Rang De Basanti, releasing on January 20

Screen Saga

If the year that was saw Manisha Koirala, Tabu, Irrfan, Shabana Azmi and Waheeda Rehman calling Calcutta home for a few days at least, 2006 will add a few more Bollywood names to our guest-list.

Sahib Biwi Ghulam, which Rituparno Ghosh is likely to start under the Pritish Nandy Communications banner, is slated to star John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra and Vidya Balan. Rituparno?s Draupadi, with the RPG group, will roll in mid-2006, with a pan-Asian cast.

Aparna Sen?s Hindi film, based on Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay?s Goynar Baksho, will have Govinda, Paresh Rawal and the mother-daughter duo of Sharmila Tagore and Soha Ali Khan trundling into town for the shoot.

Sandip Ray will fly to Hong Kong later in the year with super sleuth Feluda, Topshe and Lalmohanbabu for Tintorettor Jishu. And yes, Sabyasachi Chakraborty is back as Prodosh Mitter.

A moment from Bibar

Also headed for a foreign location is Anjan Dutt, who starts shooting his Bengali-English film The Bong Connection with Shayan Munshi, Parambrata Chatterjee, Raima Sen and Soumitra Chatterjee from end-January, first in Calcutta and then in the US.

Among Calcutta-based films waiting to hit the theatres, there?s a good mix of the commercial and the classy.

First up is Aparna Sen?s 15, Park Avenue, backed by SPS Arts and Entertainment. Starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Shabana Azmi, Waheeda Rehman and Rahul Bose, the film releases on January 6.

Two of Rituparno?s films ? Dosor with Prosenjit and Konkona, and Khela with Prosenjit, Manisha Koirala and Raima Sen ? are in the pipeline.

Anjan Das?s Faltu, based on Syed Mujtaba Siraj?s Ranir Ghater Brittanto and produced by Planman Motion Pictures, will hit the theatres by February. After a long wait, two of Buddhadeb Dasgupta?s projects ? Swapner Din and Kaalpurush ? are also eyeing a release.

Konkona Sen Sharma in 15, Park Avenue

Coming up in quick succession are Goutam Ghose?s Hindi venture Yatra, starring Rekha and Nana Patekar; Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury?s Anuranon, with Rituparna Sengupta, Raima Sen, Rahul Bose and Rajat Kapoor; Tarun Majumder?s Bhalobashar Anek Naam, introducing Megha (Mousumi Chatterjee?s daughter) and Gourav (Uttam Kumar?s grandson); Sudeshna Roy?s Chaar Yaari Katha and Subrata Sen?s adaptation of Samaresh Basu?s controversial novel Bibar.

On the small screen, there?s a New Year staburst on Zee Bangla with Robbarer Bioscope. The series of telefilms, produced by Ideas, will start with Rituparno Ghosh?s 20 Nombor Malatibala Lane on January 1. The channel is also serving up Golden Voice, a music show to be anchored by Mithun Chakraborty, from January 28. Prosenjit, too, will turn TV host sometime later this year with his home production Rupashi Bangla, a mega talent hunt for budding actors, also on Zee Bangla.

Adding to the stardust, Akash Bangla is dishing out Swapnasundari, a makeover show produced by Rituparna Sengupta, Monday to Friday, from January 2.

Rituparno Ghosh with Manisha Koirala and Roopa Ganguly

After commanding record footfall in all three multiplexes and luring a fourth four-screener in the year gone by, movie-watching is only going to get bigger and better in 2006.

Says 89 Cinemas vice-president Prashant Srivastava: ?Apart from a lot of starry premieres, we will look at adjusting the ticket pricing every now and then. We are considering starting a film club. We also have lot of plans with our new properties ? the Hazra 89 Cinemas should be operational by Pujas this year.?

INOX is all geared up to give the struggling English film sector a boost. ?We are looking at organising paid previews of English movies a day or two prior to the release,? says Subhashish Ganguly, general manager of INOX (City Centre). ?We also plan to hold a European Film Festival in 2006.?

For new-entrant Fame, it?s a busy year ahead. ?We are going to South City by Puja this year. We should also start Fame (Howrah) and are looking at another property in south Calcutta. Work should also be underway for the Fame multiplex at Terminus mall in Rajarhat,? reveals Shravan Shroff, managing director of Shringar Cinemas.

With the multiplexes in multiplicity mode, get ready for a big-screen Bollywood bonanza. With two Aamir Khan films, Rang De Basanti and Fanaah starting and ending the year, 2006 should be all excitement.

Then there?s Karan Johar?s magnum opus KANK, err, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, which has everyone from Shah Rukh and Amitabh and Abhishek to Rani and Preity. Amitabh, of course, has Family, Babul and Eklavya too. And if that wasn?t enough, there?s a Hrithik Roshan double bill in Krrish and Dhoom 2.

Raima Sen features in the title track of Swapnasundari

Drama Draw

UK-based theatre director Tim Supple makes his way to the city in April with A Midsummer Night?s Dream. Flaunting a pan-Asian cast (comprising actors from India and Sri Lanka), the production presented by British Council travels down after a Chennai premiere in March and before a presentation at Swan Theatre in London as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company?s International Complete Works of Shakespeare Festival.

Rabindranath Tagore?s Visarjan will be staged jointly by Habib Tanvir?s Naya Theatre and Usha Ganguly?s Rangakarmee. The play premieres in Delhi before taking the stage at Madhusudan Mancha, Girish Mancha, Academy of Fine Arts and Rabindra Sadan from January 14. Nandikar will stage B. Sahani?s Madhavi, with Swatilekha Sengupta in the lead.

On a glamorous note, Mandira Bedi and Samir Soni are coming down with Anything But Love, directed by Vikranth Pawar and presented by Spandan. To be staged at GD Birla Sabhagar on January 27, 28 and 29.

Canvas Corner

CIMA Gallery hosts an exhibition on the private world of Ganesh Pyne from January 6. A solo show on the works of Jogen Chowdhury has been lined up for February.

Tribal Transitions, a touring exhibition of photographs from British collections and contemporary photographs of Arunachal Pradesh by Michael Aram Tarr, gives an overview of the cultural history of Arunachal Pradesh in the past 150 years. The exhibition is presented by the British Council at Academy of Fine Arts this January.