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.