Latest news with #Grihapravesh
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Reel battle heats up as 13 Bengali films vie for silver screen space
Kolkata: With as many as 13 Bengali movies running now, the June fight for getting theatres has reached pre-pandemic frenzy. Just like pre-pandemic times, makers are taking their screen battles to social media and asking why their films are not getting good show timings despite good word-of-mouth publicity. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The battle for screens has reached a feverish pitch this week with many openly expressing their disappointment at not getting their desired shows or screens. These 13 Bengali films competing for screens are 'The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika', 'Grihapravesh', 'Sonar Kellay Jawker Dhan', 'Pokkhirajer Dim', 'Raas', 'Onko Ki Kothin', 'Batsorik', 'Aamar Boss', 'Aapish', 'Chabiwala: The Keysmith', 'Chandrabindoo', 'Aari' and ' Giving them competition in Hindi are 'Housefull 5', 'Raid 2', 'Bhool Chuk Maaf' and 'How to Train Your Dragon' and 'From the World of John Wick: Ballerina', Celine Song's 'Materialists', 'Final Destination Bloodlines', 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' and 'The Ritual' in English. The much-talked-about 'Thug Life' starring Kamal Haasan has also got a handful of shows too. Vying for attention is also Hemant Tiwari's 'Krishna Arjun'. Described by the makers as the world's first double role single shot film, this film is being promoted inside metro trains by leaflet distribution as a film which didn't get screen space and can be watched on YouTube. Many agree that the number of Bengali releases can be seen as a sign of the industry's good health. "I am a positive person and the fact that so many Bengali films are playing out in various theatres is a sign of films getting released finally. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now I feel sad that despite our film receiving such a warm response from the audience at KIFF, we did not get good shows," said actor Sudipta Chakraborty, whose 'Aapish' managed only 19 shows after release on June 13. Shows and screen numbers are not stretchable and all makers believe their contents deserve show. "I am not a star who is consulted about release dates. But if I were, I would have chosen a week when there was less competition," Chakraborty said. Actor Vikram Chatterjee, who was disappointed that his 'Raas' did not get a show at Nandan, said some films are doing good business but that hasn't yet resulted in new projects being sanctioned. "Neither is the number of films on floor at this time many, nor is the number of films that have been shot in first six months this year. But positive box office numbers and word-of-mouth publicity for multiple films in recent past give a ray of hope," Chatterjee said. The battle next week is tougher with one new Bengali release — 'Rabindra Kabya Rahasya' — along with Aamir Khan-starrer 'Sitaare Zameen Par', Dhanush-Nagarjuna-starrer 'Kubera' and Danny Boyle's '28 Years Later'.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Film makes LGBTQIA+ community see red
Kolkata: Indraadip Das Gupta's 'Grihapravesh' is stuck in the middle of a controversy having outraged a section of the city's LGBTQIA+ community for queer erasure and depiction of guilt-bearing queer identity. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Released in the Pride Month, the film has garnered good footfall. Yet, a section of the queer community has flagged off the irresponsibility of the maker for dedicating it to Rituparno Ghosh who they insist never showed women being "victims" of closet homosexuals. Das Gupta's film, starring Subhasree Ganguly, Jeetu Kamal, Kaushik Ganguly, Sohini Sarkar and Suprovo Thakur, released last Friday. Kaustav Bakshi, professor in English in JU and author of "Queer Studies: Texts, Contexts, Praxis', told TOI that his student, Souhardyo Pramanik, had referred to the film saying it "needs to be bashed". "Souhardyo, who did a course in Queer Studies, was alarmed that such a film has been made and dedicated to Rituparno. Rituparno made three films which were identified as queer but he was creating the ground for years. His most queer film was 'Bariwali'. So were 'Chokher Bali', 'Antarmahal' and 'Raincoat'. But none of these are identified overtly as queer apart from 'Memories in March', 'Chitrangada' and 'Arekti Premer Golpo'. Ritu had an understanding of queer as a way of life and not as a means of sexual expression only. Indraadip might think he has made a homophilic film but a queer viewer will find problematic nuances in it," Bakshi said. Bakshi further pointed out that Rituparno made films when "queer" had not become a "thing" in India as it is today. 'Grihapravesh', Bakshi said, is more of a "premeditated film". Bakshi believes Das Gupta's film should have raised this question: Is a queer person marrying another person of the opposite sex, an act of cheating or is it an issue of bisexuality which is barely addressed in society? "The woman and the two men are victims of heteropatriarchy and not of each other. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now It's problematic that the film missed that point and is rather making two men seem like grey characters," Bakshi said. Koyel Ghosh, managing trustee of Sappho For Equality, told TOI that the film suffers from "an intentional queer erasure". "Many queer and transpersons are forced to marry without consent due to pressure from the natal family. This pressure could be of various types, including physical torture, corrective rape, fear of eviction, mobility restriction to name a few. The notion that once queer and transpersons are married off they immediately are cured of their homesexuality is the fundamental reason why such coercive practices are done. To say that Meghdut (Jeetu Kamal) might have a possibility of falling for Titli (Subhasree) again reinstates that same belief. However, this notion is futile and further stigmatizes a community that is already subjected to bullying and harassment," Ghosh said. The entire narrative, Ghosh said, is from the perspective of the woman in this case Titli's situation. "It further villainises queer and transpersons whose narratives have been structurally silenced and marginalised," Ghosh added. The director is unfazed. "I am overwhelmed by the positive reviews from the audience. This includes those beyond the Bengali speaking audience. This film is my tribute to Rituparno Ghosh. More than the box office ticket sales and success, what warms my heart is the chatter around the film. A film like this transcends to the next level when it becomes a talking point in society. I am so pleased to know such a thing has happened with it," Das Gupta said.
