Sleuths team up at the box office

Two sleuths have raced ahead of a don at the box office. Royal Bengal Rahasya — the latest Feluda film — and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows — the sequel to the 2009 blockbuster — are the top draws in the first week of the New Year, powering ahead of Shah Rukh Khan’s Don 2.

“It’s been a near-record-breaking weekend for us thanks to Feluda and Sherlock Holmes. While Sherlock Holmes has had a strong first weekend, Royal Bengal Rahasya has been breaking box-office records ever since it released on December 23,” said Subhasis Ganguli, regional director, INOX.

At plexes across the city, the New Year weekend had Sherlock Holmes registering occupancies in the range of 85 to 90 per cent, while almost all shows of Royal Bengal Rahasya went full.

“Business at the start of the year has been good and most of the credit goes to these two films. Movie buffs of all ages have been queuing up to watch the two sleuths in action,” revealed an official of Fame Cinemas.

Sandip Ray’s take on father Satyajit Ray’s bestseller has scored big time at the box office and been hailed as the best film by Ray (Jr).

“We could sense it would be a much bigger film than the last one (Gorosthanay Sabdhaan) because the story is far more adventurous,” said Nishpal Singh of Surinder Films that has jointly produced it with Shree Venkatesh Films. With a budget of Rs 2 crore, RBR had grossed Rs 1.5 crore in Week One itself.

Prodosh Mitter and gang are not only going strong at the plexes, but also playing to packed houses at standalone cinemas. “Both Priya and Star theatres have been going full over the last two weeks. This film will last a long time at theatres,” said exhibitor-distributor Arijit Dutta who feels Royal Bengal Rahasya could cross the collections of Bombaiyer Bombete, the biggest Feluda grosser till now.

Royal Bengal Rahasya’s rising numbers have even surprised director Sandip Ray. Pleasantly, of course. “I didn’t expect the film to do so well; compared with the earlier Feluda films, Royal Bengal Rahasya has a more serious and complex story. The film is also very dialogue-oriented but the response has been very good and we are happy,” he said.

“I also wasn’t sure how it would do in the interiors because Feluda is essentially a film for the city crowd. The film has got a wide release but the reports from the suburbs are very good. It’s an interesting achievement and I am a little scared now for the next Feluda films because people will expect a better one,” said Ray.

Shaheb Bhattacherjee is all excited about his second stint as Topshe. “People are writing to me on Facebook and there is a lot of repeat viewing. I know some people who have watched the film five times! It’s a great feeling, really,” he smiled.

From 21 Rajani Sen Road to 221B Baker Street, the popularity wave is unabated.

The Guy Ritchie-directed modern retelling of the Arthur Conan Doyle cult series starring Robert Downey Jr as the iconic sleuth and Jude Law as Dr Watson, is finding favour because of its thrills and spills, Moriarty and Mycroft.

“The latest figures indicate that the sequel has beaten the weekend box-office collections of the original by over 250 per cent on an all-India basis. Strong word-of-mouth and the fact that this is a rare sequel said to have surpassed the first film in plot and characterisation is drawing crowds,” said Denzil Dias, deputy MD, theatrical, Warner Bros, the producers of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows that collected Rs 4.2 crore across India on the New Year weekend.

And with even Nitish Roy’s three-week-old Gosain Baganer Bhoot, based on Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay’s tale, doing better than anticipated at the multiplexes, the city cinegoer has clearly found a choice beyond Bollywood. Even if that’s for a few days.

“I knew that the film would do well. Nobody makes films for kids here. Besides, we released the film very strategically during the holiday period so that the schoolchildren can watch it,” said Roy.

Royal Bengal Rahasya

Cast: Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Bibhu Bhattacharjee, Shaheb Bhattacherjee, Basudeb Mukherjee, Paran Bandopadhyay, Bhaswar Chatterjee, Debesh Roychoudhury, Biplab Chatterjee, Sanjib Sarkar

Movie Review: First things first. Sandip Ray, nah let’s make it Babuda instead, take a bow. This is, by far, the BEST Feluda flick from his stable. And now that he has given us a taste of his best, we are hungry for more, much like the “RBR”‘s maneater that’s ready to kill after tasting blood.

This one’s for Sabyasachi Chakrabarty or the one and only Benuda. Tummy or no tummy, agility or no agility, only this six foot something man has it in him to carry Felu Mitter’s legacy forward. So yes, as per his words, this is one fan that does not want him to hang up Feluda’s boots. At least, not yet.

For those who have leafed through the book, it’s no secret that this is one rahasya where the private detective has to bank on his magajastra, big time. And those who haven’t, can be assured that this is one adventure you would not want to miss.

The mystery revolves around a dhandha: Muro hoye buro gach/ hath gon bhat panch/Dik pao thik thik jobabe/falgun tal tor/Dui majhe bhuifor/Sandhane dhondaye nababe. The characters of Mahitosh Singha Roy (Basudeb), Debotosh Singha Roy (Paran), Tarit Sengupta (Bhaswar), Sashanka Sanyal (Debesh), Madhablal (Sanjib) create enough suspense and drama that coax viewers to rack their brains along with Feluda. This edge-of-the-seat thriller is one helluva adventure and what makes it all the more engrossing is the fact that till the end one is unsure about the culprit – barring Feluda of course. His exclamation of “Eureka” or “Kurukshetra” to Jatayu’s simple question, only build up to a fitting climax. Not to forget the lush, dense greenery of the Dhenkanal forest that is almost an all-engrossing presence in the film.

In terms of acting, outstanding is perhaps the best word to acknowledge almost every actor’s work in the film. However, there are two names that make for sureshot showstealers – Paran and the late Bibhu. While the former leaves proof that he is the master of his art, in this case through the portrayal of Debotosh Singha Roy, the latter leaves a lump in your throat. Much as you savour the Jatayu-isms like “Keno, ami toh halum porjonto chilum” when Topshe points out that he had passed off on seeing the tiger or even when Feluda says, “Gacher dale uthe agyan hoeo je matite na pore jhule thaka jaye, seite sorboprothom apni i proman korechhen”, you also realize that finding another Jatayu will be a tough task for Sandip Ray.

Till the time that happens, here’s putting our hands together for Pradosh C Mitter and the terrific trio.

Check out

The whodunnit style adds an element of suspense to the film

There is a tiger skin with its head on the floor of the room where Feluda, Topshe and Jatayu have been put up. Don’t miss out on Bibhu’s reaction when he wakes up in the middle of the night to see the tiger head moving

In yet another scene Jatayu is seen lying on the tiger skin and resting his head on the head of the tiger. You will barely be able to contain your laughter while watching Jatayu’s antics

Tollywood celebs at RBR’s premier

Sandip Ray’s latest Feluda flick ” Royal Bengal Rahasya” opened to a full house of Friday.

It was almost as if the whole of Tollywood stopped by at the city theatre, where the film premiered, to catch a glimpse of “RBR”. And judging by the numbers, it was clear that “RBR” was one of the most anticipated films of the year.

We spotted Subrata Bhattacherjee, Swastika Mukherjee, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Parno Mittra, Srijit Mukherji and Abir Chatterjee, apart from the cast and crew, at the premiere.