Bong bang

Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury is on a high after the screening of his first film Anuranon at the 37th International Film Festival of India in Goa. The adman-turned-director’s debut shot in London deals with the resonance in human relationships.

“The film played to a full house and we had very interesting reactions from the audience,” Chowdhury told Metro. “As the name Anuranon suggests, all my characters shone through in perfect harmony.”

Barring Rajat Kapoor, the main cast of the film including Raima Sen (picture left), Rituparna Sengupta and Rahul Bose were present with the director for the world premiere in the Film India World Wide section.

“It was during the question-answer session at the end of the screening that we realised how much everyone had liked our performance,” said Raima.

It was a special moment for Rituparna who was present at the festival for both Anuranon and Saibal Mitra’s Songshoy. “I got red carpet treatment!” she gushed.

Chowdhury, meanwhile, is gearing up for a commercial release of his debut film by March 2007.

Mohua Das

Wedding ways

“Will you marry me? Also, can I have your phone number please?” — That’s how actor Sharad Kapoor proposed to Koel Basu (Jyoti Basu’s granddaughter).

“We had met through some common friends five years ago, but we didn’t really keep in touch,” Sharad told Metro. “Then I saw her at The Oberoi Grand (where Koel is currently working after completing her course in hospitality) in June and the first thing that crossed my mind was marriage!”

What started out as an out-of-the-blue marriage proposal will find fruition in a closed-door engagement function on December 3 in Calcutta.

Sharad, who also has the Tangerine connection in town, met Koel’s mother Dolly and formalised things. He also met her grandfather and is looking forward to “spending time” with the former Bengal chief minister.

On being asked whether Sharad’s celebrity status was cause for concern, Dolly replied: “My elder daughter is also married to a well-known photographer and I am very happy that my second girl is now tying the knot.”

Shradha Agarwal