Prosenjit with child artiste Tithi Bose. Picture by Aranya Sen

Tollywood star Prosenjit will get red-carpet treatment at the 37th International Film Festival starting in Goa from November 23. He will be felicitated along with Anil Kapoor.

“The festival committee contacted me to express their wish to felicitate me. I am glad that Anil is also sharing the honour because we go back a long way. We are very good friends. He calls me Bangal ka don… I was supposed to direct him in Vande Mataram which didn’t happen finally. But if I ever do the film, it will be with him,” smiles Prosenjit, who will also be seen on screen at the festival in Rituparno Ghosh’s Dosor, slated for December 1-2. The festival will be inaugurated by Shashi Kapoor.

Back home, Prosenjit’s debut venture as producer, Teen Yaari Katha, will be screened at the Kolkata Film Festival on November 11.

“This film will test the waters as I plan to make more youth-oriented films from Ideas (his production house). I think films like Teen Yari Katha will draw in the youth audiences we have lost,” says Prosenjit, on the sets of Bondhu at Lake Land Country Club.

Directed by Prashant Nanda, co-starring Swastika Mukherjee and Victor Banerjee, Bondhu is based on a father-son relationship. The son is played by Tithi Bose.

“My role is of a father who is extremely attached to his child. Their relationship is more of a friendship,” says Prosenjit, whose filmi platter is full with a combo pack of arty and mainstream films.

After Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s film co-starring Sameera Reddy hits the floors on November 27, there is Anup Sengupta’s untitled film with Koel Mullick, Swapan Saha’s Greftaar with Swastika Mukherjee and Ashish Vidyarthi, and a Probhat Roy film.

Reshmi Sengupta

Talentspotting

Bollywood ab door nahin, say the billboards all over Mumbai and even a few here in Calcutta. Why? The second season of Zee Cinestars is here. The talent hunt show is looking for artistes to impress the judges and home-viewing audiences, and win their ticket to tinsel town.

The judges’ line-up this time is impressive to say the least. Anupam Kher, Madhur Bhandarkar and Pooja Bhatt are the three wise people on the show hosted by Aman Verma.

“Having started as a struggling actor and then done 322 films, I know exactly what raw talent goes through,” Kher told Metro in his Mumbai office. Adjoining the office is his training school An Actor Prepares, where all the Cinestars hopefuls will be groomed from scratch.

For Pooja, the quest for new actors is hereditary. “I have inherited from my father (Mahesh Bhatt) the responsibility to discover and launch fresh talent,” she smiled. “Very few people have the audacity to work with new people. But our conviction has always paid off and through Cinestars I want to take this process a step further.”

After rounds and rounds of elimination, 24 contestants appear on the show (it went on air on November 3 and can be seen every Friday and Saturday at 10 pm). The journey of the contestants will be shown as a reality series spanning 18 weeks.

The three judges will have three distinct roles. Kher spelt it out: “Having my own school all these years, I would rather be a teacher to these kids wanting to make it big. Madhur will give the director’s point of view and Pooja will look after the styling and presentation of the contestants.”

Pooja is confident even those who don’t make it big on the show will take back a lot from the experience. “A show like Cinestars engages you with life,” she explained. “Most people have misconceptions and pre-conceived notions about the film industry but once you are here you will be corrected.”

What the winner(s) most definitely will have is a launchpad. Zee will be signing them up for some under-production movie. Even Pooja hopes to cast the Cinestars participants in her productions.

“You don’t even need to look like a hero or heroine to make it big today,” Kher added. “Cinema is no longer about stars. It is about characters and if you are talented you can fit it.”

Pratim D. Gupta