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Amazon Obhijaan

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Amazon Obhijaan
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKamaleshwar Mukherjee
Written byKamaleshwar Mukherjee
Based onCharacters of Chander Pahar, created
by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
Produced byMahendra Soni
Shrikant Mohta
Starring
CinematographySoumik Haldar
Edited byRabiranjan Maitra
Music byIndraadip Dasgupta
Production
company
Distributed byShree Venkatesh Films
Release date
  • 22 December 2017 (2017-12-22)[1]
Running time
140 minutes[2]
CountryIndia
LanguageBengali
Budgetest.₹20 crore[3]
Box officeapprox.₹48.63 crore[4]

Amazon Obhijaan (lit. The Amazon Expedition) is a 2017 Indian Bengali-language action-adventure film written and directed by Kamaleshwar Mukherjee and produced by Shrikant Mohta and Mahendra Soni under the banner of Shree Venkatesh Films.[5] Starring Dev in the lead role of Shankar, it is the sequel to 2013 film Chander Pahar and the second installment of Chander Pahar film series.[6] The film revolves around Shankar, an adventurer who, along with a lady and her father, travels to Amazon in search of the City of Gold, El Dorado.

Amazon Obhijaan marked the 100th film of the production house.[7] Released in the theatres on 22 December 2017, it is the highest-grossing Bengali film of all time.[8] On 5 January 2018, the film was dubbed and released in five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Odia and Assamese.[9] It also became the first Bengali film to release theatrically in United Kingdom on 12 January 2018, in 30 years.

Plot

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The sequel to the Chander Pahar film, the story shifts to 5 years after the incidents of Chander Pahar. In 1915, Shankar living in his hometown when he is approached by a young Italian woman named Anna Florian to accompany her and her father, Marco Florian, in finding mythical El Dorado, the city of gold in Amazon. Thus, the journey of Shankar begins.

Cast

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Production

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Development and casting

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In earlier 2014, according to a Bengali magazine, director Kamaleshwar Mukherjee has already penned the script, taking the story forward from where it left and Dev has been quoted as saying that the next location, after the African safari, will be the dense forests of Amazon rainforest.[11] The film has been titled Amazon Obhijan.[5]

Filming

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Initially, the makers planned to shot the film in Siberia. But the director decided to shift the film to a rainforest. Although Malaysia was considered for the shoot, Amazon rainforest was finalised owing to its adventurous landscapes. The shooting was started from May 2016.[5] The initial parts of the film which depicted Dev aka Shankar's home in India, was shot in Bolpur. The remaining majority of the film was shot across different locations in Brazil and the Amazon. The underwater sequences were mostly shot in the rivers Rio Negro and Rio Solimões.[12]

While filming for a scene, Dev hurt his right foot. In an interview with The Telegraph, he said that he stepped around the sharp edge of a branch, which went through his boot and pierced his foot. The injured part got swollen and took painkillers and injections as primary treatment. Despite pain, he resumed filming the next day and shot for those scenes, where he was sitting down. He also spoke about a near escape while they were shooting under a tree. Hearing a branch snapping sound, they jumped away from under the tree and the tree fell down the very next moment.[13]

Marketing

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Amazon Obhijaan
Date11 November 2017
Page count160 pages
Creative team
WritersKamaleshwar Mukherjee
CreatorChander Pahar
by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
Original publication
LanguageBengali and English

The first poster and teaser released on 21 September 2017.[14] A 320 feet long and 190 feet wide poster was launched on 4 November 2017, at the Mohun Bagan Ground and made a Guinness World Record of the biggest film poster in the history of India, breaking the record previously held by Baahubali.[15][16] The trailer of the film was released on 1 December 2017[17][18] in Bengali, Assamese, Odia, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages.[19]

Graphic novel

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As a part of the promotional material, the makers released a graphic novel titled the same as the film, Amazon Obhijaan, on 11 November 2017.[20] Written by the film's director Kamaleswar Mukherjee, it is available in English and Bengali.[21][22]

Soundtrack

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Amazon Obhijaan
Soundtrack album by
Indraadip Dasgupta
Released2017
Recorded2017
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length5:22
LabelSVF
Producer
Indraadip Dasgupta chronology
Yeti Obhijaan
(2017) 		Amazon Obhijaan
(2017) 		Kabir
(2018)

Indraadip Dasgupta was signed to compose the music of the film. (The songs as well as the background score). The lyrics were penned by Prasen.

The film included only one song in the album. "Chol Naa Jai", sung by Arijit Singh and back vocals by Ishan Mitra, Sayan Ghosh, Amit Chatterjee was released on 16 December 2017.[23]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Chol Naa Jai"PrasenArijit Singh5:22
Total length:5:22

Release

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Theatrical

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The film was released theatrically on 22 December 2017 in the original Bengali language. On 5 January 2018, the dubbed versions were released in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Odia and Assamese languages.[24]

Home media

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The film had its television premiere in Bengali on 27 May 2018 on Star Jalsha. The Hindi version was premiered on Star Plus on 16 September 2018.

Reception

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Ronita Goswami of Zee 24 Ghanta rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "Amazon Obhijaan is a remarkable feat in Indian cinema in the genre of jungle adventure." She praised the direction, narration, sets, cinematography, background music and acting of the lead cast, specially Dev.[25]

Bhaswati Ghosh of Ei Samay rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Amazon Obhijaan is the big scale Bengali commercial film and Bengal's answer to South Indian biggies like Baahubali." She praised the cinematography but criticised the narration, screenplay, VFX, background score and the dialogue delivery. She additionally praised the director and production house for their attempt to take Bengali cinema "one step further."[26]

Shamayita Chakraborty of The Times of India rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing, "One must watch the film. Not only because of its grandeur but also to savour Kamaleswar’s imagination. The mythic city of El Dorado is pretty much the same as we had imagined in childhood. And finally, the film ends where it all began — with a reference to National Geographic, the book that opened up the idea of Shankar’s first adventure, Chander Pahar, many years ago."[27]

Bhaskar Chattopadhyay of the Firstpost rated the film 1 out of 5 stars and wrote "While lavishly planned and mounted, the film is ruthlessly slaughtered by its absolutely shoddy writing and equally cringe-worthy execution." He crticised the film for the unnecessary excesses in every department - the editing, dialogues, cinematography, art direction, background score, sound design, costumes and the makeup.[28]

Sayantan Mondal of The Quint reviewed the film and wrote "‘Amazon Obhijaan’ is insipid, boring, lethargic and absolutely avoidable just like linking your Aadhar card." He mentioned how the cringe dialogues made the character of Shankar look more like an insurance agent and less of an explorer as if he was trying to sell an insurance policy to Anna.[29]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Amazon Obhijaan: A monumental film in Bengali cinema". www.in.com. 2 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  2. ^ "CBFC | Search Film".
  3. ^ "SVF unveils biggest film poster for Bengali film 'Amazon Obhijaan'". Economic Times. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  4. ^ "'Amazon Obhijan' Becomes Highest Grossing Bengali Film Ever". The Statesman. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Dev's Amazon adventure starts now! - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Locations of Dev's Amazon Obhijan will make you gasp - The Times of India". The Times of India.
  7. ^ "Shree Venkatesh Films on a new high with its 100th film production". The Times of India.
  8. ^ "'Amazon Obhijan' becomes highest grossing Bengali film ever!". The Statesman. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  9. ^ "'Amazon Obhijaan' to witness nationwide release on January 5". The Statesman. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  10. ^ "South African actor David James recollects 'magical experience' of acting in Amazon Obhijaan". Daily News and Analysis. Archived from the original on 25 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Dev, Kamaleswar planning Chander Pahar sequel!". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  12. ^ "Exclusive shots from Dev's Amazon Obhijaan". Times of India. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Dev's Amazon adventure". The Telegraph. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Teaser of 'Amazon Obhijaan' launched on digital platforms". Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  15. ^ India.com Buzz Desk (5 November 2017). "Biggest Poster Measuring 60,800 Sq Ft of Bengali Film Amazon Obhijaan Launched At Mohun Bagan in Kolkata". Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  16. ^ Himatsingka, Anuradha (4 November 2017). "SVF unveils the biggest film poster for Bengali film 'Amazon Obhijaan'". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  17. ^ "Amazon Obhijaan trailer: From anacondas to panthers, this Bengali movie is making Twitter go WOW". Times Now. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  18. ^ "Amazon Obhijaan trailer: Dev's film marks monumental feat for Bengali film industry". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  19. ^ "హాలీవుడ్ రేంజ్‌లో మరో భారతీయ సినిమా! (Bengali Movie Amazon Obhijaan To Release In Six Languages)". Times of India. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  20. ^ "Amazon Obhijaan graphic novel launched". Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  21. ^ "Amazon Obhijaan graphic novel launched". 11 November 2017. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  22. ^ "সবচেয়ে বড় পোস্টারের পর গ্রাফিক নভেল, ফের চমক 'আমাজন অভিযান'-এর". Archived from the original on 18 December 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  23. ^ "Chol Naa Jai (Original) - Single". Apple Music. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  24. ^ "'Amazon Obhijaan' to be first Bengali movie to release in six languages". Business Standard. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  25. ^ গোস্বামী, রণিতা (23 December 2017). "'এলডোরাডো' খুঁজতে গিয়ে বিপদসংকুল পথে শঙ্কর, কেমন ছিল দেবের সেই অভিযান? পড়ুন ফিল্ম রিভিউ". Zee News (in Bengali). Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  26. ^ ঘোষ, ভাস্বতী (9 November 2023). "অ্যামাজন অভিযান: অন্তত বাণিজ্যের অভিযান সফল". Ei Samay (in Bengali). Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  27. ^ "Amazon Obhijaan Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings at Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  28. ^ Chattopadhyay, Bhaskar (31 December 2017). "Amazon Obhijaan movie review: This is not the expedition we signed up for". Firstpost. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  29. ^ Mondal, Sayantan (24 December 2017). "'Amazon Obhijaan' Review: Dev and David James in the Swachh Woods". The Quint. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
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