Kolkata: The Saradha Group chit fund fiasco has inspired a new movie in West Bengal. Tollywood has drawn inspiration from the Saradha Group collapse. All eyes are now on the latest release, 'Kagojer Nouka' or 'The Paper Boat', which metaphorically means an object that doesn't stay afloat for a long time. Incidentally, the film stars Dadasaheb Phalke-winner Soumitra Chatterjee playing the character of the prototype of Saradha boss and scamster Sudipta Sen.
Director Partha Sarathi Jowardar says he conceived this cinematic adaptation of the chit fund collapse seven months ago in anticipation of such a disaster waiting to happen. He also mobilised a thorough research on the operations of ponzi scheme companies. But he admits that the film's timing was a mere coincidence.
"Chit fund companies collect deposits with the intention of swindling them away. People keep their hard-earned money in such schemes in the hope of high interests and get cheated," Partha Sarathi Jowardar said.
Companies running ponzi schemes have pooled in around Rs 40 crore of annual investment in the Bangla film industry. With the noose of police and regulatory bodies tightening around them, most are likely to wind up. Jowardar knows that there are people like him who would stand by Bengal's film and television fraternity....
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09:14 AM, May 10, 2013
Kolkata: Refusing to commit if he considered the present trend of Bengali film industry as a real turn-around, Ray's favourite actor, thespian Soumitra Chatterjee today said but he believed in keeping himself busy in all the genres of flicks. Averse to tag a label like turnaround or buyoancy to the current spate of releases, including upcoming 'Rupkatha Noy' and 'Kagozer Nouko' by directors of different genres, Soumitra said, "Yes I...
11:13 AM, May 05, 2013
Delhi will witness a retrospective on Satyajit Ray at the film festival which will also showcase an eclectic mix of old classics, and contemporary films such as Gangs Of Wasseypur 1 and 2 and the much awaited 'Bombay Talkies'. ...
05:43 PM, May 03, 2013
Soumitra's association with Satyajit Ray goes back to 1959 when he debuted with Ray's 'Apur Sansar'. ...
03:23 PM, Jan 19, 2013
Konkana Sen Sharma has returned to Bengali cinema with 'Shunya Awnko'. ...
04:56 PM, Jan 08, 2013
Kolkata: A controversy erupted at the 18th Kolkata Film Festival that was inaugurated on Saturday. While the Bengal cinema legends got the cold shoulder, the Mamata Banerjee government rolled out the red carpet for Bollywood biggies. It's a city where cinema is religion, where film festivals are celebrated with elan. But this year at the 18th Kolkata International Film Festival when the city was cheering for Big B and SRK,...
10:40 AM, Nov 13, 2012
Kolkata: Iconic Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee said the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) was losing its character and seriousness following the shift of the inauguration ceremony from the traditional state-run Nandan Auditorium. "Have you ever heard any film festival being inaugurated at a stadium? The film festival is losing its character and seriousness. It is a film festival and not a circus," said the Dadasahab Phalke Award recipient on Sunday....
11:40 AM, Nov 12, 2012
New Delhi: The trailer of 'Paanch Adhyay' is out now. The film has been directed by Pratim D Gupta and has Dia Mirza and Priyanshu Chatterjee in the lead roles. 'Paanch Adhyay' is expected to be a slice of life film. ...
12:02 PM, Sep 29, 2012
Journalist-director Pratim D Gupta's 'Paanch Adhyay' has been selected for screening at the 14th Mumbai Film Festival. 'Paanch Adhyay', starring Dia Mirza, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Soumitra Chatterjee and film-maker Suman Mukhopadhyay, has been selected for the New Faces section of the Indian Cinema at the prestigious international festival organised by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images. Set in Kolkata and set to the tunes of Shantanu Moitra, the Bengali film revolves...
08:38 PM, Sep 25, 2012
Mumbai: My address really was to blame. Pali Hill, Bandra, Mumbai in the sixties was idyllic, a glam but quiet Beverley Hills. Green, leafy with bungalows, the monstrous hi-rises hadnt yet come into the frame " it was a hilly suburb, far from the madding crowd and only minutes away from the sea. Union Park, the quaint colony that I resided in, had a fair share of movie folks. Baddie...
05:02 PM, Jun 27, 2012
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's unbridled joy at the Kolkata Knight Riders winning the fifth season of the Indian Premier League was ...
01:11 PM, May 31, 2012
Kolkata: In another recognition of his contribution to the world of films, drama and poetry, this year's Dadasaheb Phalke recipient Soumitra Chatterjee was felicitated by a leading business group. Stating that he was overwhelmed by the ecstatic response of the people in the wake of his receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke, Soumitra said, "I sometimes wonder what great have I done to deserve such accolades, such warmth and such unalloyed happiness....
11:16 AM, May 28, 2012
Kolkata: The actor and the director, the man and his muse, Soumitra Chatterjee and Satyajit Ray. A symbiotic relationship, which gave expression to one of greatest eras in celluloid creativity, still continues with Chatterjee saying that Ray 'remains alive' in him, even 20 years after his death. Chatterjee, who was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke award for lifetime achievement this year, worked with Ray for over three decades and did more...
07:25 PM, May 12, 2012
New Delhi: Talents from India's $2-billion Indian movie industry received from Vice President Hamid Ansari the 59th National Film Awards across various categories here Thursday. Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee was also honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke award, highest honour in Indian cinema at the event. Regional cinema dominated the award function, while Bollywood maintained a low key this year. Top honours, including best feature film, best direction and best...
09:42 PM, May 03, 2012
New Delhi: A great celluloid story needs a brilliant storyteller, and the storyteller needs outstanding actors to bring the characters to life. Satyajit Ray, the man who made the values of Indian films recognisable to the world, also had a muse in Soumitra Chatterjee. Chatterjee, in return, tried his best to fulfil Ray's wishes on screen. Both shared a special rapport which spread over the canvas of 13 films and...
01:08 PM, May 02, 2012
Kolkata: Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee, who starred in 14 celluloid classics of Satyajit Ray, says working with the master filmmaker was an exciting learning process. And he continues to inspire, even 20 years after his death. Saluting Ray's poetic, lyrical and artistic qualities, Chatterjee told IANS in an interview: "He is a special kind of poetic, lyrical, artistic visionary. If you see his films you can feel that such poetic,...
07:11 PM, Apr 23, 2012
Apur Sansar: For Apur Sansar, the final film in the Apu Trilogy, the great director plucked a young radio announcer and small-time theater actor from anonymity to play the titular role. Soumitra Chatterjee. Nurtured by Ray's genius, Soumitra brought to the world of light and shadows the unforgettable character of Apu, boyishly handsome, romantically intense and poetically fragile, journeying on the lyrical road of life, pushing aside the poverty, despondency...
12:03 PM, Mar 23, 2012
Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee talks about his role he played in Satyajit Ray's Apu trilogy. ...
07:50 PM, Mar 22, 2012
New Delhi: He turned down a national award 11 years back but legendary Bangla actor Soumitra Chatterjee is proud to recieve this year's Dada Saheb Phalke award, the highest recognition in Indian cinema. The 77-year-old actor had turned down the special jury award for best actor in 2001 to protest the bias of national film awards committee in selecting mainstream cinema. This time, however, the jury chose Soumitra over veterans...
05:26 PM, Mar 22, 2012
