Jio Studios and SVF Entertainment Unveil Trailer for "Athhoi," A Modern Interpretation of Shakespearean Drama- Othello The film is slated to grace the silver screen on June 14th! “Truths are illusions of which we have forgotten that they are illusions” --- Nietzsche Kolkata, June 06th, 2024 – Jio Studios and SVF Entertainment have released the highly anticipated Trailer for "Athhoi," just one week ahead of the film's premiere. The trailer offers an enigmatic glimpse into the human heart and society, promising a captivating cinematic experience. "Athhoi" captures the essence of Shakespeare's exploration of human emotions, portraying love, deception, and rivalry in a contemporary setting. It begins with a powerful depiction of the human existential crisis, examining the dichotomy of good and bad, and how society provokes these internal conflicts. The trailer sparks conversations about love, jealousy, and ambition in today's world, delivering a profound message on the concept of truth and challenging our conventional understanding. The film features a stellar cast including Arna Mukhopadhyay, Anirban Bhattacharya, Sohini Sarkar, Ditipriya Roy, Mimi Dutta, Arpan Ghoshal, Kaushik Banerjee, and other important cast – crew members. Arna Mukhopadhyay, the Director and the Actor breathing life into Dr. Athhoi Lodha (Othello), shared his thoughts, "'Athhoi' is a labour of love that has taken years to bring to fruition. With this trailer, our aim is to delve deep into the complexities of human emotions and present a modern interpretation of Shakespeare's timeless tale. Through this film, we hope to evoke profound emotions and reflections." Anirban Bhattacharya, who plays Gogo (echoing Iago from Shakespeare's original work) and serves as the Creative Director, expressed his sentiments, "We were clear from the beginning on how to create this Shakespearean world. Every shot division was meticulously planned, and our team worked tirelessly from pre-production to post-production. As the release date approaches, there is a mix of excitement and nervousness. We hope for the best." Sohini Sarkar, who brings to life the spirited and intelligent character of Diya, reminiscent of Desdemona, remarked, "Playing Diya was a transformative experience. This role allowed me to explore the depths of human resilience and vulnerability. 'Athhoi' invites audiences to question and feel, making it a truly immersive journey." Set for release on June 14th, "Athhoi" is poised to be a cinematic milestone, eagerly awaited by audiences worldwide. Through its innovative interpretation, the film promises to offer a thought-provoking exploration of jealousy, ambition, and love today.

A Tale of a Bengali Dracula

Teaser of First Bengali film on the popular concept of Dracula and self-discovery-Dracula Sir released

Kolkata, 14th March 2020 – SVF and director Debaloy Bhattacharya released the teaser of their upcoming film Dracula Sir – a much awaited experimental genre-based drama – dealing with the popular Westernised concept of Vampires and Dracula. This is the first time a film based on the concept of Vampires has been conceptualised with a flavour of bangaliana for  the Bengali audience.

The teaser starts off with Anirban Bhattacharya voicing the famous lines written by renowned revolutionary writer Nabarun Bhattacharya that says: “Ei Mrityu Upattaka Amar Desh Noye” (This valley of death is not mine) and “Ei Bistirno Shoshan Amar Desh Noye” (This wide graveyard is not mine), thereby, hinting at a revolutionary touch to this film. This is followed by a man, a school teacher by his appearance who enters a classroom in the present day, to be greeted with a blackboard that is inscribed with the words Dracula Sir, thereby introducing us to the protagonist of the film Raktim (Anirban Bhattacharya), a simpleton with a protruding pair of canine teeth, bullied for his vampire appearance.

But he has a story to tell from 1971 that makes his journey a tale of finding love and seeking revenge. The teaser then shows us a glimpse of the past with Manjari (played by Mimi Chakraborty) telling Amal (Anirban Bhattacharya) that their fight is for freedom and finally the teaser ends with Amal screaming in pain after his canines get brutally pulled out while he is being tortured inside a prison…

Excited about his new experimental venture and bringing the tale of vampires for the first time to the audience, director Debaloy Bhattacharya goes on to say, “The story is about a primary school teacher who has a protruding pair of canine teeth earns his nickname ‘Dracula Sir’. As destiny pushes him towards becoming the vampire he has always been referred to – This is my search for the Bangali Dracula without the castle, who is out to create his own myth. A man turns into a vampire and with that a whole lost world unleashes around him.”

Co-founder and Director of SVF, Mahendra Soni went on to say: “This is the first time the Bengali audience will get to experience, cherish and talk about their own vampire in the form of a simple Bangali man, through this unique film. Anirban surpasses himself as an actor and Mimi will be in a never-seen before avatar.”

Actor turned Member of Parliament, Mimi Chakraborty who makes a comeback into film after a political hiatus goes on to say: “It’s always a pleasure working with SVF and I’m happy that I’m working with them on such a unique project. My character Manjari is very different from all the characters I’ve played over the years. This is also my first film with Debaloy and second film with Anirban so I’m looking forward to the release of this film!”

Directed by Debaloy Bhattacharya, the film also stars Rudranil Ghosh, Bidipta Chakraborty, Kanchan Mullick and Samuel Alam in pivotal roles. The film is scheduled to release on 1st May 2020.

ABOUT SVF:

SVF is Eastern India’s largest entertainment company, having business interests in Film Production, Television Content Production, Film Distribution, Digital Cinema, Music, New Media and Cinemas.

SVF has successfully produced over 135 films including National Award winning ‘Chokher Bali’, ‘Raincoat’, ‘Memories in March’, ‘Chitrangada’, ‘Chotoder Chobi’ and most recently ‘Ek Je Chhilo Raja’; blockbusters like ‘Challenge 2’, ‘Chander Pahar’, ‘Zulfiqar’, ‘Yeti Obhijaan’, ‘Amazon Obhijaan’, ‘Guptodhoner Sondhane’, ‘Byomkesh Gowtro’, ‘Vinci Da’, ‘Durgeshgorer Guptodhon’ and critically acclaimed ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’, ‘Cinemawala’, ‘Dhananjoy’, ‘Asche Abar Shabor’, ‘Aami Ashbo Phirey’, ‘Uma’, ‘Generation Aami’ to name a few.

SVF’s newest venture is hoichoi, a one-stop online destination for Bengali entertainment – an on-demand video streaming Website and App with over 500 Movies and Original Web Series, Original Films, Original Shorts and soon, Documentaries. Hoichoi also added audio streaming section from April 2018. (The Hoichoi App is available for download on iTunes – http://bit.ly/iTunesHCDownload and Android – http://bit.ly/AndroidHCDownload)

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