The curtain was brought down on this year’s Coke-E-Food-E Pujor Mood-E in association with t2 on October 24 at Taj Bengal’s Crystal Hall, with an adda session and a sit-down dinner. The ambience was a happy one with actors Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Ritabhari Chakraborty, the campaign faces, joining the winners for an adda.

The nine finalists of the selfie contest who were selected from the residential welfare complexes, social media and WhatsApp, got to enjoy the adda session, a photo op and a sit-down dinner with both the actors. Glimpses.

Winner speak

“It was a nice evening getting to meet two of my favourite actors. I really like Ritabhari’s film Naked and I never miss any film by Parambrata too. I really liked him in Kahaani. So, it was a nice experience getting to meet them. I also enjoyed the dinner served at Taj Bengal,” said Shalini Datta (extreme left), a student who participated from a housing complex.

“It was a memorable experience for me to meet Parambrata and Ritabhari. The way the adda was conducted was really nice. We got to interact with other participants too. The whole concept of the contest was very nice,” said Ankit Mondal, a business head at a private company.

“I was very excited for this event and was looking forward to meet them. I am a huge fan of Parambrata and loved interacting with Ritabhari during our adda session. I really liked the way they were talking to us frankly,” said Madhurima Dhar.

“It was really exciting for me to interact with both of them. We all discussed about how we had spent the Puja this year. With Parambrata, I had also interacted about some common social work interest we share,” said Pritha Sengupta, homemaker.

“I am a huge fan of their movies and it was a dream come true to meet them. We spoke a lot about our personal experiences during the Covid and Puja time,” said Megha Dhar, a student, who participated through Instagram.

“It felt great to know that I was selected as a finalist. With Parambrata, I chatted about a common connection we shared related to Mahasweta Devi and with Ritabhari, on Puja,” said Swagata Das, an advocate.

“I never thought I will be selected as a finalist. It was quite a surreal experience for me to interact with Parambrata and Ritabhari. It was a perfect Puja gift for me,” said Indrani B. Chakrabarty, an educator.

“It was a delightful experience for me to meet them. We spoke about how we had spent time during the pandemic and about enjoying Puja this year. I enjoyed the dinner too,” said Debadrita Banerjee, a student.

A round-table adda was arranged with both the celebrities before the dinner. The topics for the evening ranged from the actors’ new releases, their experience of working together, pets, family, films, food and how they enjoyed Puja this year after staying stuck at home last year.

ON THE MENU:

A thali with a lavish spread was presented at The Taj Bengal’s Crystal Hall for the winners and their guests. On the menu was Mutton Rezala, Chicken Ghee Roast, Anjeer Akhrot Ka Kofta, Khumb Methi Muttar Malai, Paneer Chutney Roll in Zafrani Gravy, Dal Sonargaon, Tulsi Pudina Muttar Pulao, Naan and Masala Kulcha. The desserts menu featured Kesari Jalebi, Shahi Tukra and Sitaphal Rabri.

Even a leg injury couldn’t dull Ritabhari Chakraborty’s spirit on the final evening and she was delighted to meet the winners. “It has been really fun being a part of this, specially given last year we couldn’t do much during Puja. Puja and adda goes hand in hand and you cannot separate one from the other. I have been associated with Coke-E-Food-E for many years. The number of participants have increased. It was a lot of fun knowing so many people and interacting with them. It is like a journey we have all taken together and this literally feels like the gala dinner for that and that’s the spirit of Coke, food and pujo too,” said the actress, who had a busy puja this year. “My film (F.I.R) also released, there were multiple restrictions but still there were many things I could do this year. I had really missed Puja. I hope, next year we don’t need to wear masks too. But it was nice to see that people have learned to live with the pandemic,” she added.

Actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay was in the mood for a gala adda session with the winners, chatting on a range of subjects from films to family and Puja, of course, “It’s been nice being a part of this. There were quite a few events and finally, we have this adda and dinner session today. It has given (me) a lot of opportunity to interact with a lot of people, talk to the members of the audience who have signed up for the contest. I personally consider it to be a very nice gesture. Last year during pujo I was not here, so I tried to overcompensate a little this year. Overall it was nice with friends, family and with the release of my film (Bony) as well,” said the actor-director.

Pictures: B. Halder