| Projapoti | |
|---|---|
Projapoti film poster
| |
| Directed by | Avijit Sen |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Gopi Bhagat |
| Edited by | Sujay Datta Ray |
| Music by | Anupam Roy Surojit Chatterjee Rathijit Bhattacharjee |
Production |
Bengal Talkies |
| Distributed by | SSR Cinemas |
Release date |
|
Running time | 141:42 min |
| Country | India |
| Language | Bengali |
| Budget | ₹1.5 crore (equivalent to ₹1.6 crore or US$190,000 in 2023) |
| Box office | ₹13 crore (equivalent to ₹14 crore or US$1.7 million in 2023)[2] |
Projapoti (lit: Butterfly, Bengali: প্রজাপতি ) is a 2022 Indian Bengali-language family drama film directed by Avijit Sen, produced by Atanu Raychaudhuri (Bengal Talkies), co-produced by Dev and distributed by SSR Cinemas. The film features Mithun Chakraborty, Mamata Shankar and Koushani Mukherjee in lead roles.[3][4] The movie was theatrically released on 23 December 2022 and had its digital premiere on the streaming platform ZEE5 on 14 April 2023.[5] It received a blockbuster verdict at the box office. Made on a budget of ₹1.5 crore (equivalent to ₹1.6 crore or US$190,000 in 2023),[citation needed] it grossed over ₹13 crore (equivalent to ₹14 crore or US$1.7 million in 2023) and became the highest grossing Bengali film of 2022[2] and the third highest-grossing Bengali films of all time.
Gour aka Mithun a widower and a retired government officer, wants his son Joy, a wedding planner to get married. He tries a lot to convince his son to get married. But Joy is very busy with his work and has no time to plan for himself. Meanwhile, Gour's college friend, Kusum meets him suddenly in a temple and finally, they decide to marry. The Film was shot majorly in the Kolkata and some scenes were shot at Varanasi featuring the famous Ganga Arti at Dashaswamedh Ghat the oldest city of temples. The film also marks the reunion of Chakrabarty with actress Mamata Shankar, after a decade of their pairing in the National Award Winning film Mrigayaa.
A critic from The Times of India wrote that "As holiday releases go, Projapoti brings a lot to the table, be it in terms of cast, story or a family-friendly viewing experience and audiences wouldn't be remiss if they walked into the theatre for this, especially if they’ve ever been Mithun fans".[6] A critic from OTT Play wrote that "Projapoti is an outright entertainer and it will not let you down in terms of entertainment. It makes you laugh and cry".[7] Shatarupa Bose reviewing in Anandabazar Patrika praised the performances of Chakraborty and Dev along with other cast, music, cinematography, screenplay and dialogues and noted that melodrama at the end of the movie could have been toned down.[8]
After the release of the film, it was not allowed to be shown in Nandan Cinema Hall, in Kolkata, which is being operated by Government of West Bengal. Netizens replied that as the leading actor of the film Mithun Chakraborty is an active leader of Bharatiya Janata Party, the show has been cancelled. Following the decision of show cancellation, Producer and Supporting actor of the film Dev reacted by a post.[9] In the post, Dev regretted for reply to that, Dev also reacted to sign more films again with the Bollywood's megastar under his banner (Dev Entertainment Ventures) if his budget matches.[10] BJP member of Parliament Dilip Ghosh regretted that the movie has not been released in Nandan, because of Mithun's political status.
The film collected ₹13 crore (equivalent to ₹14 crore or US$1.7 million in 2023) at the box-office against a budget of ₹1.5 crore (equivalent to ₹1.6 crore or US$190,000 in 2023)[citation needed] and hence was declared a blockbuster.[2] The film earned an additional 5 crores by selling the satellite rights which was acquired by Zee5 OTT platform .[citation needed] It became the third highest grossing Indian Bengali film.[2][11]
