'Baishe Srabon' outside Bengal

Good to know (from Srijit Mukherjee's wall post and Prosenjit's tweet) that Baishe Srabon is having a simultaneous release today in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Certainly one of the best Puja gifts for the true-blue Bangalees there. Enjoy!

The Desh short stories number

Bought the just-released Desh stort stories issue. Read Sangeeta Bandopadhyay's Dushtu Mishti first, and loved it (And told her so on Facebook!). It's a humane take on a relationship between a single woman and her pug.

Would love to come back here to talk more on the issue. Looks like a nice, small Puja gift from Desh!

The yummiest Mishti Doi

Posted a question on my Facebook wall to do an informal poll among friends : Who makes the yummiest 'Mishti Doi' in the city?. My vote went to Ganguram.

The result (Based on a few comments) is skewed towards Ganguram. And there was a small insight too. Many of us like the Mishti Doi from our neighbourhood sweet shops.

I don't have a sweet tooth. I have started having sweets on my own (i.e. not when treated by somebody) much late in life. In my late twenties. Still I am not much fond of Mishti Doi. I rather like the sour version when made at home. I didn't like the legendary Amrito's Mishti Doi. I've never been displeased with the transition of Mishti Doi to ice cream at marriage receptions and other similar occasions. But I found this dessert at Ganguram's different.

A foodie colleague treated me with Ganguram's Mishti Doi. And I loved it. It doesn't have a so called crust that's so much sought after by the Mishti Doi fans. It's the same at the top and bottom. Not too sweet or thick.

Oh, about the poll. The votes went to Mithai and Banchharam among the well-known brands of Kolkata. And the local ones include Shree Durga Mishtanna Bhandar in Behala and Ashesh Sweets in Barasat.

The poll can continue here. What's your pick as the 'Yummiest Mishti Doi in Kolkata'?

The sandwich at Just Baked

Loved the chicken sandwich at Just Baked, at lunch today. At Rs 30, it is at a 50% higher rate than Monginis, with a taste, rich with generous dose of mayonnaise, that better.

Was tempted to have the chocolate walnut brownie as well (which is really good here!), but resisted for taking in too many calories (am on a diet watch before Puja).

A Facebook post

Sanghita Chatterjee, a freelance writer and jewellery designer, and a Facebook friend of this blogger has made a wall post I couldn't resist sharing here (post a chuckle):

I love you with all my heart...but my butt is bigger.

The Baishe Srabon soundtrack

Kolkata seems to be hooked to Gobhire jao, aaro gobhire jao ever since the Baishe Srabon trailer made it to the virtual world, and especially after the August 27 music release.

Apart from this Rupankar song, Ekbar bol nei, tor keu nei, keu nei - written, composed and sung by Anupam is also catching on fast.

Liked the Anupamesque flavour (As a dear friend put it) in both the songs. Looking forward to the other songs from the Baishe Srabon soundtrack, written and composed by Anupam with voices like Rupam, Shreya, Raghab, Anindya and Saptarshi (Who sung the other version of Beche thakar gaan in Autograph). Hope Anupam lives up to his Autograph fame and grows with this film as a competent music director. His two songs (Written and composed) in Autograph are still so popular that they get featured in Friends FM weekly top 10 after nearly a year of their release. Had also loved Anupam's Bariye dao tomar haat and Classroom from Chalo Paltai, released earlier this year, that marked his debut as a full-fledged music director.

The aquatic meet

The annual aquatic meet at Lake Town Swimming Pool Association drew a huge number of members starting from small kids, and enthusiastic guardians on 4th September, Sunday morning.

It was cute to see teachers in the water helping 3-4 year olds in finishing their freestyle lap in the mini pool. This category didn't have winners. Each participant was given a medal, which was a nice gesture on the club's part.

The swimming den draws huge number of swimmers and swimming aspirants, being the best in the business in North-East Kolkata. The fees are reasonable. It sports two well-maintained pools - one main pool and one mini pool (for kids). Many members participate in competitive swimming at various levels.

Rituparno on Twitter

Yes, Rituparno Ghosh has joined the Twitterverse in the middle of this August. No, it's NOT a fake profile, because his tweet has been carried in t2, and also evident from his tweet exchanges with well-known Twitterfolks. Logged on to Twitter rightaway after I read his tweet in t2 today and followed him. Am interested in Twitter again after long for his tweets. Hope he stays regular

A big 'Thank you' to t2 for publishing his tweet.

Uro Chithi

Loved Uro Chithi - the August '11 film sporting an ensemble cast, by debutant Kamaleswar Mukherjee.

It's a story of one year in the life of techie Aniket caught in rough weather during the last recession - capturing abut various people in his life. The ensemble cast with Indraneil (the protagonist), Saswata, Sudipta, Rudranil, Biswanath (The surprise package), Sreelekha, Biswajit, Locket, Reshmi, Tanusree and others is spot on. Everyone was just perfect for their roles. Tight script, good storytelling, superb performances and good music make it a recommendation.

Waited long for Uro Chithi. And it was worth it! Loved the doctor-turned-adman-turned-director Kamaleswar's dialogue (especially the witty one liners) in Natobor Not Out last year. Looking forward to his next work.

Iti Mrinalini disappoints

Yesterday I watched the film I so eagerly and frustratingly awaited all this while……only to find it wasn’t worth the wait! Sheer disappointment!

It is far, far from Aparna's best work. And sad for we the audience that it came right after The Japanese Wife.

I expected a close look at Mrinalini’s careergraph, her path to success, her exit. There hasn’t been a worthy film on the life of a lead actress of Bengali cinema in the 70′s (while we have a Nayak) and I expected Iti Mrinalini to fill that void. But Iti.. showed Mrinalini at work only as reference points for sketching her personal life. And top of all, she’s shown to work mostly in Siddhartha Sarkar’s (The character of a leading, commercially successful director, played by Rajat Kapoor, in Anjan Dutta's voice) films. Utterly ridiculous!!

Not that the film DOES NOT HAVE redeeming qualities. The performances - Konkona, Kaushik Sen, Rajat, Ananya Banerjee (the older Sohini) - are first rate. Kaushik's talent is well-known, but his Chintan Nair will stay in audience memory for long. The music, especially the title track by Srikanto Acharya (Based on Sunil Gangopadhyay's poem) is good, and the cinematography by the late Somak Mukhopadhyay is outstanding.

I loved the ruthlessly honest 'personal' take of Pratim D. Gupta on the film (The link : http://moifightclub.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/iti-mrinalini-koko-channel-in-rina-rut/#comment-5884).

Life in Metro : 3 - The 'Smart' commuter

Every daily commuter was waiting for this for a painfully long time. The new Smart Card from Kolkata Metro. The authorities stopped issuing the current avatar of Smart Card long back, forcing the daily commuters to stand in painfully long queues or buy multi-ride tickets. Now, multi-riders come with their own reality, which is not palatable.

So, when the paperless travel (Switch from magnetic paper ticket to plastic tokens) was kicked off in July '11, the subsequent announcement of fresh issue of 'Smart' cards caught many like me, who suffer long queues every morning and haplessly count the no. of trains passing by before we reach the counter, in great enthusiasm. Mine was higher as I haven't ever possessed one.

The expected date of launch was missed at least once, just like the launch of the token system. Finally the newspaper report yesterday brought the day in striking distance. Metro counters for smart cards opened yesterday itself.

Changed my route midway today after dropping my elder daughter to school at Sealdah. Travelled back to get down at Dum Dum, my stop for the daily metro ride to Chandni Chowk. The queue (only for smart cards) was as long as that of regular tickets any other day. But, fine, it was going to be the last pain before a long relief. Quickly took down the 'Must know' info of a smart card from fellow commuters, and ended up at the counter after a wait of 35 minutes. Bought the long desired object costing Rs 100 (with an usage value of Rs 120 and a validity of 30 days). Aahhhh.....life in Kolkata Metro will be different now.

The debut : Sananda TV

Was keen to check out the first day (that was yesterday) of the new baby in the Bengali GEC circuit from the house of the mighty Anandabazar Patrika - Sananda TV.

Had intended to catch only Pralay Aschhe - one of the 6 daily soaps, directed and produced by Raj Chakraborty. Was impressed with the production value. Shot on a RED camera used in contemporary cinema, the frames looked like a movie, as promised by Raj. Liked Paran Bandopadhyay (he plays an upright and witty teacher) the most. Supriyo Dutta plays an evil politician, the kind of character he is pro at. The first episode showed a murder by local anti socials in a Kolkata locality modelled on the Rajib Das murder in Barasat in February 2011. Am keen to check out Abir Chatterjee's smart cop act in the next episodes.

Spoilt for choice

Delhi Belly, Ichchhe, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.....the cinephile in me is spoilt for choice this weekend.

Ichchhe is being raved about by people from the industry. Aniket Chattopadhyay recommended it to me last night, and now I see Anindya Chattopadhyay's appreciative wall post on Facebook highlighting Sohini Sengupta's sterling performance in the film. We really missed Sohini on big screen after her memorable act as Khuku in Aparna Sen's Paromitar Ekdin in 2000.

Icche is based on a Suchitra Bhattacharya story about a possesive and ambitious mother and her son (played by Sohini and newcomer Samadarshi respectively) and directed by Nandita Roy and debutant Shiboprosad Mukherjee. It has music by Surojit Chatterjee of Bhumi and and an exciting line-up of lead singers from Bangla bands who've sung solos in the film: Rupam (of Fossils), Sidhu (of Cactus), Subhojit (of Lakkhichhara), Anindya Chattopadhyay (of Chandrabindoo) and Anusheh Anadil (of 'Bangla' band in Bangladesh). Those who want to dig deeper, visit the movie's Facebook page and website.

Iti Mrinalini promo

Looks like a classic awaiting release (on this July 29). Awaiting a competent and enjoyable take on the life of a lead actress in Bangla cinema from the '70s that is coming long after the brilliant Nayak by Satyajit Ray in 1966 based on the life of a male matinee idol of Bangla cinema played by Uttam Kumar.

What makes the film more interesting is that it is directed by actress-director Aparna Sen, who has been a lead actress of that era, and is playing the aged Mrinalaini - the title role (While Konkona Sen Sharma, her daughter, plays the younger Mrinalini).

Am personally curious to check out Kaushik Sen, who has played a Tamil director in the film in a reportedly standout performance. Kaushik, though highly deserving, has been largely overlooked in Bangla cinema so far, with only a few good films in his record, despite proving his worth sustainably in theatre and television.

Am also keen to listen to its music (by Debajyoti Mishra), with a friend having predicted that the song 'Aami achhi je tomar opekkhay saradin' is set to be a chartbuster.

Pastime

A retired Kolkatan engaged in a passionate game of chess on the sidewalk. Shot in a locality in North Kolkata where it is a typical pastime.

Picture courtesy : Shreyas Surya DasGupta, who loves to shoot the city in its various moods.

Hoarding free heritage

It was pleasantly surprising to see super prompt action on the new government's decision spelt out by KMC : Pull down all the hoardings from BBD Bag to Park Street. The objective was something long-cherished by passionate Kolkatans - To be able to relish the Kolkata heritage blocked by countless hoardings of all shapes and sizes creating intense visual pollution for long. On the first day itself (that's yesterday) several hoardings were pulled down by the respective agencies on an overdrive.

Thumbs up to the new state government for the determined step towards a more beautiful Kolkata that we all can be proud of.

Iti Mrinalini releasing

It felt good to know that the eagerly-awaited Iti Mrinalini starring Aparna Sen, Konkona Sen Sharma and Priyangshu Chatterjee, directed by Aparna, is finally releasing on July 29. It gave a painfully long wait to the cinefiles in the city. The movie will also release in Hindi.

The last picture shows the director-acress and her actress daughter in the shoot.

Roopa....by Anurag

Here's the elegant Roopa Ganguly for you....shot impromptu by Anurag Basu at Darjeeling where he was shooting Barfee with Ranbeer Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. Roopa plays a role in the film, her first Hindi film in a long time.

Sincere thanks to Roopa Ganguly for the permission for the photograph, sourced from her Facebook album.

Challenge Nibi Na : a brief look

Am not being able to catch up with Challenge Nibi Na - the reality show with celebrities on ETV Bangla at 9 pm due to work schedule. Caught just 2-3 episodes.

The celebs are being put through really unfamiliar and challenging tasks in a village. Like catching fish, collecting dry leaves and filling sacks with them, collecting eggs from under small baskets spread over an area, fun games like a quick run to and from a point and cutting a gourd in between and blindfolded team games. Some are finding it more challenging for their excess weight and lack of fitness while some are smoothly sailing through for being fit and in shape.

The fit brigade : Rimjhim Mitra, Sampurna, Dibyendu, Silajit.
The fat pack : Kamalika, Arindam Sil, Sohini Paul, Swastika Mukherjee.

It was surprising to find Sohini awfully fat, with her bulging stomach hanging in a white t-shirt. Swastika too looked too fat for a lead actress. Both of them really need to go through a strict fitness regimen to get back to reasonable shape.

Nondinee promo

Here's the second promo of Nondinee, the upcoming film by Subrata Sen after a long gap, starring Swastika Mukherjee. Mir and singer Dibyendu have played the male leads.