Miss Honeybee exclusive: Gangster vs Zulfiqar

Despite the name-calling, slandering and general ill will clouding the festive sunshine, one thing is certain. Whoever wins the box office punch-up between Srijit Mukherji and Birsa Dasgupta, the one person laughing his way to the bank will be the boxing promoter -in this case, the wily Shrikant Mohta and his production house, Shree Venkatesh Films. We all know he calls the shots in Tollywood and, in fact, may have organised this match in the first place.
With all the dust flying around, let's not forget that both Srijit and Birsa's films -Zulfiqar and Gangster, respectively -come from Shrikant's production house.So even as Srijit fumes over getting just 75odd halls compared to Birsa's 150-plus, you may miss the fact that two SVF releases have cornered a huge number of shows. For perspective, remember that Bengal has only 330 or so theatre screens.
This can't be sweet music to the ears of the other producers who've lined up their Puja releases. There are seven films this time, and the other five -Abhimaan, Chiriyakhana, Prem Ki Bujhini, Chocolate and Jole Jongole -are in a double bind actually . Most primetime shows have been cornered by SVF and the media -forever ready to feed off a controversy -is happy focusing on the Srijit-Birsa fight.Who'll talk about the other films? Raj Chakrabarty's big one with Jeet, Abhimaan, has been pushed to the sidelines. Let's not even ask if Anjan Dutt feels trapped in his own Chiriyakhana.
ALL SOUND AND FURY?
But all the stats still can't answer this -Srijit Mukherji ko gussa kyun ata hai? It all began when Srijit apparently spotted similarities between the piano riff in Thik emon ebhabe, composed by Arindom Chatterjee for Gangster, and Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi's solo piano track, I Giorni. Anupam Roy , Srijit's Zulfiqar composer, was so furious that he even left a `cheat' tweet for the world to see.When Srijit himself wanted to tweet about another song from Gangster, Tomake chai, he noticed how much it sounded like Itni si baat hai from Azhar -though in scale, not tune! Since then, the two directors have gone for each other's throats on social media.
Despite the negative press, both songs from Gangster are huge hits, and the originals from Zulfiqar are also climbing up the charts. Is it a coincidence that the warring big boys have now kissed (their glasses) and made up with a photo on Facebook?
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Even as Srijit and Birsa hog the limelight, another man getting noticed is Yash Dasgupta. After a dry year that saw many damp squibs and the same old faces, here is a chance for the industry to finally launch the next big star. Gangster's strapping young hero -a heartthrob of the ladies -is being spoken about in hushed whispers. He once landed in Kolkata to take part in a dance reality show, Jhum Tarara Ritur Mela and the makers still swear by his dancing skills. After years of struggle in Mumbai and Kolkata, Yash finally got a break on the small screen as the hero of Bojhena Shey Bojhena. His skills were sharpened by the same production house that is launching him now.It's d��j�� vu as Dev -one of the leads in Zulfiqar --was launched in a similar fashion in 2007 with I Love You after his first film, Agnishapath (2005), flopped. It helps that Yash, a single father, is dating one of the top casting directors of SVF. So it's all in the house, so to speak.
ALSO HEARD
Though Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury - our beloved Tony -is going around with a frozen teddy-bear smile, reiterating how much he's loved working with Amitabh Bachchan, the fact of the matter is the world and its aunt recognises Pink as a 'Shoojit Sircar film'. Wonder why the producer must hog all the limelight and the director watch from the sidelines. Poor Tony . Someone buy him a teddy this Puja!