Rd, at the sidewalk by the old CTC office at 14 RN Mukherjee Rd. Would like to come back.
I ordered a plate of vegetable fried rice and two pieces of Chili Chicken (they sell it by pieces like an average street joint, reflecting the democratization of this dish that happened more than a decade back) and took two more pieces later. They didn’t spoil the fried rice by adding soya sauce, and the chili chicken had adequate chicken in it, unlike some of the joints where you find little of it inside the thick cornflour crust. The rice was well-cooked with the right vegetables. The chicken was not pungent and the gravy was slightly lighter than its street counterparts. And the prices were as per market rates only (Vegetable fried rice at Rs 14 a plate).
They cater to the lunch market and wrap up by 5 pm. The joint is located at the crossing of Mangoe Lane and RN Mukherjee Rd, at the sidewalk by the old CTC office at 14 RN Mukherjee Rd. Would like to come back.
Life in metro : 1
Given Kolkata’s fast rising preference for the metro as the best mode of mass transport, recently noticed in a big way after the extension from Tollygunge to Garia, the announcement of airconditioned rakes coming in was like a dream. But the experience of service so far has varied from pleasant to below par.
Boarded one such train (There is one, or two at the most now) from Dum Dum, the terminal station, on 26 February on way to work. The AC wasn’t working, and it started feeling hot, and suffocated to some older co-passengers. Some of them remarked that the regular rakes are better and they are happy with them as they allow air flow. Some said that if there was a problem in running the AC, this rake should not be run at office hours. To add to it, the announcement of next station in public address system which is in sync with the LCD display in the compartment was wrong. Some joked at the announcement bit that since it was just after the rail budget day, the Metro staff were probably taking it easy. The airconditioning was started and the announcement (and the display) got corrected at Central station (The 7th station from Dum Dum).
To be fair, I’ve boarded an AC rake a couple of times in the past. The airconditioning works fine, and coupled with the new design, the experience was cool.
As summer approaches, the crowd for AC metro is set to rise a lot this year. It’s high time the snags are rectified, else it can give vent to passenger dissent in a major outburst. Till it is smoothly operated, running the rakes in off-peak hours may not be a bad idea.
Boarded one such train (There is one, or two at the most now) from Dum Dum, the terminal station, on 26 February on way to work. The AC wasn’t working, and it started feeling hot, and suffocated to some older co-passengers. Some of them remarked that the regular rakes are better and they are happy with them as they allow air flow. Some said that if there was a problem in running the AC, this rake should not be run at office hours. To add to it, the announcement of next station in public address system which is in sync with the LCD display in the compartment was wrong. Some joked at the announcement bit that since it was just after the rail budget day, the Metro staff were probably taking it easy. The airconditioning was started and the announcement (and the display) got corrected at Central station (The 7th station from Dum Dum).
To be fair, I’ve boarded an AC rake a couple of times in the past. The airconditioning works fine, and coupled with the new design, the experience was cool.
As summer approaches, the crowd for AC metro is set to rise a lot this year. It’s high time the snags are rectified, else it can give vent to passenger dissent in a major outburst. Till it is smoothly operated, running the rakes in off-peak hours may not be a bad idea.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Srabanti and Ananya - most searched on KC
Srabanti (Picture on top) tops as the most-searched celebrity on Kolkata Curry, closely followed by Ananya Chatterjee (Picture above), as the blog traffic analysis by Blogger.com shows! And it's happening for the last few months. A true reflection of how their work is working for them in the popularity charts.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Bangla avatars of national shows
Looks like it's the season of Bangla avatars of reality shows on national television. After Challenge Nibi Na, a show apparently inspired by Desi Girl that was aired on NDTV Imagine, being produced by Kaustuv Roy of RP Techvision and Bangla Talkies and currently being shot in a village in Bolpur, Venkatesh Films announced its forthcoming reality show on Star Jalsha, having seemingly taken inspirtaion from Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao, which was aired on Sony Entertainment Television, on Facebook today.
Challenge Nibi Na will feature celebrities like Swastika Mukherjee, Arindam Sil, Rimjhim Mitra, Sohini Pal, Kanchan Mullick among others. It will engage the celebrity participants in various rustic games and tasks (incl. ploughing) for a good number of days, totally cut off from their familiar urban life.
The Venkatesh show will challenge the participants, this time it's common people, to survive 1000 hours in a jungle. Those interested can call 9062428521 to register.
It's hot on Bangla reality television now. Looking forward to more interesting bits on the shows and more.
Challenge Nibi Na will feature celebrities like Swastika Mukherjee, Arindam Sil, Rimjhim Mitra, Sohini Pal, Kanchan Mullick among others. It will engage the celebrity participants in various rustic games and tasks (incl. ploughing) for a good number of days, totally cut off from their familiar urban life.
The Venkatesh show will challenge the participants, this time it's common people, to survive 1000 hours in a jungle. Those interested can call 9062428521 to register.
It's hot on Bangla reality television now. Looking forward to more interesting bits on the shows and more.
Monday, February 07, 2011
Storm over the mystery pages
The extra-sensational story by Indranil Roy on Patrika (the Saturday supplement of Ananda Bazar Patrika) on 5th February has surely made the audience of Bangla meaningful cinema sit up and take notice, especially those who watched and liked Autograph. The story clearly hints at a suspicious resemblance of the script of Srijit’s new film, a thriller about a serial killer, to a script penned by noted film journalist Pratim D Gupta.
Those who follow Pratim may know about his script-writing, and an aspiration to make films one day. As per the story in Patrika Pratim penned a similar script years back and have been trying to make it into a film thereafter. In his script the killer’s victims are from the film industry. Pratim had even spoken to Rituparno Ghosh long back to make him act in a character from the film industry. As per Indranil’s story Rituparno noticed the similarities between the scripts after he heard Srijit’s. Prosenjit is playing one of the lead characters, of a police officer, in Srijit’s film. And he is one who has heard both scripts. He reportedly denied hearing Pratim’s script in full and maintained that he didn’t notice any similarity between Srijit’s script and whatever he heard from Pratim’s.
Pratim is obviously hurt, and refused a patch-up appeal from Srijit over phone. He might contemplate legal action if it is true that it’s his script that Srijit is going to film, despite clever changes as reported. The story also informs that one of such changes was shifting the victims from the film industry to the world of music, and Anjan Dutta was approached by Srijit to play such a character, but he refused because of the controversy.
The action has obviously spread to Facebook, where Roopa Ganguly has put up a sarcastic remark on her wall and rubbished the story in Patrika in Srijit’s favour, and also wondered how without proper evidence such a story can come up in a paper of Ananda Bazar Patrika’s repute. Srijit has commented in response to to his fan’s comments on the social networking site that he will take his stance when it’s time. Pratim has poured in his heart about his dream script having got hijacked by someone. Director Aniket Chattopadhyay, basking in the glory of ‘Bye Bye Bankok’, his January ’11 success, has pledged his support to Pratim.
Will be keen to follow the developments, and keep you posted. Watch this space.
Those who follow Pratim may know about his script-writing, and an aspiration to make films one day. As per the story in Patrika Pratim penned a similar script years back and have been trying to make it into a film thereafter. In his script the killer’s victims are from the film industry. Pratim had even spoken to Rituparno Ghosh long back to make him act in a character from the film industry. As per Indranil’s story Rituparno noticed the similarities between the scripts after he heard Srijit’s. Prosenjit is playing one of the lead characters, of a police officer, in Srijit’s film. And he is one who has heard both scripts. He reportedly denied hearing Pratim’s script in full and maintained that he didn’t notice any similarity between Srijit’s script and whatever he heard from Pratim’s.
Pratim is obviously hurt, and refused a patch-up appeal from Srijit over phone. He might contemplate legal action if it is true that it’s his script that Srijit is going to film, despite clever changes as reported. The story also informs that one of such changes was shifting the victims from the film industry to the world of music, and Anjan Dutta was approached by Srijit to play such a character, but he refused because of the controversy.
The action has obviously spread to Facebook, where Roopa Ganguly has put up a sarcastic remark on her wall and rubbished the story in Patrika in Srijit’s favour, and also wondered how without proper evidence such a story can come up in a paper of Ananda Bazar Patrika’s repute. Srijit has commented in response to to his fan’s comments on the social networking site that he will take his stance when it’s time. Pratim has poured in his heart about his dream script having got hijacked by someone. Director Aniket Chattopadhyay, basking in the glory of ‘Bye Bye Bankok’, his January ’11 success, has pledged his support to Pratim.
Will be keen to follow the developments, and keep you posted. Watch this space.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Cholo Paltai
Came across this promo of Chalo Paltai on Facebook. It's an under-production film from Venkatesh Films, directed by Haranath Chakraborty, starring Prosenjit and Mouli Ganguly, besides child actors Tathoi and a new boy. The music is by Anupam Roy of Autograph fame. Apparently the theme is today's education system and how it prevents students from pursuing their non-academic dreams and aspirations. Prosenjit plays the father of a young boy who dreams of becoming a successful cricketer. Though the film seems to be addressing the masses in terms of script and storytelling, the plot is indeed refreshing and contemporary. Will look forward to this film, releasing March.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
'Ranga alur puli'
Albeit late, was fortunate to taste the season's first yummy puli (The dessert prepared at this time of the year at Bengali homes) today. It was Ranga alur puli (See picture), a distinct, syrupy variant of the famous puli, made of sweet potato (Ranga alu) brought in by boss (Cooked by his mother) to indulge his team in the office. To put it simply, as I shared with the colleagues too, no one can eat just one. I ate two and restrained myself from going for more.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Jan Ahaar experience
Checked out the revamped cafeteria renamed Jan Ahaar at Sealdah station today for breakfast. I was curious for long to see the menu and the food at promised low prices for the masses. The breakfast menu has veg sandwich, aloo vada, sada dosa, masala dosa, veg and non-veg breakfast combos etc. The lunch menu has vegetable chowmein with Schezwan sauce, plain rice options in veg and non-veg (fish and chicken) combos and regular beverages. The overall prices are cheap. The environment is clean and sports a contemporary design. It operates on self-service.
Tried the vegetable chowmein with Schezwan sauce. At Rs 19 the portion size was okay, so was the taste. Liked the sauce. The decent-sized masala dosa, with the right quantity of sambhar and chutney comes at Rs 14 only. Will have to try it next. Wish to come back once in a while for a hygienic and comfortable evening refreshment.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Raima and diet
Came across this interesting photo tweet from Raima Sen! In line with her self-description on her Twitter profile that includes 'Foodie' and past confession on her undying love for food (that includes junk food with a capital 'J') and refusal to go on a diet, rather working off the excess.
'Pithe' and Dev
Yesterday and today are special days in the calendar for making two of Bengali's favourite desserts : Pithe and Puli. An interesting tweet from Dev says he loves 'Pitha', but unfortunately there's nobody around to make it for him now. Anybody who wishes to volunteer are welcome and the stuff is to be dispatched to his South City flat.
So all Dev fans reading this, get into action! You know how to impress your matinee idol. Girls specially, as the act will be more credible!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Bite and cry
It's a tough time. The weather is biting and onions are making people cry. This winter is hitting the Kolkatans (Not familiar with the temperature touching 10 degrees and intending to dip further) below the belt. And the onion price is throwing a tough challenge for the daily shopper to keep within the budget. The kitchen queens are forced to innovate. Onions are vanishing from mashla muri, alu kabli, rolls. Piyaji, a favoured delicacy in such cold days, is getting discouragingly smaller.
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Fab 2010
The Japanese Wife, Byomkesh Bakshi, Shukno Lanka, Autograph, Moner Manush, Gorosthane Sabdhan....and finally a brilliant Arekti Premer Golpo to wind up 2010. The year was peppered with cinema that delighted sensible audience. Teens to octogenarians visited thetares, including many who returned after a long hiatus.
Though their success may not be worth writing home about, Abohoman, Mahanagar@Kolkata, Clerk, 033, Natobor Not Out, Banshiwala and Sthaniya Sangbad impressed many. And the first two made us proud again with national awards that we kept on counting.
Priya Cinema, which always successfully balances between Bollywood and Tollygunge in its 5-6 shows a day, couldn't accomodate any Hindi movie since November, such was the number and box office wonder of the Bengali releases. And Arijit Dutta, owner of the largest single-screen theatre chain in Bengal with Priya Cinema as the flagship, is not complaining.
2010 was easily the best year for Bangla alternative cinema in a long, long time. Both in terms of content, genre and box office success.
Mainstream did well as usual, with successes like Balo Na Tumi Amaar, Wanted, Amanush, Le Chhakka, Josh, Dui Prithibi, Kellafate and Sedin Dekha Hoyechhilo which did a superb finishing job in December. Le Chhakka and Dui Prithibi, both by Raj Chakraborty, one of the top league names, brought in a whiff of freshness.
2011 looks set to take off from where 2010 left, with Bedeni, Iti Mrinalini, Bye Bye Bangkok and Takhan Teish hitting the screens back to back in January and many more interesting stuff in the pipeline.
Though their success may not be worth writing home about, Abohoman, Mahanagar@Kolkata, Clerk, 033, Natobor Not Out, Banshiwala and Sthaniya Sangbad impressed many. And the first two made us proud again with national awards that we kept on counting.
Priya Cinema, which always successfully balances between Bollywood and Tollygunge in its 5-6 shows a day, couldn't accomodate any Hindi movie since November, such was the number and box office wonder of the Bengali releases. And Arijit Dutta, owner of the largest single-screen theatre chain in Bengal with Priya Cinema as the flagship, is not complaining.
2010 was easily the best year for Bangla alternative cinema in a long, long time. Both in terms of content, genre and box office success.
Mainstream did well as usual, with successes like Balo Na Tumi Amaar, Wanted, Amanush, Le Chhakka, Josh, Dui Prithibi, Kellafate and Sedin Dekha Hoyechhilo which did a superb finishing job in December. Le Chhakka and Dui Prithibi, both by Raj Chakraborty, one of the top league names, brought in a whiff of freshness.
2011 looks set to take off from where 2010 left, with Bedeni, Iti Mrinalini, Bye Bye Bangkok and Takhan Teish hitting the screens back to back in January and many more interesting stuff in the pipeline.
Monday, January 03, 2011
RIP Suchitra Mitra
She is no more. It's end of an era. We have grown up equating her name with Rabindrasangeet and have always been in awe of her voice and dignified appearance.
The picture shows her (right) with her friend and another legendary Rabindrasangeet singer Kanika Bandopadhyay, who passed away in 2000.
(Photograph sourced from Suchitra Mitra fan page in Facebook)
Monday, December 27, 2010
Autograph - 75 days
Autograph completes 75 days in theatres. Kudos to Srijit Mukherji & team and Shree Venkatesh Films. It's great news for Bengali alternative cinema in its year of glory marked by a handful of big successes - the highest in recent years.
Nondinee first look
Here is the oven-fresh first look of Nondinee (Releasing in 2011), that marks the return of director Subrata Sen five years after Bibar. Nondinee is a light take on contemporary urban relationships.
Bioscope-e Bajimaat
It was a memorable, chilly evening dedicated to 90 years of Bangla cinema on 22 December. The Tee Lawn in RCGC was sparsely filled at 6.50 pm, both the small general arena and the expansive VIP arena. All were waiting for Bioscope-e Bajimaat - the film quiz on the history of Bangla cinema, organized by Ananda Bazar Patrika and contested by film personalities - to start (Read my earlier post Bioscope-e Bajimat countdown). It was indeed the first-of-its-kind in the city.
It started at about 7.30 pm, precisely late by an hour, in true-blue Bengali tradition. Mir, the main emcee for the evening, appeared on stage and said "Byapar-ta jome gechhe" (He actually referred to getting frozen in the biting cold). He called on stage Gautam Bhattacharya, a senior journalist from Ananda Bazar, known for his verbal skills and knowledge of trivia, to introduce the celebrity pairs who would sit for the contest. The teams were Rituparno Ghosh-Indraneil Sengupta, Srijit Mukherji-Gargi Roy Chowdhury, Rituparna Sengupta-Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Prosenjit-Roopa Ganguly, Sandeep Ray-Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury-Ananya Chatterjee. Rituparno's long earrings, Prosenjit's Bengali look complete with dhuti-panjabi-shawl and Anyanya's short white dress were noticeable. Roopa looked elegant in black westerns.
Gautam did the prelude on a funny note by engaging Mir, the quizmaster for all the rounds except the last (the rapid fire round, to be hosted by Gautam), into answering googlies. "Which lady in the industry Rituparno doesn't address in tui?", "How many times has Supriya Devi uttered 'Apnader Dada' (referring to Uttam Kumar) till date?", " In how many Artist Forum meetings attended by her, Roopa Ganguly hasn't wept?" flew some of the deliveries, catching Mir off-guard and having the crowd in splits. Well, the answers are 'Bijoya Ray', '34738' (Mir got it right according to Gautam) and 1 (Only in one AGM Roopa wasn't seen weeping ever).
As the quiz started, the competition gradually shifted between Rituparno's, Srijit's and Aniruddha's teams. Some of the questions were pretty interesting, while some were too easy for the contestants and some others plain ridiculous. For example, a) In the picture round, where each team were to find out someone’s name from a still shown, Parambrata’s team got it as easy as to tell the person’s name from a photograph of Pulak Badopadhyay, the noted lyricist and b) In the audio-visual round Sabyasachi’s team was asked to tell the name of the saree that was in Bipasha Basu’s hands in a footage from Shob Choritro Kalponik. Even Rituparno, the director of the film expressed ignorance for the answer, terming it a bad question. The question was changed as Mir also thought it was a little unfair to ask. As an instance of a really interesting question, the footage of the ‘Peters’ fan TVC from Seemabaddha was shown and the name of the film was asked.
The buzzer round went haywire, with the rule being the buzzer could be pressed anytime to attempt answering a question, and Srijit kept on pressing it just after the photographs flashed on the screen and before the questions related to the photographs were asked (even after Aniruddha did it once and failed to answer the question). The risk was that if they answered it wrong they would lose 5 points, but if they could, they would score 20 points. Objections from other teams flew thick that no team should be allowed to press the buzzer before the question, but Mir stuck to the rules. Srijit-Gargi’s score shot to such a level after the round that no other team could catch up to till the end. Rituparno’s knowledgeability about cinema was well-known to all, and it obviously showed, but Srijit’s cinema quotient was found to be very impressive and comparable to the former. As obvious by now, Srijit-Gargi triumphed as winners with a superb all-round performance, followed by Rituparno-Indraneil and Aniruddha-Ananya.
Mir’s antics kept on entertaining the audience as usual. The highlight being, as he noticed that Indraneil and Rituparna never answered a question or spoke anything else on the microphone till the middle of the show, he made the two recite ‘Ba ba black sheep’, with each one saying the alternate lines. The funniest part was that even in this Indraneil needed Rituparno’s prompting. Mir indeed handled the show very well. Only a professional of his skill and quick-wittedness could handle so many celebrities on such a competing platform.
The contestants were cheered (even prompted sometimes) by many from Tollygunge in the audience, including Rudranil Ghosh, Kanchan Mullick, Saswata Chatterjee, Sudipta Chakraborty, Mithu Chakraborty, Kaushik Ganguly, Shayan Munshi, Subrata Sen, Aniket Chattopadhyay, Koustuv Roy and Moni-Shrikant. Arijit Dutta and Hiran came in quite late. The only put-off was that general audience sitting at the rear didn’t get to answer questions though there were 99 t-shirts to be own.
It started at about 7.30 pm, precisely late by an hour, in true-blue Bengali tradition. Mir, the main emcee for the evening, appeared on stage and said "Byapar-ta jome gechhe" (He actually referred to getting frozen in the biting cold). He called on stage Gautam Bhattacharya, a senior journalist from Ananda Bazar, known for his verbal skills and knowledge of trivia, to introduce the celebrity pairs who would sit for the contest. The teams were Rituparno Ghosh-Indraneil Sengupta, Srijit Mukherji-Gargi Roy Chowdhury, Rituparna Sengupta-Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Prosenjit-Roopa Ganguly, Sandeep Ray-Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury-Ananya Chatterjee. Rituparno's long earrings, Prosenjit's Bengali look complete with dhuti-panjabi-shawl and Anyanya's short white dress were noticeable. Roopa looked elegant in black westerns.
Gautam did the prelude on a funny note by engaging Mir, the quizmaster for all the rounds except the last (the rapid fire round, to be hosted by Gautam), into answering googlies. "Which lady in the industry Rituparno doesn't address in tui?", "How many times has Supriya Devi uttered 'Apnader Dada' (referring to Uttam Kumar) till date?", " In how many Artist Forum meetings attended by her, Roopa Ganguly hasn't wept?" flew some of the deliveries, catching Mir off-guard and having the crowd in splits. Well, the answers are 'Bijoya Ray', '34738' (Mir got it right according to Gautam) and 1 (Only in one AGM Roopa wasn't seen weeping ever).
As the quiz started, the competition gradually shifted between Rituparno's, Srijit's and Aniruddha's teams. Some of the questions were pretty interesting, while some were too easy for the contestants and some others plain ridiculous. For example, a) In the picture round, where each team were to find out someone’s name from a still shown, Parambrata’s team got it as easy as to tell the person’s name from a photograph of Pulak Badopadhyay, the noted lyricist and b) In the audio-visual round Sabyasachi’s team was asked to tell the name of the saree that was in Bipasha Basu’s hands in a footage from Shob Choritro Kalponik. Even Rituparno, the director of the film expressed ignorance for the answer, terming it a bad question. The question was changed as Mir also thought it was a little unfair to ask. As an instance of a really interesting question, the footage of the ‘Peters’ fan TVC from Seemabaddha was shown and the name of the film was asked.
The buzzer round went haywire, with the rule being the buzzer could be pressed anytime to attempt answering a question, and Srijit kept on pressing it just after the photographs flashed on the screen and before the questions related to the photographs were asked (even after Aniruddha did it once and failed to answer the question). The risk was that if they answered it wrong they would lose 5 points, but if they could, they would score 20 points. Objections from other teams flew thick that no team should be allowed to press the buzzer before the question, but Mir stuck to the rules. Srijit-Gargi’s score shot to such a level after the round that no other team could catch up to till the end. Rituparno’s knowledgeability about cinema was well-known to all, and it obviously showed, but Srijit’s cinema quotient was found to be very impressive and comparable to the former. As obvious by now, Srijit-Gargi triumphed as winners with a superb all-round performance, followed by Rituparno-Indraneil and Aniruddha-Ananya.
Mir’s antics kept on entertaining the audience as usual. The highlight being, as he noticed that Indraneil and Rituparna never answered a question or spoke anything else on the microphone till the middle of the show, he made the two recite ‘Ba ba black sheep’, with each one saying the alternate lines. The funniest part was that even in this Indraneil needed Rituparno’s prompting. Mir indeed handled the show very well. Only a professional of his skill and quick-wittedness could handle so many celebrities on such a competing platform.
The contestants were cheered (even prompted sometimes) by many from Tollygunge in the audience, including Rudranil Ghosh, Kanchan Mullick, Saswata Chatterjee, Sudipta Chakraborty, Mithu Chakraborty, Kaushik Ganguly, Shayan Munshi, Subrata Sen, Aniket Chattopadhyay, Koustuv Roy and Moni-Shrikant. Arijit Dutta and Hiran came in quite late. The only put-off was that general audience sitting at the rear didn’t get to answer questions though there were 99 t-shirts to be own.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas cakes from Kathleen
While I was a child, Christmas cakes (or cakes per se) would mean Great Eastern Hotel bakery or Kathleen. Flurys was elite for us living in Barrackpore, a suburban town of Kolkata. That was not the age of cake shop chains, thus for good Christmas cakes one had to queue up at certain shops very limited in count.
Kolkata and its suburbs have gone through a major transformation meanwhile. Today Monginis as a cake shop chain has left Kathleen much behind. In savouries Monginis is matchless in budget category. And it makes decent cakes and pastries too, considering the prices (Though many may not agree here). The pastries from Kathleen never appealed to me, and its quite a few years that I last tasted a Kathleen Christmas cake.
It really sucks to be compelled to work on Christmas day, which stands as a 'cancelled holiday' this year in office due to some late development. But it was made partially good by the slices of cakes served to desk. And it was precisely because the double bonanza of the fruit cake and the plum cake, from Kathleen and Bisk Farm respectively, tasted yummy. Nice to know that Kathleen still bakes good cakes.
Kolkata and its suburbs have gone through a major transformation meanwhile. Today Monginis as a cake shop chain has left Kathleen much behind. In savouries Monginis is matchless in budget category. And it makes decent cakes and pastries too, considering the prices (Though many may not agree here). The pastries from Kathleen never appealed to me, and its quite a few years that I last tasted a Kathleen Christmas cake.
It really sucks to be compelled to work on Christmas day, which stands as a 'cancelled holiday' this year in office due to some late development. But it was made partially good by the slices of cakes served to desk. And it was precisely because the double bonanza of the fruit cake and the plum cake, from Kathleen and Bisk Farm respectively, tasted yummy. Nice to know that Kathleen still bakes good cakes.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Arekti Premer Golpo - positive buzz
The buzz on Arekti Premer Golpo (Just Another Love Story) on Facebook is positive after yesterday's premiere ta Priya (Picture above). Rituparno's performance impressed those who've shared their take. Keenly waiting to watch the movie.
Picture courtesy: Rana Basu Thakur.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Bye Bye Bangkok: First look
The first look of Aniket Chattopadhyay's (of Chhoy-e Chhuti fame) second movie - Bye Bye Bangkok - a rollicking comedy at the backdrop of Bangkok is out. One may spot this hoarding/poster in the city now. The movie, set to release in January 2011, flaunts an ensemble cast of talented actors, including some masters of comedy (Kharaj, Rudraneel, Kanchan). Watch this space for more.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Bioscope-e Bajimat countdown
Keenly waiting to experience Bioscope-e Bajimat - the celebrity film quiz organised by Patrika - the Saturday supplement of Ananda Bazar Patrika this evening at Royal Calcutta Golf Club.
The hook? The contest will be fought by actors and directors in six pairs. The list goes: Prosenjit-Roopa Ganguly, Rituparna Sengupta-Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury-Ananya Chatterjee, Rituparno Ghosh-Indraneil Sengupta, Srijit Mukherji-Gargi Roy Chowdhury and Sandeep Ray-Sabyasachi Chakraborty. Mir and Gautam Bhattacharya (Ananda Bazar sports editor who is well-connected with the film fraternity) will be the MCs.
To the best of my knowledge it is the first time at least in recent past that such a film celebrity quiz is being held in the city. The last time the local film industry celebs collaborated in a live show of this nature was the 'Directors vs Journalists' debate on the current state of Bangla cinema at Star Theatre in January 2009. It saw Aparna Sen, Rituparno Ghosh and Goutam Ghose coming together with Suman Mukhopadhyay and Prabhat Roy to take on the media. Yours truly was among the organisers. The battle was closely and very engagingly fought.
This one should be an interesting show of 'film quotient' of the industry insiders. Am particularly interested to see how Prosenjit-Roopa, Rituparna-Parambrata, Aniruddha-Ananya and Srijit-Gargi fare, being pretty interesting pairs. Shall come back with a first-hand account.
The hook? The contest will be fought by actors and directors in six pairs. The list goes: Prosenjit-Roopa Ganguly, Rituparna Sengupta-Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury-Ananya Chatterjee, Rituparno Ghosh-Indraneil Sengupta, Srijit Mukherji-Gargi Roy Chowdhury and Sandeep Ray-Sabyasachi Chakraborty. Mir and Gautam Bhattacharya (Ananda Bazar sports editor who is well-connected with the film fraternity) will be the MCs.
To the best of my knowledge it is the first time at least in recent past that such a film celebrity quiz is being held in the city. The last time the local film industry celebs collaborated in a live show of this nature was the 'Directors vs Journalists' debate on the current state of Bangla cinema at Star Theatre in January 2009. It saw Aparna Sen, Rituparno Ghosh and Goutam Ghose coming together with Suman Mukhopadhyay and Prabhat Roy to take on the media. Yours truly was among the organisers. The battle was closely and very engagingly fought.
This one should be an interesting show of 'film quotient' of the industry insiders. Am particularly interested to see how Prosenjit-Roopa, Rituparna-Parambrata, Aniruddha-Ananya and Srijit-Gargi fare, being pretty interesting pairs. Shall come back with a first-hand account.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
I Laugh You 2 kickstatrts
'I Laugh You 2' kickstarted last evening on Star Jalsha. The entry of Ranjit Mullick was funny. He danced into the stage to the tune of his hit song Jodi Jagai Madhai na thakto/ Tobe Netai ke ki chinto loke from Mouchak. Moon Moon had taken her entry first. She mentioned " Good concept, good producer, good people to work with..." as her reason to judge the show and come back to television after ages.
Neel Mukherjee, Rudraneel, Shantilal Mukhopadhyay, Partha Sarathi Deb, Partha Sarathi Chakraborty and Kousani Roy were among the participants in pairs. The show started with the act by Neel Mukherjee's pair where it performed a well-known skit. Kousani played a characted called 'Tunir Ma' in a TV show that 'officially' airs trash. There was no gem of an act though. Ranjit had a bit of reservation for an act that was on (or on the other side of) the borderline of decency by the older generation's standards. Moon Moon though was game and she let the audience know it, only after she pulled Ranjit's legs for his 'strictness' .
The marks scored by the pairs mostly stayed between 10 and 12 out of 20. So, though the judges are appreciative, they are not lenient in giving marks.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Koel's take on ILY 2
In continuation with my earlier post (The glam queen...) on 'I Laugh You season 2', now Koel's tweet informs that she was almost falling off the sofa as her Baba (Dad Ranjit Mullick) shared the shooting experience of 'I Laugh You 2' with the gorgeous Moon Moon Mashi (As she calls Moon Moon Sen). She must catch up the show that starts today at Star Jalsha. The curiosity level is rising.
Friday, December 17, 2010
The glam queen is back
It was another talk show on Star Ananda on 17 December to promote the second season of ‘I Laugh You’ – the laughter show on Star Jalsha that has done a coup this season by getting Moon Moon Sen and Ranjit Mullick on the panel of judges. The two have happened to be co-actors in the lead in a couple of Bangla movies. A visibly slimmer and gorgeous-again Moon Moon admitted on the show that she craved to be back before camera while she was off work for years, and it was Raima who had insisted she did this show. Well, that's good to know and interesting too as she has maintained all this while that she doesn't work as her daughters don't want her to work anymore.
But the best part of the show was Moon Moon’s wicked sense of humour hitherto unknown. She kept on pulling Ranjit Mullick’s legs and teasing the veteran actor with a straight face with comments like “Besides lovely skin and hair that Bengali women are blessed with, legs are an important part of a woman’s beauty….I don’t know though what you find worth observing in a woman” and “Women look beautiful when they are a little voluptuous, don’t they?”. That she is having a blast during the shooting of the laughter show was quite visible. Looking forward to watch the show that’s coming up on 20 December.
But the best part of the show was Moon Moon’s wicked sense of humour hitherto unknown. She kept on pulling Ranjit Mullick’s legs and teasing the veteran actor with a straight face with comments like “Besides lovely skin and hair that Bengali women are blessed with, legs are an important part of a woman’s beauty….I don’t know though what you find worth observing in a woman” and “Women look beautiful when they are a little voluptuous, don’t they?”. That she is having a blast during the shooting of the laughter show was quite visible. Looking forward to watch the show that’s coming up on 20 December.
‘Just Another Love Story’
The keenly awaited Kaushik Ganguly film Arekti Premer Golpo (English title: Just Another Love Story) marking the acting debut of Rituparno Ghosh is releasing this 24 December. The film explores the relationship between a gay filmmaker (Rituparno) and his bisexual cinematographer (Played by the new pin-up boy of Bangla alternative cinema – Indraneil Sengupta), detaching itself from the homoerotic aspect of such a relationship. The film also has a film within it and Rituparno plays another role in it, that of the famous jatra actress Chapal Bhaduri, who was known to play female roles. Watched a talk show on Star Ananda on the film today, where Kaushik and Rituparno, both reasonably excited, were present to provide an insider’s take.
An anecdote shared by Rituparno was that he was mistaken as a 'newcomer actress' as long as he was in the get-up of his character in the film-within-the-film during the outdoor shooting in Bolpur. It was obvious that both he and Kaushik (and surely other members in the unit too) found it an uproariously funny experience.
As for the obvious question of the similarities between Roop (The character of the filmmaker that Ritu plays in the film) and Rituparno himself, Kaushik pointed out that the two persons share a keen sense of aesthetics and a single-mindedness in work. The former is an important trait in this context surely, as Rituparno’s sense of aesthetics is well-known, and quite obvious in his body of work. He is known not to like his actors to use make-up (unless and to the point it is necessary) and nonetheless his women on screen look strikingly beautiful.
Rituparno was a hard taskmaster to himself for a change and gave the role his very best, right from physical preparation (He lost a lot of weight through regular workouts) to the finest detail in look and acting. By his own admission in the show, he started missing Roop deeply once the shoot was over. Ritu is also the Creative Director of the film.
Arekti Premer Golpo is actually a screen adaptation of Kaushik’s famous telefilm Ushno Tar Jonyo starring Roopa Ganguly, Churni Ganguly and Chapal Bhaduri, made for ETV Bangla years back. The difference is that a lesbian relationship was at the core in the telefilm, whereas in the film it is a gay relationship.
The first look of the film (Similar to the picture above), showing Rituparno in a deeply emotional hug with Indraneil, has surely evoked curiosity. The film has already made a lot of news and repeatedly drawn housefull audience in a lot of places the festival circuit as the two revealed in the show. Keenly looking forward to the release of the film.
She's on Zoom
I was surfing the channels post dinner. A familiar face of an anchor stopped me. She is from Kolkata, and it was a national entertainment channel. Hence I checked the channel name again, more so as a similar sounding Bangla music channel has just been launched. Yes, it was Zoom. And the lady in question was Pamela Singh Bhutoria. A well-known model from Kolkata who has turned actress of late.
Pamela is tall, slim and dusky, with an appealing mix of charm and sensuousness. Being comfortable in Bangla, I always thought she had what it takes to make it big in Bangla movies. However, going by the realities of the Bangla film industry in Kolkata, it is not surprising that she is yet to be considered by a big banner despite being all over media and successfully anchoring TV shows on Zee Bangla and Sangeet Bangla.
In this age where every young aspirant in showbiz and music, who hasn’t got the right amount of work in Kolkata is testing the Arabian Sea waters, it seemed but natural that she wouldn’t stick to Kolkata too. Having a good command in Hindi and English has landed her at the right place. Zoom, no doubt, is a great platform to earn her valuable brownie points for a television career and who can say, may land her a role in a Hindi movie too. Pamela was anchoring ‘Hot List’ on Zoom, a show that listsed ‘Hottest desi numbers’ from Hindi cinema, from Madhuri Dixit to Rakhi Sawant to Aishwarya Rai to Bipasha Basu, somehing that naturally goes with her sensuality.
And by the way, Pamela has recently landed a role in a Bengali movie too (Under production), directed by young and talented Mainak Bhowmik, called Ami vs Tumi.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Ananya: the most searched
The blog stats showed an interesting insight: Ananya Chatterjee, the national award-winning actress from the city is not only the most-searched celebrity on this blog since May, 2010, her name is the 'Most searched keyword' leading to my blog during this period too! And no other keyword is even close to being comparable. The second keyword counts far less than even half of the count of Ananya.
Naturally the only dedicated post Ananya- the glam avatar has fetched the highest view among text-based posts during the said period.
When I first saw Ananya in a television series called Chena Mukher Sari years back, I found her acting skill impressive and thought she had potential. Mentioned her as one of the faces from television that deserves a big screen break in another post named Search for new faces in 2007 when she had hardly made a mark, having appeared in films like Tok Jhal Mishti, Raat Barota Paanch and Aamra.
Thus the insight is thoroughly pleasing indeed.
Naturally the only dedicated post Ananya- the glam avatar has fetched the highest view among text-based posts during the said period.
When I first saw Ananya in a television series called Chena Mukher Sari years back, I found her acting skill impressive and thought she had potential. Mentioned her as one of the faces from television that deserves a big screen break in another post named Search for new faces in 2007 when she had hardly made a mark, having appeared in films like Tok Jhal Mishti, Raat Barota Paanch and Aamra.
Thus the insight is thoroughly pleasing indeed.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Moner Manush: A rocking weekend
Returned disappointed from Jaya Cineplex, Lake Town last Sunday. Had gone there to catch the evening show of Moner Manush which had gone housefull before I reached the ticket window. Blackmarketeers had a filed day nearby selling the Rs 50 tickets at Rs 100. It's unimaginable for this genre of films!
Reached the nearest theatre screening the movie - Darpana, at Hatibagan - in a hurry. But things were no different there too.
It was indeed a pleasant surprise as alternative Bangla cinema, that too with this kind of a subject (The life and times of the legendary Lalan Fakir from the 18th century, based on Sunil Gangopadhyay's novel of the same name published in the Desh Puja number in 2008) is not deemed 'hot' at the box office. Reportedly Moner Manush has a better second weekend. The word-of-mouth publicity seems to have helped. The audience predominantly had couples in their 40s and 50s - a class that's surely not regular at theatres anymore. Kudos to Gautam Ghosh & team to bring them back.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
The bonding over food
Post the workshop last weekend, and its emotional hangover the following Monday, a welcome change in the office was meeting over lunch for the senior and middle-level executives thrice a week including Saturday. For the foodies in the office, yours truly and the Branch Head included, nothing can be more cheer-worthy than sharing everybody's lunch (Home-made or ordered in). The range covering yummy, high-fat fast food to health food includes experimental home-cooked preparations.
As highlights of the first week, I loved the bites of grilled chicken sandwich and sips of the chicken sweet corn soup from Upper Crust (A fast food-cum-restaurant chain) ordered by a junior colleague in Marketing & Business Development. He picked up the idea of the combination after watching the lunch by the Chairperson and Managing Director who visited on Wednesday. Since that day he has been ordering the same everyday, conscious that his lunch budget doesn't permit it for one full month. The soup is lighter than the one served elsewhere. Also loved the innovative preparation of pieces of bread fried with capsicum, cooked by another colleague.
The workshop was about team-building among other topics, and such a practice indeed is a good application of the learnings from it. Bonding over food, I believe, is one of the best ways of bonding - both personally and professionally.
A wee bit of 'happy' concern as well: A foodie colleague, conscious of her bit of excess weight, commented that as this practice goes on, everybody stands to gain at least one kilo at the end of each month. Can't agree more as I share the concern.
As highlights of the first week, I loved the bites of grilled chicken sandwich and sips of the chicken sweet corn soup from Upper Crust (A fast food-cum-restaurant chain) ordered by a junior colleague in Marketing & Business Development. He picked up the idea of the combination after watching the lunch by the Chairperson and Managing Director who visited on Wednesday. Since that day he has been ordering the same everyday, conscious that his lunch budget doesn't permit it for one full month. The soup is lighter than the one served elsewhere. Also loved the innovative preparation of pieces of bread fried with capsicum, cooked by another colleague.
The workshop was about team-building among other topics, and such a practice indeed is a good application of the learnings from it. Bonding over food, I believe, is one of the best ways of bonding - both personally and professionally.
A wee bit of 'happy' concern as well: A foodie colleague, conscious of her bit of excess weight, commented that as this practice goes on, everybody stands to gain at least one kilo at the end of each month. Can't agree more as I share the concern.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
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.
Monday, December 06, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
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.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Bihar polls
Development is addictive at a place that has been hungry for it historically. And the Bihar poll results vouch for that.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
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.
Monday, November 22, 2010
'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.
Friday, November 19, 2010
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
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.
Can't wait to chcek it out.
Monday, November 08, 2010
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.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
'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.
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.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
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?
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?
Monday, October 18, 2010
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.
Review coming soon at Washington Bangla Radio.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
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.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
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.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Park Street
Some lively images of Park Street, shot by Shilbhadra Datta, a photographer by profession, in the Facebook group Calcutta Adda n Food.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, September 09, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
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.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
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.
A colleague who had a similar experience of coming to work wished a 'Bandh' was called everyday. Ha.
Monday, September 06, 2010
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.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
'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.
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.
Monday, August 02, 2010
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.
Follow it here and drop your take in the comments section below.
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