New Delhi: Creative Durga Puja pandals are not the only staple of festivities in West Bengal. Every year, the Bengal box office also witnesses a clash of the year’s biggest entertainers. So far, Dev’s period drama Raghu Dakat has made Rs 3.12 crore since its release on Friday, while the political thriller Raktabeej 2 has made Rs 1.77 crore.
Seen as an auspicious time for big-budget films, much like Diwali and Eid for the Hindi film industry, Durga Puja usually sees multiple releases in Bengal. But the clash usually takes place between two major films. This year, Devi Chowdhurani and Joto Kando Kolkatatei also released alongside Raghu Dakat and Raktabeej 2. But in the battle of the box office, they have been left far behind. Devi Chowdhurani has managed to make Rs 0.51 crore, while Joto Kando Kolkatatei’s collection so far is Rs 0.49 crore.
The producers of Raghu Dakat and Raktabeej 2 tried various marketing and promotional strategies ahead of release. Raghu Dakat’s promotions were led by Dev, who even landed up in West Bengal’s Purulia to promote his film. Raktabeej 2 relied on the item song Border Chara Border, featuring actor and former MP Nusrat Jahan, along with the romantic number Choker Neele, which featured actor Mimi Chakraborty in a blue bikini. Chakraborty is the first actor to wear a bikini in a Bengali film.
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Raghu Dakat is the name of a legendary bandit leader who terrorised zamindars and the British colonisers in Bengal in the 19th century. Dhrubo Banerjee’s period film borrows the name of the legend for his film, and is set in the decades after the First War of Independence, when Queen Victoria’s reign began in India.
Raktabeej 2 is the sequel to the hit movie Raktabeej (2023), which was also a Durga Puja release. While the first film was inspired by the Burdwan blast in 2014, the sequel crosses borders to focus on a conspiracy to destabilise Bangladesh. Raktabeej 2 takes place after the events of the first film.
In 2024, the clash was between Srijit Mukherji’s thriller Tekka, starring Dev and Shiboprasad Mukherjee, and Nandita Roy’s Bohurupi. While Tekka made Rs 4.3 crore worldwide, Bohurupi emerged as a juggernaut with a collection of Rs 16.55 crore.
Bohurupi was a tale about a traditional quick-change performer who uses his talent for disguise to pull off daring bank heists. Shiboprosad Mukherjee plays the titular role while Abir Chatterjee stars as the cop who is determined to arrest him. Tekka was a thriller centred around the kidnapping of a little girl, led by Dev, who played a Muslim security guard.
Dev’s long-delayed Dhumketu was also released earlier this year, and made Rs 9.74 crore and was declared a hit.