Alaap Ranjit Mallick, Koel Mallick, Ankush-Oindrila lead Tollywood celeb guest list at Abir-Mimi's 'Alaap' special screening
Kolkata/IBNS: Bengali film veteran Ranjit Mallick and his daughter, actress Koel Mallick, celebrity couple Ankush Hazra and Oindrila Sen were among the top Tollywood stars to grace the special screening of Abir Chatterjee and Mimi Chakraborty starrer romcom, 'Alaap'.
The screening was held at a city mall in Kolkata on Friday, the same day the film opened to theatres.
Dressed in a yellow attire, Koel, who is yet to recover from her injury that she suffered during the shoot of her upcoming film 'Ekti Khunir Sandhane Mitin', was joined by her father Ranjit Mallick at the special screening.
Briefly before being carefully taken into the hall by her father for the show, Koel shared she could connect to the subject of the film, which brings back the flavour of 'love letter' romance.
"After a long time, a sweet romantic film has been made. 'Alaap' is my kind of film. I love this genre a lot," says Koel, who opted for a yellow midi dress and a shoulder bag at the screening.
Related article: Abir Chatterjee on Alaap: I could identify with this kind of romance
After their last year superhit 'Raktabeej', Abir and Mimi reunited for 'Alaap', which marks their debut as a proper onscreen romantic pair.
'Alaap', a film directed by Premendu Bikash Chaki, also features Swastika Dutta in a key role.
Ankush and Oindrila- close friends of Mimi- cheered for the film, which Abir claims is a tested premise but with a new treatment.
Ankush-Oindrila (L) and Ishaa Saha-Subhrajit Dutta (R) | Image by IBNS
"When we (Ankush and Oindrila) heard the plot earlier, we liked it. It's a nice, romantic and light-hearted film," says Oindrila, who worked with Ankush in Chaki's 2023 film 'Love Marriage'.
"I have left all hopes to see Mimi in love off-screen by now. I have come here to see her at least falling in love on-screen instead of displaying her usual fiery avatar (laughs)," Ankush says lightly and quickly adds, "On a serious note, Abir-Mimi's pair was well accepted in 'Raktabeej'. I am sure this film will impress the audience."
In the film, Abir as Pablo Majumdar and Mimi as Aditi Mitra happen to share a single flat in the city but they never meet for staying at home at alternate hours due to their respective professional commitments.
Though Mimi was initially hesitant to share the space with a male flatmate, later the two were shown interacting with each other through the exchange of messages via sticky notes.
Related article: Alaap: Had my school crush, got anonymous letters, but everybody feared the team captain, says Mimi Chakraborty
Flanked by her parents, Mimi joined the lead cast at the screening where she embraced a floral print saree which she complimented with minimalistic jewellery. Abir opted for traditionals as well at the screening of the film, which received positive reviews from the audience.
Mimi Chakraborty with her parents | Image by IBNS
Among other guests were filmmakers Kaushik Ganguly, Arindam Sil, Haranath Chakraborty, Ravi Kinagi, actresses Ishaa Saha, Sauraseni Maitra, Bibriti Chatterjee, singers Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury, Lagnajita Chakraborty.
"Romance without even a single meet was a normal instance in previous generations. But in my generation, the overuse of mobile phones prevented us from experiencing such a kind of romance. So 'Alaap' is very refreshing for me," says Ishaa, who upped the glamour quotient of the screening event in a green cotton saree and a white blouse.
Arindam Sil and his wife (L) and Kaushik Ganguly (R) | Image by IBNS
Did Mimi have a love letter type of romance in her own life? The actress had previously told IBNS, "I had a crush in my life. I received a lot of letters, which were anonymous because everybody was scared of me. I was the team captain, head girl et al in school. Everyone was or is scared of me (smiles).
"When I used to return home from hostel, I used to check my bag multiple times to leave no trace of such letters out of fear of my mother. Moreover, people used to hire me to give threats to others in my school days (laughs). So I didn't have any love and romance. Who would want to date someone who gives threats? I couldn't even propose to anyone (laughs)."
(From L to R) Swastika Dutta, Shruti Das, Bibriti Chatterjee, Sauraseni Maitra at the special screening | Image by IBNS
For Abir, 'Alaap' was a "soft breather".
"I am kind of tired with so much dark and violent content around me. It's not that I don't watch those genres but I felt like opting for a soft, romantic film amid too much of detective or adventure films. I could very well identify with the idea of romance in Alaap or could understand what Pablo is going through," the actor told IBNS.
The film is produced by Surinder Films.
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