Byomkesh

Much like Satyajit Ray�s evergreen sleuth Feluda, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay�s Byomkesh Bakshi defies age. The popularity of the detective has only escalated over the years - Byomkesh, in fact, seems to have scored over Feluda. There are two Byomkesh franchises in the Bengali film industry right now, not to mention the 2015 Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer.

And now the satyanweshi, as Byomkesh prefers to call himself, enters the world wide web with Bengali OTT platform Hoichoi. An original by SVF Media, Byomkesh stars Anirban Bhattacharya, Subrat Dutta and Ridhima Ghosh in the lead roles. The hour-long first episode, comprising two stories, Satyanweshi and Pother Knata, has just been released. The episode revolves around the first adventurous meeting between Byomkesh Bakshi and his soon-to-be-friend-for-life Ajit Bandyopadhyay. It weaves together a second case in which Byomkesh solves what�s referred to as the �gramophone pin murders�.

I can�t vouch for the millennials, but Byomkesh Bakshi stories are widely read. Most of the audience knows who the culprit is and exactly how the sleuth solves the mystery. The pull, therefore, lies not so much in the story itself but the performance and production. And Hoichoi�s Byomkesh scores on these points. Directed by Sayantan Ghoshal, Byomkesh also recreates the �30s Calcutta with care (missed the art director credits) and sticks to the original stories. Crisp camerawork (Sudipta Majumdar) and editing make the experience visually enticing as well - some excellent production values here.

Byomkesh Bakshi�s shoes are not easy to fill. Not only is he being portrayed by two hugely successful stars, Abir Chatterjee and Jisshu Sengupta, on the big screen currently, the sleuth has been portrayed by none other than Bengal�s reel legend Uttam Kumar under Satyajit Ray�s direction. Subrat Dutt provides fitting support.

Laboratory

Hoichoi�s original film Laboratory which is based on a story by Rabindranath Tagore was released on the birthday of the Bard. We give you a few reasons to watch this film if you haven�t watched it as yet.

Excellent acting by the cast

Kaushik Sen, Darshana Banik, Anirban Bhattacharya, Nandini Ghoshal breathe life into the characters that they have been assigned to. Kaushik Sen as Nandakishore Mallik plays the character with elan. Nandini Ghoshal as Sohini is also apt. Darshana as Neela looks beautiful in the sari and jewelry. Anirban as Rebati continues to mesmerize the audience with his strong performance.

Great direction

Director Soumik Chattopadhyay leaves no stone unturned to present before the audience the world of Tagore. From the clothes to the props to the style of talking, he ensures that the characters look like they are similar to the ones created by Tagore. There is an old world charm to the presentation which is eye catchy.

Great story selection

The story selection has been done aptly. There are many stories that the Bard has written in his lifetime. But Hoichoi coming up with this story for their first original film is a good idea indeed. The unexpected ending of the story is what will suit the tastes of many in the audience who have a penchant for a dramatic ending.

All said and done, Laboratory is a must watch Hoichoi original film. What better way to pay tribute to the Bard than by making a film on his work!!

ami vs tumi

The first few minutes establish the tone for Ami Thumi. The characters are anything but subtle. They talk a lot. Some of them even break into a dance, like Tanikella Bharani does when he feels he�s going to win the battle or like Vennela Kishore does, in a slightly mesmerized state, when he steps into the luxurious honeymoon suite. This farcical screwball comedy is immensely helped by Mani Sharma�s music. The westernized background score offsets the clash of wits in a Telangana household.

Ami Thumi is a story of romance, a battle of wits between a father and daughter, the rivalry between former business partners, and a suitor who eyes the family wealth. Keeping with a characteristic of screwball comedies, women steer the drama. When Deepika (Eesha) tries to pull a fast one on her dad Janardhan (Tanikella Bharani) when her boyfriend Ananth (Adivi Sesh) comes visiting, her tone is defiant. She and the maid Kumari (Shyamala) trigger a series of events after which nothing remains the same. In contrast, Maya (Aditi Myakal) plays the vulnerable girl torn between her love for Vijay (Srinivas Avasarala) and her father.

All hell breaks loose when a suitor, curiously named Sri Chilipi (Vennela Kishore), arrives at Deepika�s house. He�s as sophisticated as he can be and hopes that he will have better luck in marriage than his ancestors. The humor isn�t politically correct, hinged on how some of the women in his family have looked. But it establishes the family trait of focusing on the bride�s wealth.

Mohanakrishna Indraganti introduces us to characters in well-heeled households whose finesse hides their basic instinct to have things done their way. Masked in humor are observations of people and mindsets.

The surprise lies in making Sri Chilipi the pivotal character in this drama. Vennela Kishore is the star of the film. The conversations between him and his assistant are hilarious. They call �thaati kallu� organic scotch!

At a little over two hours, Ami Thumi is largely a fun ride. Just when you think the humor is drying up, something hilarious comes up, like the portion involving Adivi Sesh, Vennela Kishore, and a priest. Again, the comedy isn�t politically correct. But the director pulls it off without making it look regressive.

Occasionally, you get the feeling of watching a stage play. Incidentally, Irish playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan is acknowledged in the titles as the story is loosely inspired by his play The Duenna.

What holds the film together is the humor and cast that gets its act right. Adivi Sesh, Srinivas Avasarala, and Aditi Myakal are apt in their parts. Tanikella Bharani has had fun enacting his role and it shows. Eesha is lovely as the feisty Deepika. She�s spot on with Telangana diction and matches Tanikella Bharani. But in the end, Ami Thumi belongs to Vennela Kishore who plays his part to the hilt, knowing well that comic actors rarely get author-backed roles.

Ami Thumi

Cast: Adivi Sesh, Vennela Kishore, Srinivas Avasarala, Eesha Rebba, Aditi Myakal and Tanikella Bharani

Direction: Mohanakrishna Indraganti

Storyline: A screwball comedy in which two couples turn the tables on adamant dads and a suitor.

projapoti biskut

Story: Young couple Antor and Shaon go through a marital crisis after they fail to parent a child even a couple of years after marriage. Fate, however, has different plans for them.


Review: Marriage is an institution that has always stood on shaky ground. Whether the participants can withstand the tremors is what decides its fate. And in today�s world, when patience runs low and stress and irritability, high, even the slightest tremor can cause a rift. In such a scenario, Projapoti Biskut is a simple, endearing tale of a young married couple who haven�t really fallen in love yet. There�s hesitation, harmless secrets and even mild discomfort between them, though theirs is a marriage of more than two years. While Shaon (Ishaa) manages to express her inner boredom and suppression quite admirably in the initial scenes, Antor (Aditya), too, is really good as an unsure, timid, introvert young man, who�s still not totally in sync with his marriage or his wife.

But in keeping the story really simple, Anindya has maybe missed one basic ingredient � creating a tale that truly connects with today�s youth. The young characters are a bit too subdued � almost meek and submissive � while the older lot (Aparjita, Shantilal, Sonali, Rajatava and Rajat) are aggressive and outspoken. But that doesn�t take much away from the beauty of the story itself, though it could mean a weaker draw for young audiences.

The best thing about the film, apart from the really good music, is the diversity of the characters. Each actor has done complete justice to their roles, creating everyday individuals as different as the seven colours of a rainbow. Among these, the two that really stand out are Aparajita and Shantilal, who play Shaon�s parents. Shantilal, especially, seems to fill up your mental space with his mistimed guffaws and comments. And how!

The other highlight is the subtle comedy, which keeps you smiling, and at times, laughing aloud, almost throughout the film. That also makes Projapoti Biskut a happy tale � something each of us loves to watch. And the way Antor and Shaon�s story ends makes it even more of an endearing watch. It also reaffirms society�s faith in an institution that seems to be standing on shaky ground.

Go and watch this lovely, loving tale of love. It�s nothing spectacular, but so isn�t life.

Shuyopoka (Hoichoi

When a filmmaker decides to make a film on the decline of group theatre in Bengal, it obviously raises a certain level of expectation among the audience. And if the staircase and posters are eye-catching enough, the curiosity grows further. Albeit Hoichoi managed to create a ripple before its release, it miserably disappoints later.

The film revolves around Piyal (Paoli) and her friends. The director (Debarati) chooses her characters well, who in turn voice the plight of these young and struggling theatre actors � their helpless and growing frustrations of not getting due recognition. Refusing to while her time with nitty-gritty of production work, Piyal decides to quit the established group she was working for. Her friends follow suit. And then, together they form a new group � Hoichoi. After a certain point in time, Aban (Rahul) and Nalok (Vikram) join the group, enriching it further with their writing and music. While the film continues to tell the tale of how they finally stage their first production, the director meanders here a bit by incorporating several sub-plots of love triangles, drug use, demand for release of political prisoners and most importantly, a few unpleasant truths about the politics of group theatre.

However, the film still fails to create a hoichoi. Debarati fails to move the audience with the storyline. There�s an air of superficiality surrounding the film, which worsens with random use of songs and poor editing.

Moreover, Paoli Dam, with her expressionless face simply fails to impress. Rahul as Aban and Priyanka as bubbly Tupur, their easy camaraderie generate a few laughs. Also, that�s the only thing which you�ll remember after coming out of the depressingly empty theatre.

Cartoon Bengali Horror Web series

Horror as a genre has a wide following in films national, regional as well as international. But in web based online medium it is very rare in India. In fact in the Bengali entertainment industry Hoi Choi have pioneered the web based horror through its web-series Cartoon. The series is streaming since end of September. If you have not watched it yet, we give you four reasons to watch this series.

Direction wise:
Sourav Chakraborty�s direction gives a thrilling twist to the series. The director does not resort to stock horror elements to mesmerize the audiences. Instead sights and sounds are used in a smart way so as to heighten the cinematic experience.

Look & feel:
The look and feel of the series is very modern. One does not find the conventional and stock elements used in the horror films in both Bollywood and Tollywood. Sights and sounds have been used to heighten the horror experience.
Acting wise:
Mainak and Payel�s expressions are apt and to the point. Their expressions help in furthering the horror element in the web-series. Mainak as the cartoonist Aritra and his expressions of finding blood on the drawings are praiseworthy. Payel�s expressions too deserve praise.

Back ground music:
Music is an essential part of heightening the web-series. Sound can help in creating an atmosphere of horror and that is what is done aptly in the series. The creaking doors and the other associating sounds all create an aura which will surely keep the audiences mesmerized.

Cartoon will provide the thrills and chills that will keep you satiated.

Abhimanyu Mukherjee
STARRING
Chandroday Pal, Dipangshu Acharya, Yashoroop Dey
Enjoy a fun ride with an outburst of comedy that will leave you in splits, with significance of pre-existing notions adding to the wit. Enjoyment is guaranteed!

�Bigg Boss 10� contestant and Bhojpuri actress Monalisa has set the internet on fire as she sizzles as Jhuma Boudi in the second season of Bengali web-series Dupur Thakur. Monalisa has kept sharing sneak peaks of her pictures and videos from the sets ever since she has joined the web-series. In the latest promo, Jhuma visits her tailor, where he takes her measurements and what follows next is hilarious and is enough to make her fans go crazy.�Dupur Thakur� is directed by Ayan Chakraborti and Debaloy Bhattacharya. Monalisa became a household name with her stint in �Bigg Boss 10�. Inside the house, she got married to Bhojpuri actor Vikrant Singh Rajpoot and the wedding was aired on national television.

For those don�t know, Monalisa is famous in the Bhojpuri film industry. She is also one of the highest paid actresses. She made her debut in a film titled Bhole Shankar in 2008 and has worked in a number of films since then.

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Catch the quirky side of Eken Babu as he makes an entry into our lives, that leads to some 'hoichoi'. When Eken Babu lands up in an apartment in Bangalore, little does the residents know what roller coaster ride of emotion awaits them #trailer

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