Alaap (2024 film)

Alaap
Theatrical Release Poster
Directed by	Premendu Bikash Chaki
Written by	Premendu Bikash Chaki Padmanabha Dasgupta
Screenplay by	Padmanabha Dasgupta Premendu Bikash Chaki
Produced by	Nispal Singh Surinder Singh
Starring	Abir Chatterjee Mimi Chakraborty Swastika Dutta Anusua Das
Cinematography	Anirban Chatterjee
Edited by	Md. Kalam
Music by	Anupam Roy
Production company	Surinder Films
Distributed by	Surinder Films
Release date	26 April 2024 (2024-04-26)
Running time	145 minutes
Country	India
Language	Bengali

Alaap ^{[1] [2]} is a 2024 Indian Bengali-language romantic drama film written and directed by Premendu Bikash Chaki. Produced by Nispal Singh and Surinder Singh under the banner of Surinder Films, it stars Abir Chatterjee, Mimi Chakraborty and Swastika Dutta in the lead roles. ^[3]

The music and the lyrics is composed and written by Anupam Roy. ^[4] Anirban Chatterjee handled the cinematography while M.D Kalam did the editing. ^{[5] [6]} The film was released in the cinemas on 26 April 2024. ^{[7] [8]} The film became a surprise hit at the box-office. ^{[9] [10]}

Plot

The story revolves around the love life in the professional field of the three protagonists: Pablo Majumdar (Abir Chatterjee), Aditi Mitra (Mimi Chakraborty) and Swatilekha Sen (Swastika Dutta), who work in different IT companies at Sector V. Anusua Das is a co-worker at Pablo's workplace. Pablo and Aditi cross their paths in their professional sphere regarding sharing a flat.

Aditi had to travel 20km daily to her office, thus often reporting late for work. With her job being important, she was desperately looking for a place to stay that’s closer to her office. On the other side, Pablo was searching for another shared accommodation since his flatmate was getting married. In the mean time, he found a shared accommodation but, unknown to him, his flatmate was a woman (Aditi). So, to avoid any conflicts, the building’s caretaker made an arrangement where both Pablo and Aditi could live in the flat without ever knowing each other, owing to their different work schedules.

Thus, while Pablo stayed in the flat during the daytime due to his night office, Aditi stayed in the nights as her office time was in the day. In this way, they lived in the same flat, but without crossing each other's path. They shared food, newspapers, cacti and yet remain unknown to each other. Short sticky notes pasted on the common refrigerator became their mode of conversation.

But one day, Pablo came to know that his flatmate is not a guy, but a girl. Coincidentally, his parents also arrived at that time to meet him but misunderstood him to be staying in a live-in relationship with a girl (Aditi). In a hurry they wanted to forcefully fix his marriage with Swatilekha, his childhood friend and teacher's daughter. On the other hand, Aditi had also shifted to another city with a new job. But by that time, both Pablo and Aditi realised that they have fallen in love for with other. This leads to series of events carved around the comedy of errors trope, that unfolds the complicacies of relationships, subtle emotions and commitment issues. ^{[11] [12]}

Cast

• Abir Chatterjee ^[13] as Pablo Majumdar
• Mimi Chakraborty as Aditi Mitra
• Swastika Dutta as Swatilekha Sen
• Anusua Das as Anusua, Pablo's colleague at office
• RJ Rohit Gupta as Sukhlal, a broker
• Kinjal Nanda as Suman
• Tonni Laha Roy as Aditi's friend
• Debopriyo Mukherjee as Pablo's friend Manon
• Bhadra Basu as a neighbour

Production

Announcement and development

The film was announced with a poster on 14 February 2024 on the event of Valentine's Day and Saraswati Puja. The poster announced the name of the director along with the star cast. This film marked the reunion of Abir and Mimi after their last film Raktabeej , which became a box office success. ^[14]

Filming

The film was shot mostly in Kolkata, New Town, Howrah and New Delhi. ^{[15] [16] [17]} The shooting was completed and wrapped up on 24 February 2024. ^[18]

Marketing

A motion poster of the film was released on 2nd April 2024. ^[19] The trailer of the film was released directly on 11 April 2024, without any teaser released prior to it. ^{[20] [21] [22]} The lead duo gave interviews to various Bengali news portals like Anandabazar Patrika and others. ^[23]

Music

Alaap
Soundtrack album by Anupam Roy
Released	2024
Recorded	2023
Studio	Ananjan’s Studio Raja’s Cue Studio Boing Studio
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	12:25
Language	Bengali
Label	Surinder Films
Producer	Nispal Singh Surinder Singh
Anupam Roy chronology
Dhai Aakhar (2023) Alaap (2024) Ajogyo (2024)

The music of the film and the lyrics are composed and written by Anupam Roy.

The first single "Abohawa Bole Dey" was released on 5th April 2024. The second single "Dibaratrir Kabyo" was released on 14 April 2024. The third single "Sokhi Go" was released on 23 April 2024.

Track list

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Abohawa Bole Dey"	Rohan Basu, Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury	3:28
2.	"Dibaratrir Kabyo"	Anupam Roy, Lagnajita Chakraborty	5:00
3.	"Sokhi Go"	Shreya Ghoshal	3:57
Total length:			12:25

Release

The film was released in the theatres on 26 April 2024, with approximately 94 shows. ^[24]

Reception

Critical Reception

Agnivo Nyogi of The Telegraph reviewed the film on a positive note, praising Abir and Mimi's performance, their chemistry the simple yet engaging screenplay, the real life characters, the music and background score. He complimented Abir in this role, which he pulled off with ease. ^[25]

Suparna Majumder of Sangbad Pratidin reviewed the film on a positive note and wrote "The film presents a unique love story which revolves around the life of two corporate employees. Abir and Mimi are perfect in their roles." She also praised the music of the film and acting of all the other cast but criticised the length and stretched ending. ^[26]

Shamayita Chakraborty of OTTplay rated the film 3.5 stars and mentioned it as "A modern love in new-age Kolkata. It is a contemporary love story handled maturely and presented on a platter full of care." She praised the writing of Chaki and Dasgupta, the chemistry between the lead pair, the delightful music and perfect BGM. ^[27]

Subhasmita Kanji of Hindustan Times rated the film 4.4 out of 5 stars and wrote "The film is an example of a simple love story which is like a blow of fresh air in the hot summer. The chemistry between Abir and Mimi was breathtaking. The short yet apt role of Swastika, the writing, the idea and the music, everything was refreshing." ^[28]

Debarshi Bandyopadhyay of Anandabazar Patrika rated the film 7 out of 10 stars and wrote "This movie is a simple love story in this generation of situationships, ghosting, bombing and benching. The film depicts the struggles in a modern city life, the loneliness of the people and the rare existence of true selfless love." He praised the acting of Abir, Mimi and Bhadra Basu, the background score, the songs as well as the screenplay. ^[29]

Chaand from Calcutta Critique rated the film as 4 out of 5 stars on his YouTube channel and mentioned that "The simplicity of the movie is a breath of fresh air in this world of fast paced masala movie generation. Both Abir and Mimi are wonderful and looked so natural. Swastika has done justice to her role even though it's short. However for me, Anusua Das, although debutante with just few minutes of role, is a seasoned model well known in this line of work. She showed great potential, is a fresh face and has a lot of work lined up. Anusua Das is certainly someone to look out for"

References

1. "আবিরের সঙ্গে ফ্ল্যাট শেয়ার মিমির! টলিউডে নতুন প্রেমের 'আলাপ'".
2. "আবিরের সঙ্গে 'আলাপ' করতে নতুন লুকে মিমি! টলিপাড়ায় শোরগোল".
3. "Mimi Chakraborty and Abir Chatterjee are back on screen after 'Raktabeej'".
4. "Abir and Mimi share the screen again for the rom-com Alaap".
5. "'১০-১২ বছর থেকে পরিকল্পনা ছিল', অবশেষে 'আলাপ' হচ্ছে আবির-মিমির".
6. "Abir Chatterjee, Mimi Chakraborty reunite for Premendu Bikash Chaki's Alaap".
7. "Mimi- Abir: নতুনভাবে 'আলাপ' জমাবেন আবির- মিমি, প্রেম- মজার মোড়কে দর্শকের জন্যেও থাকছে উপহার https".
8. "১০-১২ বছর সময় লেগে গেল? আবিরের সঙ্গে 'আলাপ'-ই নেই মিমির!".
9. "Alaap and Eta Amader Golpo are two surprise hits at the box office". Ottplay . 6 May 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
10. "১ম সপ্তাহে ফাটিয়ে ব্যবসা "আলাপ", "এটা আমাদের গল্প"র". Hindustan Times . 5 May 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
11. "আবীর-মিমির 'আলাপ' কতটা নিবিড়? সন্ধানে শুটিং ফ্লোরে আনন্দবাজার অনলাইন".
12. "Alaap Review".
13. "Cast and crew of Premendu Bikash Chaki's upcoming rom-com".
14. "Khadaan, Alaap, Oti Uttam, Eta Amader Golpo: Mahurats, new song, first-look posters from Tollywood on Valentine's Day".
15. "Abir Chatterjee and Mimi Chakraborty pair up for Alaap after Raktabeej; pictures from the set".
16. "Mimi Chakraborty has completed shooting Premendu Bikash Chaki's Alaap with Abir Chatterjee".
17. "আবীর-মিমির 'আলাপ' কতটা নিবিড়? সন্ধানে শুটিং ফ্লোরে আনন্দবাজার অনলাইন".
18. "Arindam on set, Mimi and Abir's Alaap, Subhashree's Babli diaries, Ritabhari's new look: Tollywood update".
19. "Alaap Motion Poster".
20. "ওল্ড স্কুল রোম্যান্সে ধরা দিলেন আবির-মিমি".
21. "নতুনভাবে 'আলাপ' জমাবেন আবির- মিমি, প্রেম- মজার মোড়কে দর্শকের জন্যেও থাকছে উপহার".
22. "এই জন্য আমি আজও সিঙ্গেল...', হঠাৎ কেন বললেন মিমি চক্রবর্তী?".
23. "রাজনৈতিক দিক দিয়ে বাবা আর আমি আজও একমত : আবীর".
24. "ফের জুটিতে মিমি-আবির, রক্ত ঝরানো অ্যাকশন নয়, এবার প্রেমের গল্পে 'আলাপ' দুই তারকার".
25. "Alaap: Abir Chatterjee and Mimi Chakraborty light up this breezy romance".
26. "বৈশাখের দহনজ্বালায় মিষ্টি প্রেমের সুবাস আনল মিমি-আবিরের 'আলাপ'".
27. "Alaap review: Mimi Chakraborty, Abir Chatterjee and Swastika Dutta's drama is modern love in new-age Kolkata".
28. "Alaap Review: বৈশাখের জ্বালাপোড়া গরমে আবির-মিমির আলাপ যেন মিষ্টি প্রেমের দমকা বাতাস".
29. "Alaap Movie Review".

External links

• Alaap at IMDb