Ballabhpurer Roopkotha

Ballabhpurer Roopkotha is a 2022 Indian Bengali language supernatural comedy drama film directed by Anirban Bhattacharya in his feature directorial debut,[1][2] based on the 1954 eponymous play by Badal Sarkar.[2][3][4] It follows a debt-laden royal scion as he tries to pay off creditors by selling his ancestral palace, while trying to hide a potentially deal-breaking secret. The plot was originally inspired by the film The Ghost Goes West by René Clair.[5]

Ballabhpurer Roopkotha
বল্লভপুরের রূপকথা
Directed byAnirban Bhattacharya
Screenplay byAnirban Bhattacharya, Prateek Dutta
Based onBallavpurer Roopkotha
by Badal Sarkar
Produced byShrikant Mohta
Mahendra Soni
StarringSatyam Bhattacharya
Shyamal Chakraborty
Surangana Bandyopadhyay
Debraj Bhattacharya
Sandip Bhattacharya
Jhulan Bhattacharya
CinematographySoumik Haldar
Edited bySanglap Bhowmik
Music byDebraj Bhattacharya, Subhadeep B Guha
Production
company
Release date
  • 25 October 2022 (2022-10-25) (India)
CountryIndia
LanguageBengali
Box office₹5 crore

The film was released on 25 October 2022 under the banner of Shree Venkatesh Films.[6] It received strongly positive reviews,[5][7][8][3][9] and was a box office success.[10][11]

Plot

In 1961, Ray Bahadur Bhupati Ray, the King of Ballabhpur village, is crippled by debt. His only material asset is his 400-year-old ancestral palace, which is in a dilapidated condition. Bhupati wants to move to Kolkata and start a dental clinic, and he tries to sell the palace to pay off his debts.

As a prospective buyer, businessman Mr Haldar, informs him that he will come over to take a look at the property, Bhupati and his faithful butler Monohar set about to freshen up the house. They enlist help from three of Bhupati's local creditors, Saha, Srinath and Paban. Bhupati's college friend Sanjib helps out by playing the estate's dewan.

Mr Haldar arrives that night with his wife Sapna and daughter Chhandaa. Contrary to Bhupati's expectations, he is mightily impressed by the heritage structure and the aristocratic flavour of the household. Haldar immediately signs him a cheque for the property. Chhandaa and Bhupati feel instantly attracted to each other. As the Haldars leave after dinner, Bhupati confesses to Sanjib what he has concealed from the buyers: Every night after 11PM, the palace is roamed by the ghost of Raghupati, Bhupati's ancestor who was trapped there by a curse. Raghu da, as he calls him, can only free himself by forcing a surrender and apology from a descendant of the Bhuiyas (royals) of Ballabhpur's rival kingdom Pratapgarh. Sanjib doesn't believe him, but is frightened by Raghu's laughter ringing out as the clock strikes 11.

Soon, however, the Haldars return to the palace - their car has broken down. Bhupati and Sanjib panic, while Monohar makes modest arrangements for their guests' night stay. Bhupati tries to calm Raghu, but the latter continues his manic laughter and starts reciting Sanskrit shloks. Chhandaa is impressed by the recitation, especially after the womanising Raghu's ghost recites Kalidas to her. She, however, mistakes him as Bhupati since the two look identical. Sapna is outraged to see 'Bhupati' with her daughter late at night, and forces her husband to cancel the deal. The real Bhupati takes the blame, then privately confesses the truth to a confused Mr Haldar. This actually overjoys him: He proposes to quadruple the amount paid if Bhupati can prove the ghost's presence to his wife the next time; Sapna agrees to this. Chhandaa is offended by Bhupati's meekness in accepting blame when there was none.

The very next day, a new prospective buyer appears at the door. Mr Haldar bursts in with his family and identifies the man as Mr Chowdhury, his school friend, rival, and fellow aficionado of heritage palaces. Mr Chowdhury ridicules both Mr Haldar and Bhupati regarding the history of the palace, and ends up revealing himself as a descendant of the Pratapgarh royals. An excited Bhupati summons Raghu, who arrives and threatens Mr Chowdhury with a sword. When his bullets prove no match for Raghu, Mr Chowdhury finally leans down and begs forgiveness. Raghu is released from his curse, and disappears. All misunderstandings are cleared up, and Sapna apologises and proposes Chhandaa and Bhupati's marriage, which they readily agree to.[12]

Cast
  • Satyam Bhattacharya as Bhupati / Raghupati / Ramaapati (Raghupati's father)
  • Surangana Bandyopadhyay as Chhandaa
  • Debraj Bhattacharya as Sanjib Basu
  • Shyamal Chakraborty as Monohar / Harihar / Monohari
  • Sandip Bhattacharya as Mr. B.P. Halder
  • Jhulan Bhattacharya as Swapna
  • Kripabindu Chowdhury as Saha
  • Sumanta Roy as Paban
  • Surajit Sarkar as Srinath
  • Shyamal Sarkar as Mr. Chowdhury
  • Naren Bhattacharjee as the boatman
  • Nitai as Bohurupi Balaai

Reception

Box office

Ballabhpurer Roopkatha emerged as a financial success. The film was estimated to have made ₹5 crore at the box office.[10][11]

Critical response

The film received strongly positive reviews, with multiple critics highlighting its originality, humour, performances of the cast, direction and cinematography.[3][5][7][8][9] Writing for The Telegraph, Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri called it "an important film as far as Bengali cinema is concerned, which is going through what is without a doubt its most barren phase in years, both creatively and commercially".[7] The Citizen's Shoma A Chatterji called the film "perhaps the best thing to have happened to Bengali cinema in a long, long time", terming it the best Bengali film of 2022.[8]

References
  1. "Anirban Bhattacharya পরিচালক হিসেবে বড় পর্দায়, কেমন হল তাঁর রূপকথার গল্প?". bengali.news18.com (in Bengali). 23 October 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  2. "Anirban Bhattacharya kick-starts 'Ballavpurer Roopkatha' shooting". The Times of India. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  3. Dutta, Abhinandan (24 October 2022). "প্রথম ছবিতেই প্রত্যাশা পূরণ, হাসি-কান্নার রূপকথায় জমজমাট বল্লভপুরের আখ্যান (In Bengali: Matching expectations in debut itself, Ballabhpur's tale is a humorous and hearty fairytale)". Anandabazar Patrika. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  4. Sarkar, Badal (1954). Ballavpurer Rupkatha.
  5. "'বল্লভপুরের রূপকথা'র রিভিউ: মজাদার উপস্থাপনায় বাজিমাত পরিচালক অনির্বাণের". sangbadpratidin. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  6. "Ballavpurer Roopkotha (2022) - Review, Star Cast, News, Photos". Cinestaan. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  7. Ray Chaudhuri, Shantanu (29 October 2022). "Ballabhpurer Roopkotha pulls off the difficult task of merging comedy, romance and horror". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  8. Chatterji, Shoma A (2 November 2022). "A Prince, and a Ghost". The Citizen. Retrieved 8 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. Roy, Ujjainee (14 November 2022). "Ballabhpurer Roopkotha Movie Review : Comedy of horrors done right". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  10. Kar, Sanchari (14 November 2022). "খরা কালে টলিউডের 'কালো ঘোড়া', বল্লভপুরের রূপকথা-র লাভের অঙ্ক আশার আলো দেখায় (In Bengali: A dark horse amid the industry's drought, Ballabhpurer Roopkatha's profits raise hopes)". News 18 বাংলা. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  11. Kanji, Subhasmita (21 November 2022). "Hall Collection of Bengali film 2022: বল্লভপুরের রূপকথা থেকে কিশমিশ, কোন ছবি কেমন ব্যবসা করল?". Hindustan Times বাংলা. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  12. "বল্লভপুরের রূপকথা". www.desh.co.in. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
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