Latest news with #Hoichoi
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Business Standard
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
How language streaming services Hoichoi, Aha shake up entertainment market
The numbers seem small. In 2024, streaming video generated ₹35,600 crore in advertising and pay revenues from 125 million subscribers, according to Media Partners Asia premium Listen to This Article Eken Babu is an unlikely detective. The rotund, balding character was created in 1991 by the late author Sujan Dasgupta for Bengali magazine Anandamela. Eken Babu became a web series on Hoichoi, a Bengali streaming service, in 2018. The show is now in its eighth season. Eken Babu's popularity prompted Hoichoi's parent, SVF Entertainment, a major studio and distributor based in Kolkata, to produce a film featuring the character in 2022. This May saw the release of the third film in the franchise, Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika. Hoichoi, a subscription-based service, which launched in 2017, now makes a small profit Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of or the Business Standard newspaper
Hindustan Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
‘Eken Babu has given me identity as an actor': Anirban Chakrabarti
Anirban Chakrabarti is well aware of the massive love his sly and lovable detective Eken Babu has got over the years. In an exclusive interaction with Hindustan Times ahead of the release of The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika, the actor opened up about how it is always a joy to return to the character, shooting in Varanasi during the scorching Summers, and more. (Translated from Bengali) (Also read: Anirban Bhattacharya opens up on Hoichoi series Bhog: 'It was an incredible offer as an actor' | Interview) What has been the best part about playing Eken? The actor says, 'Out of all the characters I have played, Eken has become the most popular. It has become a franchise. I have played this character a total of 11 times! This is a rare occurrence for an actor. We started our journey with this character first in the web series format. Then it became popular, so we did a movie, and that became successful as well. So here we are… this entire journey has given us so much joy, and I must admit that as an actor, Eken has played a huge role in giving me an identity.' 'People have for the first time identified me for this part. It is my first major break, it has become a part of my identity as an actor… which is still continuing. People love me as Eken, which is extremely important to me,' he adds. As the title The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika suggests, this time Eken Babu and gang will be in Varanasi for all solving a mystery. When asked how it was shooting in the city, Anirban said, 'Varanasi is one of my most favourite places to visit. I have been there multiple times as well. It is such a diverse city, spiritually and culturally rich. Usually, it is during the winters when I prefer to go to Varanasi. But this time we had to shoot during the summers, which was just a lot! The entire day time we had outdoor shoots, and face the rays of the sun. Now that was painful!' He went on to say, 'Of course, when one is shooting, there are fewer chances of sightseeing, and we were there during Holi. The festival has an important part to play in our film, and this time we saw the Masan Holi, which happens three days before the main day. It is played with ashes. That aside, Varanasi is known for its ghats, the small lanes and the Ganga aroti… those are also part of the film. During the shoot, we had to do a boat ride and go to the location in a ghat with all the technicians. We had to avoid the evenings because the place would get crowded due to the aroti.' The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika also brings back director Joydeep Mukherjee to the helm. Anirban gushes about working with Joydeep and says, 'This is my 12th film with him. What happens is that when an actor and a director work together many times, the work becomes so much easier. Both of us are able to interpret the scenes in a much more flexible manner because we know each other's patterns of work. That is an interesting and helpful point, which has taken place during the shoot of this film. It really does ease out so much. The schedules are very packed, so this tuning becomes really helpful. Joydeep, as a director, is very sorted, every aspect of the shoot is so well divided that for each and every actor in the cast, it becomes really easy. The camera angles, which shot will be done on a day, everything is decided before. As an actor, it is the best ever situation.' Anirban concludes with a special message for the fans of Eken Babu. 'The people have given so much love to Eken Babu, and this film promises a bigger thrill this time. It has been shot in a bigger way, and we have tried to do our best with this film as well. There are so many new faces this time, and the combination has been wonderful for the film. I am hopeful that the audience will love Eken this time,' he says. The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika also stars Saswata Chatterjee, Gaurav Chakrabarty, Ishaa Saha, and Biswanath Basu. The film is all set to release in theatres on May 16.
Hindustan Times
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Bhog review: Anirban Bhattacharya shines in eerie and unsettling mythical horror
Bhog, the new Hoichoi Original directed by actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay, tripled my heart rate and left my jaw on the floor in the best possible way. Even though I am aware of the original short story by Avik Sarkar, which serves as the source for this compact 6-episode series, it left me surprised and hooked from the get-go. It starts off ominously and builds up slowly into a form of elevated mythical horror. (Also read: Anirban Bhattacharya opens up on Hoichoi series Bhog: 'It was an incredible offer as an actor' | Interview) Bhog, which translates to a form of offering in Bengali, centres around Atin (Anirban Bhattacharya), a Kolkata-based man in his 30s working in sales. The show begins with good news as he gets a much-deserved promotion. He is an orphan who is being looked after by Pushpa di (Sudipa Basu) at the house. She dutifully cooks him food and reveals how his departed mother had made her promise to take care of Atin. His uncle Bhabesh Kaku (Rajadava Dutta) looks after him quite often. Everything seems okay with Atin, who harbours a love for antique pieces. One day, when he chances upon this other-worldly deity in his friend's shop- a goddess with four hands, carrying a skull in one and another holding a stringed instrument. Its untraceability further hooks him; there's a strange sort of pull towards it that he cannot escape. He brings the deity home and begins to worship it. Soon, he has a dream-like vision at night where the deity reveals that she is hungry and wants an offering. What is this conspiracy? Atin must not ask. He must submit himself completely. And so he does, as Bhog begins to chart his gradual descent into this obsession that engulfs his body and mind. His devotion nullifies his other interests, desires, and wants to such an extent that he does not see any harm in bringing a stranger home one evening. She is Damri, played by the terrific Parno Mittra. She cooks the food, and Atin eats it- even if it makes him puke it up. Bhog plays out in the course of 6 tightly knit episodes, directed with utmost care and nuance by Parambrata Chattopadhyay. The setting is key, as Atin's sense of paranoia mixed with relief is balanced with the brilliant use of lighting and set design. Shantanu Mitra Neogi's screenplay wisely expands on the elements that the original text stepped aside, contextualizing the questions that crop up later. Nabarun Bose's chilling background score is one of the biggest highlights of the show, slowly building up towards a gradual crescendo of sorts. None of it works without the chilling central performance of Anirban Bhattacharya, who embodies Atin's mask of fear and curiosity with great depth of feeling. So much of this man is left to the physicality, the way his body slowly shrinks under the weight of this invisible burden. The actor nails that sense of loss and revelation extremely well. Special shoutout to the special appearance of Subhasish Mukherjee, who stands out in that one single scene. Bhog is not so much about myths or demons as it is about faith. Or the loss of it. Atin is influenced within this hyper-real world of mysteries and energies, and he loses a sense of control. Even as he begins to shy away, there are only a handful of people who act on this sudden change. Beneath the surface of all the terror and thrill of Bhog lies the fate of a lonely middleman existing in his own little shell. It is an inexplicable sort of belief that one can suffice by themselves, but does it really work that way? As Atin will learn by the end, the sense of an offering, if any, must arrive as an act of love. Bhog is now streaming on Hoichoi.
