Hobu Chandra Raja Gobu Chandra Mantri trailer: Entertaining film with a suggestion of political allegory

The trailer for Hobu Chandra Raja Gobu Chandra Mantri promises a thoroughly entertaining film to be enjoyed by audiences of all age groups during the upcoming Puja.

Directed by Aniket Chattopadhyay, the film is based on Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar’s two stories Sarkar Moshaiyer Thole and Hobuchandra Raja Gobuchandra Mantri and stars Saswata Chatterjee, Kharaj Mukherjee, Arpita Chatterjee and Subhasish Mukherjee.

The visuals begin with a tribute to the late Soumitra Chatterjee, who lent his voice to narrate the story of Bombagarh kingdom in the trailer. The trailer takes us to the interior of Bombagarh, filled with an abundance of treasure and resources, where the subjects are happy to be ruled by their well-wishing king Hobu Chandra (Saswata). Hobu Chandra is assisted by his veteran and able minister (Subhasish) and leads a life of contentment with his queen Kusumkoli (Arpita).

When Hobu Chandra’s long-harboured wish to have a daughter gets fulfilled, the entire Bombagarh gets adorned in festivities to welcome the new princess. People from faraway kingdoms arrive to join in the celebrations. There also arrives a strange visitor called Gobu Chandra (Kharaj), who eventually changes the fate of the kingdom. The peaceful state gets into wars even as the wise minister tries his best to save his people and the king from the manipulative tactics of Gobu Chandra.

The visual effects, the riot of colours and traces of generosity and happiness convincingly bring out the essence of a perfectly happy state from the fairy tales. In the film, the characters deliver their dialogues in rhymes, invoking the nostalgia of Satyajit Ray’s Hirak Rajar Deshe (1980) and the performances are rather theatrical. However, in the end, when the minister asks Gobu Chandra his deepest desire, the latter’s answer, 'Bikash', suggests the film might be more than just a fairy tale.

Hobu Chandra Raja Gobu Chandra Mantri is slated for a theatrical release on 10 October. Watch the trailer below and let us know if you are keen to watch this film.