''Ek Je Chhilo Raja'' is an Indian

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Srijit Mukherji Srijit Mukherji (born 23 September 1977) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Bengali cinema. His regular collaboration with veteran actor Prosenjit Chatterjee brought him into the limelight. His first featur ...

, under the banner of SVF Entertainment Pvt Ltd, starring

Jisshu Sengupta Jisshu Sengupta (born Biswaroop Sengupta; 15 March 1977) is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter, who predominantly works in Bengali, Hindi and Telugu films alongside a few Kannada films. Sengupta made his debut through a Bengali TV ...

in the title role of Maharaja Mahendra Kumar Chowdhury as well as the Bhawal sanyasi. The film also stars

Jaya Ahsan Jaya Maswood (born 1 July), popularly known as Jaya Ahsan, is a Bangladeshi film actress, model, producer and playback singer. Starting her career as a model and, later, as a film actress, she works mostly in Bangladeshi and Indian Bengali fil ...

Aparna Sen Aparna Sen (; ) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards East ...

, Anirban Bhattacharya,

Anjan Dutt Anjan Dutt (born 19 January 1953) is an Indian film director, actor, and singer-songwriter known for his work in the Bengali alternative music genre ''anyodharar gaan''. As an actor, Dutta began his career in Bengali cinema in the Mrinal Se ...

Rudranil Ghosh Rudranil Ghosh is an Indian actor who works primarily in Bengali films. Education Rudranil Ghosh completed his early education at Santragachi Kedarnath Institution, Howrah under West Bengal State Board. He graduated from the Narasinha Dutt ...

and Sreenanda Shankar. The movie was released during

Durga puja Durga Puja (ISO 15919, ISO: , ), also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which pays homage to the Hinduism, Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victo ...

2018. Most of the film was shot at

Kathgola Kathgola (also known as Katgola) is a neighbourhood in the city of Murshidabad which was at one time the capital of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, India, Orissa during the reign of the Nawabs of Bengal. History Kathgola often refers to the Kathg ...

Murshidabad Murshidabad (), is a town in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. This town is the headquarters of Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river, Bhagirathi Riv ...

. The film won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali The National Film Award for Best Bengali Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Ka ...

at India's

66th National Film Awards The 66th National Film Awards ceremony was the award ceremony which took place in 2019 to honour the best films of 2018, in the Indian cinema. The declaration of awards was delayed due to 2019 Indian general election. Selection process The Dir ...

Plot

The movie is based on the

Bhawal case The Bhawal case was an extended Indian court case about a person claiming to be the prince of Bhawal, who was presumed dead a decade earlier. Apparent first death and cremation Ramendra Narayan Roy was a kumar ("prince") of the Bhawal Est ...

, an extended Indian court case about a possible

impostor An impostor (also spelled imposter) is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often through means of disguise, deceiving others by knowingly falsifying one or more aspects of their identity. This is in contrast to someone that honestly belie ...

who claimed to be the prince of

Bhawal Bhawal Estate was a large zamindari in Bengal (in modern-day Gazipur, Bangladesh) until it was abolished according to ''East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950''. History In the late 17th century, Daulat Ghazi was the zamindar ...

, who was presumed dead a decade earlier.

Cast

as Raja Mahendra Kumar Chowdhury/Naga sannyasi *

as Mrinmayee Debi * Anirban Bhattacharya as Satya Banerjee * Anjan Dutta as Lawyer Bhaskar Mukherjee *

as Lawyer Anupama Basu *

as Doctor Ashwini Dasgupta * Rajnandini Paul as Chandravati Devi *

Barun Chanda Barun Chanda is an Indian Bengali people, Bengali advertising professional, actor and author based in the city of Kolkata. He is mostly remembered for his role in Satyajit Ray's ''Seemabaddha''. Biography Chanda was born in Dhaka in present-d ...

as The Judge *

Alexx O'Nell Alexander Leonard O'Neill (born 26 July 1980) is an American actor and musician who works in Indian films. He is best known for his roles in the films '' L2: Empuraan'', '' Ae Watan Mere Watan'', '' Khufiya'', '' Golondaaj'', '' Roohi'', '' Aarya ...

as Rankin * Sreenanda Shankar as Kadambari (Baiji)

Soundtrack

Release and reception

''Ek Je Chhilo Raja'' released on 12 October 2018. Bengali newspaper ''

Anandabazar Patrika ''Anandabazar Patrika'' is an Indian Bengali-language daily newspaper owned by the ABP Group. Its main competitors are ''Bartaman'', '' Ei Samay'', '' Sangbad Pratidin'', " Aajkal", " Jago Bangla", " ganashakti" and " dainik Statesman". Histo ...

'' wrote in their review that Jisshu Sengupta performance was one of the best portrayals in his career. They also praised the performance by Jaya Ahsan.

Awards

66th National Film Awards The 66th National Film Awards ceremony was the award ceremony which took place in 2019 to honour the best films of 2018, in the Indian cinema. The declaration of awards was delayed due to 2019 Indian general election. Selection process The Dir ...

* Best Feature Film in Bengali - ''Ek Je Chhilo Raja''

References

External links

* {{National Film Award Best Feature Film Bengali Bengali-language Indian films 2010s Bengali-language films Films directed by Srijit Mukherji Indian drama films Films about royalty Indian courtroom films Films about death Best Bengali Feature Film National Film Award winners Films about courtesans in India Films about prostitution in India Shree Venkatesh Films