New Delhi: After Tollywood’s Daaku Maharaaj and Dacoit: A Love Story, the infatuation with the bandit theme has reached Bengal with the SVF—the state’s biggest entertainment conglomerate—announcing Raghu Dakat. The movie draws inspiration from a Robinhood figure named Raghu Dakat who lived in 18th-century Bengal. He is said to have constructed a Kali temple at Basudebpur. Directed by Dhrubo Banerjee, Dev will play the lead.
The announcement of Raghu Dakat came during Golper Parbon 1432, an event celebrating SVF’s 30-year journey in Bengali-language entertainment held in Kolkata on 28 February.
“As a director, the choice to bring Raghu Dakat’s story to the screen stems from the timeless appeal of a heroic narrative. People are naturally drawn to stories of saviours, figures who stand against injustice and Raghu Dakat’s legend perfectly embodies that,” said Banerjee.
The film features an ensemble cast with some of Bengal’s most popular faces such as Anirban Bhattacharya, Sohini Sarkar, Idhika Paul, and Roopa Ganguly. It will be released during Durga Puja this year.
SVF is pursuing a hybrid business strategy integrating streaming, theatrical releases, and branded storytelling, with expansion plans and increasing viewership in Bangladesh, Southeast Asia, and among the Bengali diaspora worldwide. Raghu Dakat is a flagship project to this end.
“Looking at the casting and the scale of production, this project is shaping up to be one of the biggest in Bengal’s cinematic history. And who knows, it might just set a new benchmark. Not only for action-adventure period dramas but for cinema as a whole,” said Banerjee.
Chor Police Dakat Babu was another project announced by the group, that also runs the Bengali OTT Hoichoi. The plot focuses on three brothers who turn robbers.
The biggest hit of 2024 in Bengal was Bohurupi, directed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprasad Mukherjee. It grossed over Rs 16 crore, which made it one of the top five highest-grossing Bengali films ever. The film is about a bohurupi—a traditional quick-change performer—who uses his talent for disguise to pull off daring bank heists. Daaku Maharaaj too made Rs 134.5 crore worldwide, making it a success for the makers.
Banerjee has tapped into the popularity of ‘saviour’ tales, with a dash of fantasy and period drama. “With the rich folklore surrounding Raghu Dakat from his daring heists to the mystique of his legend, the film is set against a grand backdrop that promises scale, intensity and emotion,” he said.
Also read: Tollywood trade union is ‘bleeding’ Bengali cinema—forced hires, work limits, boycotts
Sequels on the slate
SVF’s slate also includes sequels for established franchises. Srijit Mukherji will helm Killbill Society, a sequel to Hemlock Society (2012), featuring Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Koushani Mukherjee. The character of Sona da, an Oxford University professor of history, who comes to Bengal and gets interested in a local myth and treasure hunt,
is back for a new adventure in Saptadingar Guptadhon, starring Abir Chatterjee, Arjun Chakrabarty, and Ishaa Saha. This will be the 4th instalment in the series of films. Prosenjit Chatterjee also returns as Kakababu in Vijaynagar’er Hirey, which would be the fourth film in the action-adventure franchise.
On its OTT channel Hoichoi too, SVF has reprised its popular Feluda series, starring Tota Roy Chowdhury. Another household thriller series, titled Indu, will return for the third season.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)