Anuranan

Since I first heard about Anuranan- the upcoming Bengali film, I got interested. Here is why-

1. It has Rahul Bose as one of the protagonists. He has a proven ability of picking good films.
2. The cast also includes Rajat Kapoor and Raima Sen who are known to be selective about projects.
3. It was to be shot in London. That is interesting in itself. Bengali film and London? Never dreamt.
4. Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, a Mumbai-based adman as a director. Sounds interesting.
5. Based on marital relationships of two couples. The men are successful professionals, the women are educated, urban homemakers. One can quite relate to the subject. Hence what kind of treatment it gets wil be one point of curiosity.
6. This one is brand-new. I just discovered its website- www.anuranan.com. Again something unique. A Bengali film, regardless however educated and knowledgeable the director/ producer is, rarely has a website. We are still ages behind Mumbai in promoting a film. And what a surprise !! The site is well-designed and navigation is seamless. A website can promote a film in the most cost-effective manner to the potential audience, but hardly I come across a good film website. Most are not user-friendly or limited to just a homepage. Content is pathetic. But this one (Anuranan's) is refreshingly different. A lot of care in designing it is visible. I urge everybody interested in the film and reading this to check out the website.

The Bengali movies I am looking forward to

1. Khela and Sunglass (Bengali version) by Rituparno Ghosh- Rituparno's movies require no justifications to be seen.
2. Shikar by Saron Dutta- This young director has learnt from his not-so-successful debut Raat Barota Paanch last year. This is a thriller with a romantic angle shot extensively in Kolkata outdoors. Releasing on December 1.
3. Anuranan by Aniruddha (Tony) Roy Choudhury- This Mumbai-based experienced ad-filmmaker makes his film debut with this film that boasts of a thought-provoking cast of Rahul Bose, Rituparna, Raima and Rajat Kapoor. About contemporary marital relationship, a good portion of this movie is shot in London, first time in Bengali cinema. This film is being shown in the ongoing international film festival in Goa.
3. Padakkhep by Suman Ghosh- Reasons: Soumitra liked acting in this offbeat movie by a young director. Also starring Nandita Das and Tota Roy Choudhury.
4. Chakra by Sanghamitra Chowdhury- The storyline sounds interesting. Jisshu, who is gradually showing signs of mature acting, is cast in an unusual role. Also a lady director's work should be worth curiosity considering this is a rare breed in Tollygunge.