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Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee has dedicated over three decades to the world of acting, yet he still feels the pressure to deliver. Even after working in over 300 movies, the actor admits to feeling jittery with the release of a new film, as it feels like his first.

Prosenjit, who is lovingly called Bumba Da by his fans, began his journey as a child actor with Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s ‘Chotto Jigyasa’. His breakthrough came in 1987 with Sujit Guha’s ‘Amar Sangi’, after which the spotlight never left him.

Despite the challenges he has faced in cinema, he still loves every bit of it.

When asked about feeling pressure to deliver a hit film, considering his past successes, Prosenjit told Ians: “Yes. It is always pressure to do any kind of film, whether it is a hit or a critically acclaimed one. But for any kind of film, when it gets released,...

Thalapathy Vijay, who is currently awaiting the release of his 67th film Leo, has already started shooting for his next project with director Venkat Prabhu. The film, which is tentatively titled Thalapathy 68, is produced by Ags Entertainment and has music by Yuvan Shankar Raja.

The film went on floors on October 2 with a pooja ceremony in Chennai. Venkat Prabhu took to his social media page to share the news and said that the cast and crew details will be announced after Leo’s release. He also said that the film will be a fun roller coaster ride for the fans.

Thalapathy 68 Trailer

And it began!! #Thalapathy68 with all ur love and wishes!!! This is gonna be a fun roller coaster ride!! And all pics and updates after namma #Leo release!! God is Kind pic.twitter.com/0G8Zrty2vy

— venkat prabhu (@vp_offl) October 2, 2023

According to some sources,...

India’s T-Series, Reliance Entertainment and Match Cut Productions have teamed on Srijit Mukherji’s Hindi-language satire “Sherdil: The Pilibhit Saga.”

Inspired by true events, the film is about the adverse effects of urbanization, human-animal conflict and poverty, leading to a bizarre practice in a village located on the edge of a forest.

It stars Pankaj Tripathi (“Sacred Games”), Neeraj Kabi (“Paatal Lok”) and Sayani Gupta “(Four More Shots Please”).

Mukherji’s credits include Bengali-language films “Autograph” (2010), which was a Glasgow International Film Festival and Abu Dhabi International Film Festival selection, “Jaatishwar” (2014), “Chotushkone” (2015), “Rajkahini (2015) and “Ek Je Chilo Raja” (2019), which played at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. “Sherdil” will be his second Hindi film after the 2017’s “Begum Jaan,” the remake of “Rajkahini.”

Mukherji said: “I got inspired by the real incident of tragic practises in villages bordering the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and I knew I had to capture it in my next.

KollywoodTNM spoke to veteran directors Vikraman and Visu, distributor Tiruppur Subramaniam and film critic Sudhir Srinivasan to understand why the genre has always been popular with the audience.Anjana ShekarYouTube ScreengrabA generation of misunderstanding between father and son ends when the grandson is unknowingly introduced to the grandfather. A brother-sister bond is threatened by marriage and it takes years for the brothers-in-law to get along. The hero, a farmer, is the prized prince in the family and therefore the entire family has a say on whom he gets to marry. These are the storylines of some of the Tamil blockbuster family dramas like Suryavamsam (1997), Kizhakku Cheemayile (1993) and Kadaikutty Singam (2018). When Kadaikutty Singam released in 2018, the film proved just how popular a family entertainer can be even in the 21st century. Made on a budget of Rs 25 crore, Kadaikutty went on to gross Rs 70 crore worldwide, becoming one among the few blockbusters that year.

KollywoodWhile these love stories are well-made and performed, one wishes that directors would push the envelope more when it comes to relationships.Sujatha KarunIndian cinema has had an enduring affair with two cinematic tropes. One of them is old love or past love, the love that springs up between the hero and heroine while they are in school, college or just out of college. The other trope is moving on from one’s past love and finding it in an ‘arranged’ marriage. Or as the music band Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young put it, “If you can’t have the one you love, love the one you’re with.” Very often, both tropes are present in the same story. But it is past love that filmmakers across the country find fascinating. A couple of weeks back, Anurag Kashyap’s film Manmarziyaandealt with the very same theme. It’s the latest...

Indian studio, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures has launched a digital content division called Tipping Point to create web series and short films.

Upcoming web series include “X Ray – Selected Satyajit Ray Shorts” based on stories by the late lifetime achievement Oscar winner, and directed by Srijit Mukherji (“Autograph”); an untitled crime thriller from Imtiaz Ali (“Rockstar”); “Jamtara”, a story about India’s phishing capital by Soumendra Padhi (“Budhia Singh: Born to Run”) and psychological thriller “Best Days” by Abhishek Sengupta (“Laakhon Mein Ek”).

The content will initially be available on Viacom 18’s Ott channel Voot and Reliance’s Jio platform. “We are not looking at ourselves just as movie makers but as content makers in the digital ecosystem as well,” Viacom 18 Motion Pictures COO Ajit Andhare told Variety in March. “Our ability to tell stories in film and working with top filmmakers translates very well to produce content in the digital world.

KollywoodThe Tamil film industry has had several directors who've stepped in front of the camera and proved their mettle as actors.CV AravindThe Tamil film Mayandi Kudumbathar directed by the late Rasu Madhuravan was released in the year 2009. What was unique about the movie was that for the first time in the history of Tamil cinema, the film’s cast comprised as many as eleven directors. While some of them like Manivannan, Seeman, Tarun Gopi and Ponvannan were well-known faces in the industry, the others were still striving to find their feet and had helmed one or two films. The experiment was partially successful as the film with a rural backdrop had an average run at the box office and did not burn a hole in the producer’s pocket. Some of these directors have been pursuing an acting career and one of them, Singam Puli, is a much sought after comedian these days. However, directors donning the greasepaint and stepping in front of the camera is not a recent phenomenon. One of the earliest directors who also acted in his films was the veena vidwan S Balachander who had a yen for horror films. He played stellar roles in whodunits like Bommai and Nadu Iravil which he also directed. This trend has caught on in a big way as far as Kollywood is concerned as more and more directors are announcing ‘pack up’ where their directorial careers are concerned and are evincing interest in acting. Playwright turned directors like Visu and Mouli inevitably ended up reprising the roles they had enacted in their plays while directing the screen versions. However, an actor like Bhagyaraj, who was seen in small roles in his mentor Bharathiraaja’s films, suddenly found himself in the hero’s garb when Bharathiraaja cast him opposite Rati Agnihotri in the film Puthiya Varpugal, the director’s fourth venture. Capitalising on the success of the film, Bhagyaraj went on to make several hit films like Antha Ezhu Natkal, Mundanai Mudichu and Darling Darling Darling, donning the hero’s mantle and also doubling up as director. Among his assistants, Parthiban and Pandiyarajan too followed in their mentor’s footsteps. While Parthiban directed national award winning films like Puthiya Pathai, Pandiyarajan also impressed with an Aan Pavam. While Parthiban continues to direct an odd film or two, Pandiyarajan has now become a full time actor. Bharathiraaja, whose directorial venture Bommalattam with Nana Patekar in the cast was a colossal flop, has now taken to acting in cameo roles in films and has even begun to land plum roles on the small screen as well. Cheran is another filmmaker who was fast developing into a fine director with films like Bharathi Kannamma and Vetri Kodi Kattu when he turned lead actor in his own films like Autograph and Thavamai Thavamirunthu. Unfortunately, he has not directed a film for quite a while now and the acting offers have also dried up. Two directors who really found their niche as actors are the late Manivannan and Sundararajan. Both of them were brilliant at their craft and while Manivannan had hits like Nooravathu Naal, Pudhu Vasantham, and Amaithi Padai, to his credit as director, Sundararajan’s hit films like Amman Kovil Kizhakhale and Vaidehi Kathirunthal turned him into a household name. It was his role as an antagonist in Rajinikanth’s Kodi Parakuthu directed by his mentor Bharathiraaja that convinced Manivannan that his future lay in acting. But unlike Sundararajan whose forte remains comedy, Manivannan could play various roles with consummate ease. He excelled as a villain and comedian in films like Suryavamsam and Avvai Shanmughi where he was cast as a rich Chettiar in relentless pursuit of Shanmughi (Kamal Haasan). Mani was also adept at essaying intense, emotional roles and delivered powerful performances in films like Thullatha Manamum Thullum and Sangamam. His untimely passing was a big loss to Tamil cinema for he was both a gifted director and actor as well. Rare is the Tamil film which does not have director Manobala in the cast. The thin as a beanstalk Manobala who has directed several films is one of the busiest comedians on the circuit and though he is required to play only inconsequential comic characters, his combination scenes with ‘Vaigai Puyal' Vadivelu and Santhanam have never failed to regale audiences. One prolific director who appears to have realised that acting is not his cup of tea is Sundar C who along with his wife, actor Khushbu is also a successful producer. Sundar, who had a string of hits as a director to his credit including the acclaimed Anbe Sivam with Kamal Haasan and Madhavan in the lead, was bitten by the acting bug. However, his roles in films directed by him did not click in a big way. The biggest disappointment was the film Veerappu, a remake of the Malayalam superhit Spadikam where he was hardly a patch on Mohanlal who had delivered a towering performance. Sundar who also appeared briefly in his films like Aranmanai is now back to direction with the sequel to his hit film Kalakalappu and is also all set to direct what could be his magnum opus Sangamithra. Ks Ravikumar who directed superstar Rajinikanth in blockbusters like Muthu and Padayappa and Kamal Haasan in Tenali and Avvai Shanmughi had, like Alfred Hitchcock, made fleeting appearances in his films. But now, with not many directorial offers coming his way after films like Kochadaiyan turned damp squibs, he is chancing his arm as an actor and has bagged a few roles. From the younger lot, you have Samutharakani and Sashikumar who are actors as well as directors. Samutharakani, who worked in Sashi’s film Subramaniapuram directed the latter in the smash hit Nadodi. The actor, who has already won a National Award for Best Supporting Actor for India’s Oscar entry Visaranai, is now flooded with offers not only from Tamil filmmakers but also from Mollywood where his portrayal of a homicidal maniac in the Pridyadarshan directed Mohanlal starrer Oppam was much appreciated. Samutharakani has also firmed up plans to direct Sashikumar in a film in the near future. Other director- actors who deserve a mention are Raj Kiran, T Rajendar, Ramarajan, Myskkin, Ameer, Ram S J Suryah ( who was cast as a diabolic villain in Murugadoss directed Spyder) and Ramesh Khanna, Of the lot Myskkin, Ameer and Ram continue to be hotshot directors as well. That directors have a flair for acting is well known as part of their job is to act out scenes for the performers. And as any director would tell you, acting is far less taxing than direction, with the additional risk of having to own up if a film tanks at the box office.

It's a surprise that Srijit Mukherji's movies don't get as much notice outside West Bengal, and outside India, as it should. Bengali commercial cinema in India was in a state of creative decadence till Mukherji burst onto the scene with Autograph, his stylishly-crafted tribute to Satyajit Ray's immortal masterpiece Nayak, in 2010. More than half a decade later, Mukherji has become arguably the most bankable director working in Kolkata's studios today. Few can bridge the rural-urban divide in Bengal as well as he does. And most of his movies--from Autograph to Rajkahini--manage to achieve the double of achieving critical acclaim and humongous box-office returns. Even as I write this, he is preparing for his big leap into the ambitious world of Hindi cinema--he is busy...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

A portrait of Satyajit Ray by Rishiraj Sahoo | Source: Wikimedia commons

Let’s start to play a game here – What is common between the 9 Bengali films listed below:

1 – Antaheen (2009, dir: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury) advertised that this was the first film after Satyajit Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri where Aparna Sen and Sharmila Tagore acted together. It went further stating that even the Ray masterpiece didn’t have the two pitted against each other in the same frame as this film did.

2 – Abar Aranye (2003, dir: Goutam Ghose) took three of the four characters of Aranyer Din Ratri to the forest of Dooars on a sequel train at a time when the DVD, CD version of the Ray original was not readily available.

3 – Aborto (2013, dir: Arindam Sil) flaunts that all the characters of the film have the same names as the different major characters in the master’s film oeuvre.

4 – Charulata 2011 (2012, dir:...

Not many know this but Sushmita Sen speaks fluent Bengali with her parents, and has been pining to do a Bengali film for a very long time. She did a Bengali film, Mahesh Manjrekar's It Was Raining That Night in 2005, a remake of the director's Astitwa, which never got released. More recently Sushmita was all set to star in Rupali Chatterjee's Jodi Emon Hoto. That project is now as good as shelved. Finally the Bengali project that Sushmita has been craving to do has materialized. One of Bangla cinema's top directors Srijit Mukherjee who started his career with the hugely successful Bangla film Autograph and then went on to make other milestones like Hemlock Society and Jaatishwar, has signed Sushmita for his next film. Shedding light on the project Srijit says, "It's a film called Nirbaak (speechless). It compresses together four love stories connected by the theme of silence.

Bollywood actress Raima Sen was in London for the closing event at the London Indian Film Festival on Tuesday 3rd July.

Two of Raima Sen’s Bengali movies, Abosheshey and Baishey Srabon where screened at the two week film festival, with the actress walking the red carpet for the UK premier of the Bengali thriller Baishey Srabon.

Held at Cineworld, Haymarket the red carpet event began with the announcement of this year’s winner of the Satyajit Ray Foundation’s Short Film Competition. The prize went to Neeraj Ghaywan, for his film Shor, which tells the tale of a husband and wife living in Mumbai’s ghettos.

Baishey Srabon tells the story of two journalists and two cops chasing a psycho killer who is taking revenge in Kolkata, leaving behind couplets of famous Bengali poets as hints.

After the screening of the thriller, Raima Sen participated in a Q&A...

Indian independent cinema's groundbreaking director Ketan Mehta's Rang Rasiya (Colours Of Passion) has won the Audience Award at the 2nd London Indian Film Festival (June 30 - July 12). Audiences voted for their favourite films across 28 screenings during the festival. Mehta said, "I am thrilled that my passion project has won the coveted audience award at the London Indian Film Festival. The premiere in the historic surroundings of the Victoria & Albert museum was wonderful and the interaction with London audiences was great. This award is the icing on the cake." The Satyajit Ray Foundation's Short Film Award for 2011 goes to a film that the judges felt was a well crafted, beautifully observed and honest 'day-in-the-life' portrait of a poor but aspirational young boy - "Amar" by filmmaker Andrew Hinton. Hinton said that he would share his £1,000 prize money with the boy. Jury member Menhaj Huda (director of "Kidulthood" and "Everywhere and Nowhere") presented the award.

Click above for more stills Indian independent cinema's groundbreaking director Ketan Mehta's Rang Rasiya (Colours Of Passion) has won the Audience Award at the 2nd London Indian Film Festival (June 30 - July 12). Audiences voted for their favourite films across 28 screenings during the festival. Mehta said, "I am thrilled that my passion project has won the coveted audience award at the London Indian Film Festival. The premiere in the historic surroundings of the Victoria & Albert museum was wonderful and the interaction with London audiences was great. This award is the icing on the cake." The Satyajit Ray Foundation's Short Film Award for 2011 goes to a film that the judges felt was a well crafted, beautifully observed and honest 'day-in-the-life' portrait of a poor but aspirational young boy - "Amar" by filmmaker Andrew Hinton. Hinton said that he would share his £1,000 prize money with the boy. Jury member Menhaj Huda (director...

The second annual London Indian Film Festival has drawn to a close on another very successful year. Over the course of June 30 to July 12th, screenings of some of the best “Beyond Bollywood” films were showcased. Audiences voted for their favourite films across 28 screenings during the festival and the winner was Indian independent cinema’s groundbreaking director Ketan Mehta’s Rang Rasiya (Colours of Passion).

Mehta said: “I am thrilled that my passion project has won the coveted audience award at the London Indian Film Festival. The premiere in the historic surroundings of the Victoria & Albert museum was wonderful and the interaction with London audiences was great. This award is the icing on the cake.”

Also announced was the winner of The Satyajit Ray Foundation’s Short Film Award for 2011, which went to a film that the judges felt was a well crafted, beautifully observed and honest ‘day-in-the-life’ portrait of...

Opening this Thursday and running through July 12th is the London Indian Film Festival. This is the second exciting year and once again they have quite the eclectic lineup of films to showcase. Not only is the Imran Khan starrer Delhi Belly premiering at the festival but also showing are some of the best films that are outside the classic Bollywood box and includes some of the finest independent films from all over India, not only Hindi, but also Bengali and Malayalam films.

The films presented this year cover a wide range of themes and issues not generally seen in mainstream Indian cinema. Not only are the subjects new but the treatments, the cinematic styles, the music and so much more are what make these films have a new voice and really stand out. Cary Rajinder Sawhney, Festival Director said, “Liff’S heady cocktail of films are as unpredictable as the London summer,...

Delhi Belly directed by Abhinay Deo, and produced by Aamir Khan will open the second edition of the London Indian Film Festival on June 30, 2011.

“Irreverent, crude and downright rude this fabulous new comedy caper from modern Mumbai cocks its hat at bad-boy cults like Snatch and The Hangover, with perhaps a little peppering of the Beatles,” reads the synopsis of the film on the festival’s official website.

The other films that will be screened at the festival are: Rang Rasiya by Ketan Mehta, Riding The Stallion Of a Dream by Girish Kasaravalli, The White Elephant by Aijaz Khan, The Way Home by Dr. Biju Kumar, That Girl in Yellow Boots by Anurag Kashyap, Memories in March by Sanjoy Nag, Just Another Love Story by Kaushik Ganguly, Shukno Lanka (Dry Red Chillies) by Gaurav Pandey and Ladli Laila (Virgin Goat) by Murali Nair.

Bengali film Autograph directed by Srijit Mukherji...

Ranbir Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan are reported to be appearing together in a remake of a Bengali film. According to Mid Day, the actors will play the characters of a young director and a former film superstar, in the Hindi version of Autograph. Producer Madhu Mantena said of the project: "I think the era of remakes from regional languages into Hindi is back. We just need to make sure the regional flavour is not lost in Hindi." Although Khan (more)...

The Badshah of Bollywood Shahrukh Khan and the heartthrob of Bollywood Ranbir Kapoor will share screen space in the Hindi remake of Bengali film, ‘Autograph’. In the film, Shahrukh Khan will be seen in the role of a fading superstar and Ranbir Kapoor a young director. In the original version, superstar of Bengali cinema Prosenjeet has played the lead role. The Hindi version will be directing by Srijit Mukherjee and produced by Madhu Mantena. Mantena doesn't deny the remake plans. "I think the era of remakes from regional languages into Hindi is back. We just need to make sure the regional flavour is not lost in...

Director Srijit Mukherjee’s brainchild Autograph is all set to premiere at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival this month. The film will be released across the theaters on October 14th this year and it stars big names of the Bengali film industry like Prosenjit, nandana Sen and Indraneil Sengupta.

The upcoming movie is about three people from the world of acting, a reigning superstar, a young director and a theater actress. One day these three characters come together at a film set and their lives start to change. Autograph as a film tries to captivate the audience by giving them an inside view of a celebritie's mind. The movie has been inspired from Satyajit Ray’s Nayak and Ingrid Bergman’s Wild Strawberries.

Director Srijit Mukherjee informed us that the new movie deals with the concept of “a movie within a movie” and the narrative is split between two parts...

Prosenjit the superstar of Bengali cinema is extremely busy promoting his upcoming flick Autograph, which will release on October 14. Recently Prosenjit walked the ramp to promote costumes for his soon-to-be-released movie. The costumes for the film have been designed by the popular fashion designer Abhishek Dutta and the actor looked really cool in his new avatar.

The super star has been approached to walk the ramp on previous occasions but never said yes, but this time he took to the ramp to promote his film. Commenting on his character Arun Chatterjee (who also happens to be the superstar of the film industry), Prosenjit said that there are quite a few similarities between him and Arun Chatterjee.

Speaking about nervousness, the actor said that he did not feel jittery while walking on the ramp because he does not need to prove himself to anyone.  The actor also told us that off-screen...

Abu Dhabi, Oct 7 – Economist turned-director Srijit Mukherji’s directorial debut ‘Autograph’ is a surprise addition to the line up at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival starting October 14.

The highly anticipated Bengali film will be screened in the Showcase section, the festival’s selection of outstanding feature films from around the world.

‘We are delighted to welcome this brand new film to our line-up and look forward to offering the local audience an accomplished work by a talented first-time director, whose choice.

October 6, 2010: Nandana Sen has made a name for herself in both Bengali and Hindi Film industry with her superb acting skills. During a recent interview Nandana clarified that although she was involved in the making of Autograph (to a certain extent); she does not want to take up direction. Nandana likes to write feature scripts and also enjoys directing short films but she does not want to direct full-length feature film yet.

Till now, Nandana has written quite a few screenplays and directed a whole bunch of short films which were bought by the Indian Television at a good price. Despite that, Nandana maintains that directing short film is a passion that she enjoys and does not want to ruin the.

Nandana Sen has made a name for herself in both Bengali and Hindi Film industry with her superb acting skills. During a recent interview Nandana clarified that although she was involved in the making of Autograph (to a certain extent); she does not want to take up direction.  Nandana likes to write feature scripts and also enjoys directing short films but she does not want to direct full length feature film yet.

Until now Nandana has written quite a few screenplays and directed a whole bunch of short films that were bought by the Indian Television for a good price. Despite that Nandana maintains that directing short film sis a passion that she enjoys and she does not want to ruin the fun by venturing into full-fledged film direction.

Nandana told us that she lacks the necessary social skills required to be a good director. The beautiful actress believes that...

Debajyoti Mishra is one of the most renowned music directors in the Bengali Film industry. Recently Debajyoti’s music for the filmAutograph. The veteran music director confessed that recently he has married his old flame Jonaki (Mukherjee). The music director was previously married to singer Parama but they divorced due to personal differences.

The director said that finding love at the age of 47 has been a nice experience for him and right now he is living life to the fullest. Debajyoti said that Jonaki is a trained classical singer and he might use her talentsin some of his upcoming projects. When asked about his first marriage, Debajyoti said that he is friends with his ex-wife. The renowned music-director claims that Parama (ex-wife) is perhaps the best singer of the Bengali film industry at this moment.

Debajyoti has worked with all the well known directors of the Bengali film industry and...