Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee’s Bohurupi has become one of the biggest blockbusters of Bengali cinema with a total net collection of Rs. 15 crore so far. The good part is that the film is still going strong at the ticket counters in its sixth week.
Believe it or not, at a time when housefull shows are a distant dream for most films even on the first day or in the first weekend, Bohurupi recorded 160 housefull shows in the three days of the fifth weekend! The thriller has also become the highest netting Bengali film in the national multiplex chains, having collected over Rs. 5 crore in five weeks.
The director duo said, “We are humbled and deeply grateful for the love Bohurupi has received from the audience everywhere. Our vision was to create a film that resonates universally while celebrating the soul of Bengali storytelling. Seeing it being embraced by people across the country has been immensely fulfilling.”
Frankly, the duo never expected the film to score in such a big way and so the stupendous success has come as a big surpriser for them as it has for the Bengali film trade. The trade is ecstatic as it has given the exhibition circuit a shot in the arm. Said Shiboprosad, “We took a risk by releasing the film on Puja because the controversy around the R.G. Kar Medical College episode was raging in Bengal then. However, we wanted to release the film on Puja because our Raktabeej, which was released during Puja last year, had done well. So, on the one hand was the benefit of the Puja holidays and on the other was the risk of the controversy. We weren’t even sure whether the people of Bengal were in a mood to see a masala entertainer in such a political and social climate.”
The release risk was even more pronounced because the film cost the producers a whopping Rs. 5 crore to make. “Such a huge budget is unthinkable in Bengali cinema,” explained Shiboprosad Mukherjee, adding, “but Nandita and I wanted to make this bank robbery film lavishly.” To add to the risk factor during the film’s making was that such a huge budget outlay was for a film which did not star any top actors of Bengali cinema. Besides Shiboprosad, the action film stars Abir Chatterjee, Koushani Mukherjee and Ritabhari Chakraborty in the lead roles.
Gratitude dripping out of every word he speaks, Shibo-da concludes, “We are very grateful to the public for giving our film so much love.”
