Bollywood's Bong Connection

Goynar Baksho (Jewellery Box)
Director: Aparna Sen

In a recent chat with rediff.com, actress Raima Sen said Bengalis have finally arrived in Bollywood! And what with actresses like Rani Mukerji, Bipasha Basu and Konkona Sensharma, it's easy to believe that.

But besides these good-looking women, the industry, in recent times, has seen an influx of Bengali directors as well.

rediff.com takes a look at Bengali filmmakers trying to make it in Bollywood.

Riding high on the success of Mr & Mrs Iyer (2002) and the critically acclaimed 15 Park Avenue, Aparna Sen plans to revive her long shelved project, her first Hindi project, Goynar Baksho. The film, a comedy, tells a tale of three middle-class women of three generations and their bizarre social existence and conflicts. Sen has roped in Govinda to play Konkona Sensharma's husband in the film. The film will also star Paresh Rawal and mother-daughter duo Sharmila Tagore and Soha Ali Khan.

The film is produced by Bipin Vohra, who also produced 15 Park Avenue.

Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam
Director: Rituparno Ghosh

Ghosh has an eye for classic.

After filming Rabindranath Tagore's Chokher Bali (2003), starring Aishwarya Rai, Raima Sen and Prosenjit, and Raincoat (Ash and Ajay Devgan), Ghosh is all set to remake Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam in Hindi, based on the Bengali classic of the same name by Bimal Mitra.

The film will be produced by Pritish Nandy Communications, and may star John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra and Vidya Balan.

Ghosh's Bollywood vision doesn't end here. His Draupadi, a Hindi-English bilingual, will have a pan-Asian cast, and will roll this year.

The Bong Connection
Director: Anjan Dutt

Bengali singer-musician-actor-director Anjan Dutt has reasons to hit the headlines. He will start shooting his Bengali-English bilingual, The Bong Connection, from the end of January. The film, aimed at depicting the dichotomy of the non-resident Indians, stars Shayan Munshi, Parambrata Chatterjee, Raima Sen and Soumitra Chatterjee. It attempts to portray the dilemma of Bengali's estranged from their places of origin. It seeks to explore the identity crisis that plagues Bengalis settled out of India. Faltu
Director: Anjan Das Rok Sako To Rok Lo may have bombed at the box office but the film's lead pair, Yash Pandit and Manjari Phadnis, have signed their next film together. Faltu is based on Bengali writer Syed Mujtaba Siraj's novel Ranir Ghater Brittanto. The film is produced by Rok Sako producer Planman Motion Pictures. The film's protagonist represents people thrown out of erstwhile East Pakistan during the Partition. They settle in a small, seven-family village called Rani.

Kaalpurush
Director: Buddhadev Dasgupta

One of India's ace filmmakers, Buddhadev Dasgupta, takes on family intimacies and global politics in his Bengali film, Kaalpurush. Rahul Bose plays a man struggling to come to terms with the memory of his omnipotent father (played by Bengal's own Mithun Chakraborty). It leads Bose to plunge into long-hidden secrets. Dasgupta unravels the values of Bengali middle-class and weaves in a commentary on the undeniable influence of America. The film also stars Sameera Reddy, as Bose's dominating wife.

Yatra
Director: Goutam Ghosh

Bollywood diva Rekha and Nana Patekar will star opposite each other in Goutam Ghosh's forthcoming Hindi film, Yatra. They were earlier seen together in Ram Gopal Varma's Bhoot.

Yatra tells the story of an acclaimed writer's journey with a fictional woman character. The latter is deeply etched into the writer's psyche so much so that she comes to life, at times blurring the line between the real and imaginary.