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.

Professor Shanku Premieres into the Virtual World!

Dec 6, 2019

First time ever in the history of Indian film promotions, a character, like Professor Shanku, is being introduced through virtual reality

Kolkata, 6th December 2019 – As India gears up for the much awaited Christmas release of Professor Shanku O El Dorado (a story based on Ray’s science mastermind ‘Professor Shanku’) the makers have pioneered the concept of AR ( augmented reality) & VR ( virtual reality) promotional technology to pay ode to the eccentric scientist. This is the first time any production house in India will be using this technology as part of their film promotions.

Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality are forms of technology where human beings get an experience of the vitual world created by the computer. While AR technology gives them a partial experience of the reality, VR technology completely immerses them in the virtual world, shutting them away from reality!

The ‘Shanku Flipbook’ which would be available across theatres & malls of Kolkata, Science City, Eco Park, is a 20-pager interactive book designed for kids. It is no normal book but made completely out of AR technology where the images from the trailer, comic strip etc. will come alive from the pages of the book when clicked with a ‘Shanku app’ (available on playstore). Also seen in the book will be a map from India to Amazonia, interactive games with Shanku & Nakurbabu ,various inventions of Shanku coming alive through the screens of our phone !

Another interesting and unique aspect will be the ‘Shanku VR experience’. A VR headset/ gear will be available across theatres & malls of Kolkata, Science city, Eco Park which when worn by people will transport them to Shanku’s laboratory where Shanku will be seen talking to them while moving around in his lab. This experience is so real that anyone wearing it will forget for a moment where they are located or what they are doing!

This AR  & VR technology is a new chapter in the history of Indian film promotions and marks a landmark where for the first time apart from the shooting of the film an advanced technology is used during its promotions to engage the audience and gift them with  something new this Christmas & New year! 

It is also a bonus because the audience get to experience few ‘real-like’ moments with Professor Shanku right before the film releases!

SVF has always been known for bringing new forms of innovation to the audience when it comes to their promotional designs. In 2017 they created the biggest poster ever for their film Amazon Obhijaan beating ‘Bahubali’ to the game. 2018 saw them bringing in animal mascots and theatre installations with sound and light effect throughout the city for their film Adventures of Jojo. In the beginning of 2019, they introduced the concept of ‘three-way vision’ theatre standees for Vinci Da that was used for the first time in the history of Bengali Cinema.

Talking about this out-of-the box experience, Co-Founder & Director of SVF, Mahendra Soni said: “Satyajit Ray gifted the Bengali readers a science genius who made some of the most brilliant and crazy inventions ever. Since this is the first time Shanku will be coming onto the big screen, we decided to gift our Bengali audience something larger than life, just like the character himself!”

Elated and excited with this new form of promotion, Director of the film Sandip Ray goes on to say: “When my father created Shanku, he bestowed him with a technological understanding way ahead of his time. Therefore, many years later when we are bringing him alive on the single screen it is fitting that he can be experienced through some of the latest technology like AR & VR”

The ‘Shanku AR Flipbook’ and ‘Shanku VR headgear’, created with tech support from Andreal,will be available across in Kolkata from 13th December onwards. ‘Professor Shanku O El Dorado’, produced by SVF & directed by Sandip Ray, releases this 20th December Nationally and in Bangladesh.

Please watch come Shanku come alive virtually over here: https://youtu.be/WcILvNNfcyY

Director Sandip Ray trying out the VR headset

Professor Shanku coming alive through Virtual Reality

 

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)

 

ABOUT ANDREAL:

Andreal, the creative wing of Anderson, the well-known printing house has carved a niche for itself in recent years. Starting as a design unit, it today spans a wide range of creative marketing communication. One of the first agencies to integrate augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) with marketing material to enhance brand experience Andreal has successfully completed projects for several brands. Andreal’s ability to integrate digital and XR media with traditional print marketing communication sets them apart

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