Ever since the Srijit Mukherji’s next directorial titled Shah Jahan Regency was announced, it sent Bengali film lovers into frenzy. The trailer of the film released today and it has created a lot of buzz on social media.

The trailer begins with the dulcet voice of Anjan Dutt who narrates A.C. Maffen’s poem which sums up the feel of the audio-visual:

“Our life is but a winter’s day:
Some only breakfast and away;
Others to dinner stay and are full fed;
The oldest man but sups and goes to bed;
He that goes soonest has the least to pay.”

We see an intricate maze of characters intertwined with one another initially in a simple way which then leads to various complications. The story revolves around a hotel called Shah Jahan Regency and the lives of people associated with that hotel. It sheds light on the fact that every aspect of the hotel – from the decor, to uniforms of the staff members and to the names given to various parts of the hotel, reflects the rich culture of India.

The trailer has a languorous ballad playing in the background that renders a sentimental and melancholic effect that exudes a feeling of desolation and longing.

The film is a contemporary adaptation of Bengali writer Shankar’s 1962 novel, Chowringhee. Based in Chowinghee in the 1950s, the story follows the journey of a young and enterprising man named Shankar. The novel also throws light on the socio-economic and political life of yesteryear Calcutta.

The official poster of Shah Jahan Regency was released on December 18 in the form of a motion graphic creative which resembled the book cover of Chowringhee.

Shah Jahan Regency stars Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Abir Chatterjee, Anjan Dutta, Rituparna Sengupta, Swastika Mukherjee, Rittika Sen, Rudranil Ghosh, Babul Supriyo, Mamata Shankar and Anirban Bhattacharya. It will be produced by Shrikant Mohta and Mahendra Soni’s Shree Venkatesh Films (SVF) Entertainment and Mukherji’s Matchcut Productions which marks their first collaboration as producers. Music has been given by Anupam Roy and Indraadip Das Gupta. The film is slated for a release on January 18 which will be the first release of 2019 from SVF.