Indubala Bhaater Hotel

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Indubala Bhaater Hotel
Indubala Bhaater Hotel poster.jpeg
Release poster
Genre Drama
Written byKallol Lahiri
Directed by Debaloy Bhattacharya
Starring Subhashree Ganguly
Rahul Banerjee
Sneha Chatterjee
ComposerAmit Chatterjee
Country of originIndia
Original languageBengali
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Production companyHoichoi
Original release
Network Hoichoi
Release8 March 2023 (2023-03-08) –
present

Indubala Bhaater Hotel is a 2023 drama Bengali web series available on the streaming platform Hoichoi. [1] Directed by Debaloy Bhattacharya, the series is based on an eponymous Bengali novel by Kallol Lahiri, which revolves around the life and struggles of Indubala, the protagonist. [2] Her somber life, punctuated with fleeting hopes of happiness, exemplifies a human's yearning to return to one's roots, only to be shackled by the heaviness of responsibilities and the vagaries of geopolitics. [3] [4]

Contents

With music by Amit Chatterjee and editing by Sanglap Bhowmik, the series marks the web series debut of Subhashree Ganguly in the lead role. [5] Parijat Chaudhuri, Sneha Chatterjee, Debapratim Dasgupta and Angana Roy play other pivotal roles. The series was released to generally positive reviews from the critics as well as the audience, who particularly praised Subhashree's acting, the seasoned direction which well adapted the novel and the nostalgia evoking music. [6] [7] [8]

Plot

The series explores the trials and tribulations of Indubala, born in a village of East Bengal who marries an urban man from Kolkata (in Western Bengal) and leaves her ancestral village. She has to adjust to the new way of life in the city. She becomes a widow at an early age and brings up her two sons singlehandedly. [9]

With guidance from a few well-wishers, Indubala–an experienced cook–starts a home-based small restaurant mainly catering to local workers and commuters. Gradually her restaurant becomes popular thanks to word of mouth, and much later due to shares in social media from its aficionados. With the earnings from the restaurant, her life slowly stabilizes. Her children grow up and settle into their lives.

Throughout all these years, Indubala reminisces about her childhood in the village of East Bengal and yearns to return there one day, but can not because of her familial responsibilities and also because the village belongs to another country Bangladesh (stemming from the 1947 partition of India and 1971 independence of Bangladesh). [10]

Cast

Production

Development

Director Debaloy Bhattacharya and the author of the eponymous novel, Kallol were friends. Kallol used to send him chapters from his book to read and Bhattacharya became inspired from there. He got drawn to it and started to create a suitable screen adaptation, which was completed at the end of three years. [14]

When The announcement took place, some people asked if it was the right decision from my end. I see it as a natural progression. These days, we all watch fascinating works on OTT almost every day. As a creative individual, I was eager to work in OTT. I was getting offers. I told myself that I would do an OTT project as soon as I get a good character. Having said that, I did not say yes to this project to influence others. The main reason I said yes to Indubala was because of the character. I would say yes to this character even if it was a film or something else.

—  Subhashree Ganguly, during an interview with OTTplay [15]

In an interview with India Today , Subhashree Ganguly spoke about how she trained herself to fit into the shoes of the character and maintain a wise appearance, since she is someone who has seen and passed through all the hurdles of life. She read the script for around 100 times and used to read it at any time of the day before the filming had begun. [16]

Pre production

Director Debaloy Bhattacharya approached Amit Chatterjee in 2022 to compose the music of the series. Chatterjee accepted the offer and made the songs of the series through a span of eleven to twelve months. To suit the series, he incorporated folk sounds with nostalgic music rhythms and various ragas. Debaloy Bhattacharya has penned the lyrics of the seven original compositions in the series along with other lyricists in a few songs. Chatterjee revealed that for many songs including "Dhiki Dhiki", he made composition around the lyrics written by Bhattacharya instead of the usual vice versa process. [17]

Filming

The principal filming took place in late 2022 and was done at an old dalan bari in Kolkata. [18] Filming took place throughout August 2022 till 9 September 2022. After a short break of 11 days, the next schedule started from 20 September and lasted till mid-October. [19]

Parijat Chaudhuri played role of young Indubala. Shooting started three weeks after her look test. To adapt to her role, she adopted a Bangal accent, quickly learned cooking various puli pithas from her grandmother, and learned doing various household chores akin a rural Bengali girl. In an interview, she mentioned how she had first time experiences of climbing large trees and catching chingri maach with her aanchal in a village pond. [20]

The filming of the scenes in which the elderly look of Subhashree Ganguly was portrayed was filmed for 20 days. In an interview, Subhashree Ganguly revealed that doing the make-up and taking it off while shooting for the senile Indubala scenes often took longer time than the filming scenes itself. It used to take three to three and a half hours to put on the prosthetic make-up and more than one hour to take it off. [16] While removing make-up, the deposited sweat used to gush out like water. The heavy make up also caused a lot of breathing issues since it was summertime. [15] [21]

Post production

The music composer Amit Chatterjee mentioned in an interview that during the post production phase, when the songs were first sent to the producers, they were instantly rejected. They opined that kind of songs would not work for the series. But Chatterjee and the director Debaloy Bhattacharya were adamant on their decision. After the album came out, the songs were praised for the nostalgic touch and rural essence. [22]

Marketing

On 21 September 2022, the makers unveiled the poster of Subhashree Ganguly as the elderly Indubala. [23] [24] The teaser of the series was dropped on 29 January 2023. [25] [26]

Soundtrack

Indubala Bhaater Hotel
Soundtrack album by
Amit Chatterjee
Released30 April 2023 (2023-04-30)
Recorded2021–2022
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length54:36
Language Bengali
Label SVF Music
Official audio
Indubala Bhaater Hotel - Full Album on YouTube

The music of the web series has been composed by Amit Chatterjee. Out of the ten songs in the album of the series, seven are Chatterjee's original compositions. The remaining three are popular regional folk songs whose original creators are unknown. [27] [28]

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Pakhider Smriti (orchestral Version)"Debaloy Bhattacharya, Atul Prosad Iman Chakraborty 4:36
2."Pakhider Smriti"Debaloy Bhattacharya, Atul ProsadIkkshita Mukherjee4:03
3."Dhiki Dhiki"Debaloy Bhattacharya, Ritam SenIkkshita Mukherjee3:38
4."Dehotori"Debaloy BhattacharyaChakropani Dev5:47
5."Ami Eka Chini"Debaloy BhattacharyaJayati Chakraborty6:16
6."Shunyo E Buke"  4:29
7."Kakhana Haribe Dukho Mor + Majhi Baiya Jao Re"  5:01
8."Kothay Tomay Pai"  5:23
9."Tore Chinono Na Jay"  5:59
10."Dana Kata Pori"Debaloy Bhattacharya Anirban Bhattacharya 9:58
Total length:54:36

Reception

The series was appraised and well received by the audience, who applauded Subhashree Ganguly's acting skills while portraying the senile Indubala, the use of food as a tool to evoke memories and nostalgia and the nostalgic sounding music which added an aesthetic touch to the well done, close shots amplified cinematography. [7] [29]

Critical reception

Poorna Banerjee of The Times of India rated the series 3.5/5 stars and termed it as "A heartwarming tale of love, sacrifice, and nurture, and a good watch." She added "Subhashree Ganguly fits herself into this role with a great deal of grace and aplomb. The music invokes an aura of nostalgic melancholia. What perhaps jars sometimes is the continual repetition of certain dialogues and the extended eating scenes." [30] Shamayita Chakraborty of OTTplay rated the series 3/5 stars and wrote "Indubala Bhaater Hotel is a deeply emotional drama that essentially deserves to be seen at a stretch to leave a mark. Subhashree is the backbone of the narration and she is outstanding when she plays her age. The pace falters here and there due to overt melancholy and sentiments and this discontinuity is irksome." [31]

Agnivo Niyogi of The Telegraph reviewed the series and highlighted "With food as the connecting thread, Indubala Bhaater Hotel weaves a tale of nostalgia and a sense of loss that runs deep within the protagonist even decades after being separated from her homeland." He particularly praised Subhashree's acting, the nostalgic music, crisp editing and cinematography. [32] Archi Sengupta of Leisurebyte reviewed the series and opined "Indubala Bhaater Hotel is a heartbreaking and heartwarming story about a woman’s struggles and her empathy towards those around her – and it hits all the right notes. Not just the story – Subhashree Ganguly encompasses her role beautifully." [33]

Suparna Majumder of Sangbad Pratidin reviewed the series and wrote "Debaloy Bhattachrya's Indubala Bhaater Hotel will touch the heart of all those Bengalis who still have pakhider reeti neeti deep inside their heart." She praised Subhashree Ganguly's portrayal of Indubala, particularly in her octogenarian phase as well as the make-up artist Somnath Kundu. [34] Ranita Goswami of the Hindustan Times reviewed the series and highlighted "Director Debaloy Bhattacharya successfully captivates the audience with the nostalgia marred in this series, which is aptly supported by Subhashree's seasoned acting and dialogue delivery." She also praised the cinematography, dialogues and the nostalgia evoking music. [35]

Sequel

Subhashree Ganguly mentioned in an interview that despite the success of the series, there would not be any second part to Indubala Bhaater Hotel. She mentioned "It's a limited edition and bringing a second part just owing to the success of the first part would be an insult to the legacy of the character of Indubala. [36]

Controversy

Veteran singer Jayati Chakraborty expressed her disappointment after her song was deleted from the series. [37] She mentioned that she does not want to lose faith as music is a matter of faith to her. She said, if one loses faith faith, the song's word don't touch the heart, irrespective of whether it's a Tagore song or any other. [38] This sparked an online criticism against the makers. Later, the director Debaloy Bhattacharya clarified that the song sung by her has not been removed; it would be released in the next part. Subsequently, her song was released alon with full album of the series. [39] [40]

References

  1. ↑ Niyogi, Agnivo (30 January 2023). "Indubala Bhaater Hotel teaser: Subhashree Ganguly as an elderly woman looking back at her past". The Telegraph . Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  2. ↑ "Indubala Bhater Hotel". Goodreads. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Maitra Chakraborty, Barnini (4 December 2021). "With 'Indubala Bhater Hotel', Kallol Lahiri provides food for thought". The Telegraph . Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  4. ↑ Roy, Ananya (26 September 2023). "Eating Through Memory: Culinary Heritage, 'Indubala Bhaater Hotel' And Perseverance Of Refugee Women". Feminism in India. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  5. ↑ "Subhashree Ganguly's debut OTT project 'Indubala Bhater Hotel' to stream soon". Times of India . 7 December 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  6. ↑ Biswas, Shuvodip (9 April 2023). "Indubala Bhaater Hotel: The smell of soil and a journey". The Financial Express (Bangladesh) . Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  7. 1 2 "Anirban Bhattacharya's directional debut project Mandaar to Subhashree Ganguly's Indubala Bhater Hotel: Bengali web series you can binge-watch". Times of India . 2 September 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  8. ↑ Goswami, Ranita (28 March 2023). "Indubala Bhater Hotel Review: স্মৃতির যুদ্ধে ইন্দুবালা, বাল্যপ্রেমে মিশে গেল নকশী কাঁথার মাঠ, ফিরল মুক্তিযুদ্ধ". Hindustan Times (in Bengali). Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  9. ↑ Niyogi, Agnivo (6 January 2023). "8 new Bengali web series from ZEE5 and Hoichoi in 2023". The Telegraph . Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  10. ↑ Mukherjee, Anindita (8 March 2023). "'Just live your life!' Indubala Bhater Hotel actress Subhashree Ganguly's message for fans on Women's Day". India Today . Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  11. ↑ Hazra, Utsha (2 March 2023). "আমি এ বার 'কবীর সিংহ'-এর মতো রগরগে প্রেমের গল্পে অভিনয় করতে চাই: শুভশ্রী". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  12. ↑ Hazra, Utsha (24 June 2023). "বলতে দ্বিধা নেই, বাবা ইন্ডাস্ট্রির সঙ্গে যুক্ত ছিল বলেই আমার টলিউড যাত্রা মসৃণ হয়েছে: পারিজাত". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  13. ↑ Marik, Priyam (9 March 2023). "Angana Roy is Subhashree Ganguly's 'confidante' in Hoichoi series Indubala Bhaater Hotel". The Telegraph . Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  14. ↑ Chakraborty, Shamayita (6 March 2023). "Debaloy Bhattacharya on Indubala Bhaater Hotel: Subhashree Ganguly doesn't show off, but her performance speaks". OTTplay . Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  15. 1 2 Chakraborty, Shamayita (10 March 2023). "Subhashree Ganguly on Indubala Bhaater Hotel: I surely want our OTT industry to grow along with our film industry". OTTplay . Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  16. 1 2 Mukherjee, Anindita (14 March 2023). "Subhashree Ganguly reveals if playing a 75-YO in Indubala Bhaater Hotel puts her in bracket". India Today . Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  17. ↑ Goswami, Ranita (10 April 2023). "Indubala Bhater Hotel: 'ইন্দুবালা'র গান প্রথমে প্রযোজকদের পছন্দ হয়নি, বলেই দিয়েছিল চলবে না: অমিত". Hindustan Times (in Bengali). Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  18. ↑ Mitra, Pooja (7 December 2022). "Prosenjit and Kaushik Ganguly in Kaberi Antardhan, Subhashree in Indubala Bhater Hotel, Riddhi pairing up with Ujan, Monami's airport fashion, Sandipta's Germany click, Dev's jacket fashion and more: Tollywood update". The Telegraph . Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  19. ↑ Chakraborty, Shamayita (24 September 2022). "Subhashree Ganguly on Boudi Canteen: Mainstream, commercial cinema gave me fame and made me the actor I am today". OTTplay . Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  20. ↑ "'দু'মিনিটে গাছে চড়া শিখেছি, পুকুরে চিংড়ি ধরেছি!' পারিজাতই যেন বইয়ের পাতার সেই ইন্দুবালা". The Wall (in Bengali). 2 August 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  21. ↑ Bhattacharyya, Torsha (17 February 2023). "শুভশ্রী থেকে ইন্দুবালা হয়ে ওঠার সফর, রূপটানের অজানা গল্প শোনালেন সোমনাথ". ABP Ananda (in Bengali). Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  22. ↑ Goswami, Ranita (10 April 2023). "Indubala Bhater Hotel: 'ইন্দুবালা'র গান প্রথমে প্রযোজকদের পছন্দ হয়নি, বলেই দিয়েছিল চলবে না: অমিত". Hindustan Times (in Bengali). Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  23. ↑ "Indubala Bhater Hotel New Poster: 'সে আসছে', ইন্দুবালার ছবি শেয়ার করে লিখলেন শুভশ্রী". ETV Bharat (in Bengali). 7 December 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  24. ↑ "Subhashree Ganguly to make her OTT debut with 'Indubala Bhater Hotel'". Times of India . 21 September 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  25. ↑ Mitra, Pooja (2 February 2023). "Teaser drop: Subhashree keeps you hooked as Indubala". The Telegraph . Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  26. ↑ "Indubala Bhater Hotel teaser: গ্ল্যামারস শুভশ্রী এখন ৭৫ বছরের বৃদ্ধা, সামনে এল 'ইন্দুবালা ভাতের হোটেল'-র টিজার". Aaj Tak (in Bengali). 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  27. ↑ "ইন্ডাস্ট্রিতে সিনিয়র সুরকাররা নতুনদের সাফল্য চান না, হুমকির অভিযোগ ইন্দুবালার সুরকারের". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). 15 March 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  28. ↑ Misra, Akash (15 March 2023). "'বাংলা সিনেমায় কাজ করলে মি টু অভিযোগ দেওয়া হবে' হুমকি ফোন 'ইন্দুবালা ভাতের হোটেলে'র সুরকারকে!". Sangbad Pratidin (in Bengali). Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  29. ↑ "Team 'Indubala Bhater Hotel' enjoys a success party". Times of India . 1 April 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  30. ↑ "Indubala Bhaater Hotel Season 1 Review: Of melancholia and the mundane". The Times of India. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg
  31. ↑ Chakraborty, Shamayita (9 March 2023). "Indubala Bhaater Hotel review: Subhashree Ganguly's drama needs more episodes to leave a mark". OTTplay . Retrieved 27 July 2025.Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg
  32. ↑ Niyogi, Agnivo (29 March 2023). "Subhashree Ganguly shines in Hoichoi's Indubala Bhaater Hotel as a refugee homemaker who starts a business". The Telegraph . Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  33. ↑ "Indubala Bhaater Hotel Part 1 Review: A Heartbreaking Tale of Food and Memories". Leisurebyte. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  34. ↑ Majumder, Suparna (10 March 2023). "Indubala Bhaater Hotel Review: পাওনা শুভশ্রীর অভিনয়, মানুষ আর সময়ের গল্প বলে 'ইন্দুবালা ভাতের হোটেল'". Sangbad Pratidin (in Bengali). Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  35. ↑ Goswami, Ranita (12 March 2023). "পাখির জীবন ছেড়ে খাঁচাবন্দি, চোখের জলে ভেজে ইন্দুবালার স্মৃতিপট". Hindustantimes Bangla (in Bengali). Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  36. ↑ Ganguly, Ruman (15 July 2023). "With our second baby, my family will be complete: Subhashree Ganguly". Times of India . Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  37. ↑ "Indubala Bhater Hotel Controversy: গোটা গানটাই বাদ, 'ইন্দুবালা ভাতের হোটেল' নিয়ে ক্ষুব্ধ জয়তী". Aaj Tak (in Bengali). 22 March 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  38. ↑ Majumder, Suparna (22 March 2023). "না জানিয়ে বাদ দেওয়া হয়েছে গান, 'ইন্দুবালা ভাতের হোটেল' নিয়ে ক্ষুব্ধ জয়তী চক্রবর্তী". Sangbad Pratidin (in Bengali). Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  39. ↑ "Indubala Bhaater Hotel: Singer Jayati Chakraborty asks the young generation to keep faith alive". OTTplay . 23 March 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  40. ↑ Misra, Akash (22 March 2023). "'ইন্দুবালা ভাতের হোটেল' থেকে বাদ জয়তীর গান! বিতর্ক নিয়ে মুখ খুললেন সুরকার অমিত". Sangbad Pratidin (in Bengali). Retrieved 29 July 2025.
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