Battle of Puja releases: Mithun Chakraborty is the star that we can’t miss in Shastri

Durga Puja is just around the corner and the Bengali film industry is gearing up with three big releases – Srijit Mukherji’s Tekka which features Dev, Swastika Mukherjee, and Rukmini Maitra, Pathikrit Basu’s Shastri features Mithun Chakraborty and others, and finally, Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy’s Bohurupi that has Abir Chatterjee, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Koushani Mukherjee and Shiboprosad.  

Also read: Mithun Chakraborty on Shastri: The mood in Kolkata is not festive due to the RG Kar incident and I am wary of the release | Exclusive 

The battle of Puja releases began with their promotions. Shastri is the first one to drop the trailer. This year, only three Bengali films will be released – lower than the number of releases during the Covid 19 period. However, all these three films are of big banners with stellar star casts. Let's take a look at the scope and weakness of these films. 

Puja releases advantages and disadvantages

Also read: Mithun Chakraborty on Shastri: Astrology gives hope to poor people and insecure people like us 

One of the major advantages of all three films is that this year there is no competition from SVF – one of the major production houses. SVF gives the Puja period a miss for the first time in many years. That means their aggressive marketing, uncompromising distribution, and finally, securing the lion's share of the exhibition will not be there. This is surely good news. 

Scopes of Shastri: Mithun Chakraborty shines bright

Mithun Chakraborty is surely the biggest attraction of Shastri and the trailer plays it well. He has his fandom and that will not let him down. He plays an interesting character, a meek, modhyobityo Bangali, who transforms into a powerful godman. He has gripping dialogue, and the makers seem to have used his charisma to the fullest.  

The second strength of the film is perhaps the ensemble cast. While Mithun is the face of the film, Debashree Roy, Anirban Chakraborty, Rajatava Dutta, Soham Chakraborty, Kaushik Sen, Sauraseni Maitra and others are great actors. They all have the power to drive a good script if used well.   

Will Shastri win?

The disadvantage of Shastri is surely the lack of brand value of the director and his team. Pathikrit's last Puja release Kacher Manush (2022) took advantage of the festive season but hardly made a mark among the audience despite two stars – Prosenjit Chatterjee and Dev. His last film Dabaru did not perform well at the box office. However, the director often deals with good content. It will be interesting to watch if he pulls off a trick to present it well.