Bengali cinema going through a golden phase: Prosenjit

Superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee feels the Bengali cinema is going through a sea change and he is happy to be at the forefront of films that represent the rich literary heritage of the state.
The 51-year-old actor, whose upcoming project 'Jaatishwar' is all set to have a pan India release on January 17, said Bengali cinema is currently going through its golden phase with an emphasis on literature.
"I represent Bengali cinema and I am not just an actor. From the last eight years, new directors and actors are doing good work to revive the kind of cinema which Satyajit Ray made.

"In these years, we are trying to come out on the basis of content. Our cinema is always happy with the intellect because we had legends like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Rituparno Ghosh. The strength of Bengali cinema is literature," said Prosenjit, who was in the Capital for the special screening of the movie.
Directed by Srijit Mukherjee, 'Jaatishwar' is based on 1967 black-and-white classic 'Antony Firingee'. It will see the actor reviving the iconic titular character, originally played by Uttam Kumar, after 47-years on celluloid.
Prosenjit was initially sceptical to step into the shoes of the legendary actor.

"I an often compared with Uttam Kumar. But through this film we don't want to challenge anyone. It is a very honest tribute to Uttam dada but it is not similar to his 'Antony Firingee'," Prosenjit said.
The musical is also an ode to the 100 years of Bengali music industry.
"100 years of Bengali film industry has been shown in this film. I have done double role in the film and my character is quite similar to the one I did in 'Moner Manush'. It's a very special film," Prosenjit said.