Call it a race for rosogolla. Odisha and Bengal began it to get a GI tag for the spherical sweet temptation and the latter got a label for the signature delicacy in November 2017. The tag triggered a wave of frenzy in Bengal; so much so that celebratory processions were held in Kolkata and the hit director duo Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy’s production house, Windows, made a full length feature film called Rosogolla by the same name to be released on December 21.
Akshay Parija -- a producer from Bengal’s neighbouring state Odisha, that has gone to court claiming the sweet was indeed invented there and has a history of about 600 years, compared to Bengal’s 150 -- has decided to dub the film in Odisha, given the passion that rosogolla has whipped up and emotion the denial of the GI tag has triggered.
Parija, who has co-produced Rosogolla with Windows, was so impressed by the idea of the love story around the invention of rosogolla, that he thought of dubbing the same for the people of Odisha. “The political fighting over rosogolla’s origin should not come in the way of showcasing such a beautiful film around the sweet,which is equally popular in Odisha and Bnegal,” says Parija, who informs that the trailer of Rosogolla has struck the right chord with film buffs there.
Parija, is also co-producing Belashuru with Windows, a film which will see the comeback of the cast and crew of 2015 film Belaseshe, the super hit Bengali movie starring Soumitra Chatterjee, Swatilekha Sengupta and Rituparna Sengupta among others.
Based on the times and life of Nabin Chandra Das, the inventor of rosogolla, which has become synonymous with Bengal’s culture and its people, Pavel’s film Rosogolla, is a fact-based fiction that traces the making of the sweet through the prism of a beautiful love story between Nabin and his wife Khirodamoni.
The movie is also the launch vehicle of eminent filmmakers Kaushik Ganguly and Churni Ganguly’s son, Ujaan Ganguly, who will be seen reprising Nabin Chandra Das in the film. Newcomer Abantika plays the role of his wife. Besides the two newcomers, the film has a great cast comprising talented actors including Kharaj Mukherjee, Rajatava Dutta, Bidipta Charaborty, Aparajita Auddy, Chiranjeet and others.
“Good cinema is above all political controversy and Rosogolla is a love story, which shows the struggle of an individual, transcending all bitterness with its sweet presentation,” informs Shiboprosad Mukherjee, whose Windows Production is co-producing the movie with Parija. “After we get a clearance from Censor board we will complete the process of dubbing it in Odiya,” he adds.
To listen to the song Tapur Tupur from Rosogolla, click here: