Khiladi `invades` Bengal turf ahead of pujas

Kolkata: Reinventing the Akshay Kumar comic caper, high on adrenaline and less in emotional quotient, `Khiladi` invades the Bengal turf with hit Tolly pair Ankush-Nusrat Jahan in the lead. Taking the `Mirchi Jalsaghar` turf, the film`s lead pair said while retaining references of the bigger masala blockbuster, the Bengali Khiladi was more than a comedy flick. "It talks about human emotions, sentiments, cross-religion love. It talks about respecting each other`s customs and how all roads lead to one. And it is again a masala flick with dollops of comedy and romance thrown in," Ankush said at the concert of the FM major, held in the run-up to the pujas, "I am a Bengali Hindu girl in the movie while Ankush is a Muslim and we fall in love braving many hurdles and grimaces. I showed him the way to hold namaz prayers and he demonstrated the particular way Hindu women wear sarees. The rest will be unveiled at screening. No real life references, " Nusrat, one of the lead pairs of Khoka 420, said. From films to music, popular Bangla band Cactus belted catchy numbers of their upcoming band Blah Blah Blah which advocated against dynasty, rooted for democracy and shunned war mongering, a recurring feature in all Cactus albums. "This album has eight numbers which follows the genres of alternate rock and new metal. There are rock, ballads, and psychedelic rock numbers. Besides we have recreated the three songs of acclaimed Bengali film in the early 2000 Neel Nirjone," Cactus frontman and popular rock singer Sidhu said. "There are numbers like `Raja Tor Topar Kothay` which are universal for any country, crossing boundaries," he said. Belting out the chart topping Hemlock Society number `Gobhire Jao`, popular singer Rupankar reminisced how the term Jalsaghar brought back memories of a `jalsa` in a zamindari household as the show would go on on every puja days till Dashami. "The music and the feel and wear of people might have changed but the puja countdown joy remains undiminished," Rupankar, who sang some numbers of new Puja album Mombati, said. "We want to present a mix of contemporary, traditional yet global music to the Bengalis. From Rupankar, Shilajit and Cactus to an internationally known percussionist like Bickram Ghosh everybody will be there to showcase Bengal`s rich diversity of culture and music," a Mirchi spokesman said. The 3-day fete will end on September 29. PTI