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‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’, 2 other Bengali films selected for IFFI

Three Bengali feature films including national award winner ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ were selected in the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), the organisers have announced.

In the non-feature film category, ‘Bouma’ by Debatma Mondal has also made the cut to the IFFI to be held in Goa next month.

‘Jyesthoputro’ by Kaushik Ganguly, ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ by Srijit Mukherji and ‘Nirban’ by Goutam Halder have been selected in the Indian Panorama.

Starring Jisshu Sengupta in the lead role, ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’ won the National Award for the best Bengali film in August. The film was based on the sensational court case of Bhawal prince in erstwhile East Bengal around a century ago.

‘Jyesthoputro’ (The elder son) narrates the complex relationship of two brothers, while ‘Nirban’ (The salvation) is about the quest for happiness.

The makers of the film expressed joy after getting the news.

“My journey with Indian Panorama (section of IFFI) had begun with ‘Arekti Premer Galpo’. Now on the 10th year ‘Jyesthoputro’ is like a defining moment,” Ganguly who has won several national awards in the past said in a tweet.

Prosenjit Chatterjee, the Bengali megastar who essayed a pivotal role in ‘Jyesthoputro’, said the film is the 10th consecutive Indian Panorama selection for Ganguly.

Another award winning director Srijit Mukherji said, “I am happy with the news. Ek Je Chhilo Raja will always remain an important film in my career. I feel deeply attached to the film where Jisshu (Sengupta) delivered a stellar performance.”

Ganguly and Mukherji both conveyed their best wishes for the other two films and said it is a proud moment for Bengali cinema.