If you’re someone who grew up devouring Bengali spine-chilling horror stories, chances are you’ve read ‘Monihara’ by Rabindranath Tagore, ‘Taranath Tantrik’ by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay and ‘Shikar’ by Manoj Sen. Now, director duo Kakoli Ghosh and Avinab Mukherjee bring these iconic tales to life in their new Bengali horror anthology ‘Bhutopurbo’, which is currently running in theatres across Bengal.
As co-director Kakoli Ghosh puts it, the film is deeply rooted in one central theme - greed. It explores how this all-too-human flaw leads to terrifying consequences, echoing the old saying, “Lobhe paap, paape mrityu” (Greed leads to sin, sin leads to death).
In ‘Monihara’, Satyam Bhattacharya plays Phanibhushan, while Amrita Chattopadhyay takes on the eerie role of the hauntingly beautiful Manimalika. ‘Taranath Tantrik’ stars Rupanjana Maitra as the mysterious Matu Pagli and Saptarshi Maulik as the legendary mystic himself, Taranath. The last segment, ‘Shikar’, features Sandipta Sen as the enigmatic Tilottoma, with Suhotra Mukhopadhyay playing Purnendu.
“Each character has their own inner turmoil. That’s why the trailer plays a big role in setting the tone for these stories,” said Saptarshi. Sandipta added, “We’ve put in a lot of hard work. So please, go watch it in theatres or you’ll seriously miss out!”