The upcoming Windows production Bohurupi recently dropped an online teaser announcing its Puja release. The crisply edited minute-long teaser reveals the film’s multiple themes broadly but keeps the audience guessing about its plot, action and storyline with its clever blend of cuts, transitions and camera movements.
Directed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee, the film features an ensemble star cast including Abir Chatterjee, Koushani Mukherjee, Ritabhari Chakraborty and Shiboprosad himself. Based on themes of love, courage, betrayal and revenge, it is expected to be a fast-paced thriller that unfolds the saga of two adversaries, whose lives are steeped in crime. Scenes of murder and car chases are juxtaposed with romantic scenes and vignettes of village entertainment, making it clear that the makers have spared no effort to ensure that Bohurupi packs in itself the necessary ingredients of a successful commercial action entertainer. The film’s action appears to be built around a conspiracy or a gang war and is shot in the picturesque, rural locations of Bengal, whose dense forests and vast, expansive farmlands have been used to great effect.
Abir, who played a no-nonsense police officer in Windows’ previous Puja release Raktobeej, is briefly glimpsed in a tough, rugged look, menacingly taking aim with his revolver. Perhaps essaying the role of a cop once again, he is anticipated to be one of the principal protagonists of this action thriller. Shiboprosad, whose character is probably set against that of Abir, appears in a completely new avatar, which is totally different from the nondescript, urban, middle-class characters he usually portrays. The women are introduced in the teaser as sexy and desirable.
Though the teaser does not include any dialogue by any of the characters, the soundtrack by Anupam Roy and Bonnie Chakraborty, which generates an atmosphere full of chills and thrills, leaves a huge impact. The audio track towards the end of the teaser, which accompanies the introduction of the characters one by one, is enigmatic, electrifying and exciting, and is a hit with the audience. The title graphics of the film, which can be viewed at the end of the teaser, with an animated chameleon catching its prey perched on top of the word ‘Bohurupi’, also adds a layer of mystery and intrigue around the film.
On Friday, the makers of Bohurupi released its official teaser. Offering an intriguing glimpse into the action thriller, the sleekly crafted one-and-a-half-minute-long audio-visual snippet was greeted with delight by fans, enabling it to secure a spot among the top three trending Indian videos on social media.
Unlike the earlier teaser, this clip, which reveals October 8 as Bohurupi’s release date, also gives more clarity about the characters and action of the film. As anticipated, Abir Chatterjee appears as a cop, sub-inspector Sumanta Ghosal, who also plays the role of the film’s narrator. Shiboprosad Mukherjee is introduced as an underdog — a commonplace factory supervisor — who later adopts the completely different persona of a bank robber. It is clear that Abir and Shiboprosad are set against each other in a battle of wits as the policeman tries in vain to nab the robber. It is also evident from the teaser that Bohurupi deals with themes of fate, love, betrayal and revenge. The opposing themes clash and collide in unexpected ways, making the overall viewing experience thrilling and heart-stopping.
As gathered from the teaser, the title of the film will operate on multiple levels. On one level, it refers to the village minstrels or play-actors who dress up as various mythological characters and act out stories from popular, religious myths. These play-actors play an important part, putting into perspective the action of the play by commenting on incidents or foretelling future events.
On another level, the title refers to Shiboprosad’s character, who can be seen putting on different disguises and assuming different identities, obviously to evade the eye of the law. Koushani Mukherjee is picturised in a deglamorised avatar as a village maiden who becomes Shiboprosad’s wife. On the contrary, Ritabhari is portrayed as an attractive, alluring woman and Abir’s love interest in the story.
“Bohurupe sommukhe tomar …”, the truism by Swami Vivekananda, which is voiced by Abir’s character, triggers a sense of the probable twists in the plot. Its background score also heightens excitement and anticipation about Bohurupi, which as testified by the teaser, is inspired by true events.
