Saheb Bibi & Joker and Srijit's Chatushkone in poster war

TNN / Updated: Jan 12, 2017, 01:06 IST

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An innocuous pack of cards has thrown open a debate in Tollywood, with two filmmakers crossing swords over the creative posters of their respective projects.

Saheb Bibi & Joker and Srijit's Chatushkone in poster war

An innocuous pack of cards has thrown open a debate in Tollywood, with two filmmakers crossing swords over the creative posters of their respective projects.
The makers of Saheb Bibi & Joker, who launched their first poster on social media on July 12, are claiming that there��s a resemblance between their creative and that of Chatushkone, Srijit Mukherji��s upcoming project.

��There��s a certain similarity between the two posters. I��m not completely aware of the plot of Chatushkone, hence, cannot comment on whether or not the theme truly reflects the plot. As far as Saheb Bibi & Joker is concerned, the name itself substantiates our initial creative. I presume Srijit and the production house will be able to explain better the thought process and surprising similarity between the two creatives,�� said Anindya Ghosh, director of Saheb Bibi & Joker.
Avishek Ghosh from the production house behind Saheb Bibi & Joker has himself designed the creative and points out that Chatushkone��s first poster was tweeted on August 12. ��We have utmost respect for Srijit as a filmmaker. But when we saw the first look of Chatushkone, we were surprised at how similar it was to our teaser creative launched a month earlier. While our creative is a clear reflection of the theme of our film, we are not sure about theirs.��

Srijit, for his part, is surprised by the claim. His film is a thriller involving four directors and though he is not keen on laying the cards on the table as far as his storyline goes, he told us, ��I had not seen the poster of Saheb Bibi & Joker when it was launched. I spoke to Shamik Chatterjee, who has designed my poster. He too had not seen it. Now that I have come across it, I feel that the bone of contention is nothing but the use of cards. I think it��s very common in movie posters, especially in thrillers and heist stories. There are umpteen such posters available online and some of the films �� like

The Dark Knight and The Card Player �� are celebrated around the world. Back home, Teen Patti, both Hindi and Bengali, have the use of cards in their posters. Be it the background, elements, number of cards or the actual cards used �� it��s all different in the two posters. I cannot help but call it a publicity stunt.��
Shamik is amused by the allegations. ��The only person who can claim ownership of this particular concept is someone in Imperial China, Mamluk Egypt or a 16th century French designer from Rouen who came up with the concept and design of the suits followed all over the world today. When we started ideating for Chatushkone, our main brief was to communicate that it was a thriller involving four characters, one of whom was wearing a mask. Keeping these two ideas in mind, we decided to use cubism, which is rooted in geometrical principles and is premised on playing around with perspectives,�� he says. Shamik says the five cards in the poster point to a deeper play. So, apart from King, Queen and Joker, there is also a Jack of Hearts and a hidden Ace of Hearts, the latter signifying the wild card who will add the twist to the story. ��The poster is a puzzle where every element, including the dirt in the hand, the scratches and the number tag are relevant clues for the audience,�� he adds.

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