Chander Pahar
Created by	Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
Original work	Chander Pahar (1937)
Print publications
Novel(s)	Chander Pahar (1937) Chander Upatyaka (2015) Rajhangsir Sarobar (2017)
Comics	Moon Mountain (2014) Amazon Obhijaan (2017)
Films and television
Film(s)	Chander Pahar (2013) Amazon Obhijaan (2017)
Audio
Radio program(s)	Chander Pahar (Sunday Suspense)
Soundtrack(s)	Chander Pahar (2013) Amazon Obhijaan (2017)

Chander Pahar is an IndianBengali language franchise consisting of novels, graphic novels and a film series. The original work is a 1937 novel^[1] namedChander Pahar, written byBibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay.^[2] It was translated to English in 2002 by Santanu Sinha Choudhuri and Pradeep Kumar Sinha, published by Orient Blackswan. The English version of the novel was titledMountain of the Moon. Bandyopadhyay’s story was adapted into aGraphic novel and alive-action film in 2013.^[3] A sequel to the 2013 filmAmazon Obhijaan, written by the director of the first filmKamaleswar Mukherjee, is released in Christmas 2017.^[4]

This novel tells the story of an ordinary young Bengali man,Shankar Roy Chowdhury, as he adventures inAfrica in the years 1909 and 1910. After graduating from college at 20-years-old, his family's financial struggles almost force him take a job in ajute mill in Shyamnagar — a prospect he absolutely loathes.

Because loves the subject of geography, he wants to follow the footsteps of renowned explorers likeLivingstone,Mungo Park, andMarco Polo. He wants to explore the wilderness, passionate for learning about African forests and animals. By a stroke of luck, he gets a job as a clerk at theUganda Railway and rushes to Africa without a second thought.

After a few months laying rail tracks, he encounters the first of many dangers in pre-World War I Africa: a man-eating lion. Later, he takes up a job as station-master in a desolate station amidst theVeldts, where he to narrowly escapes a deadlyblack mamba. While at this post, Shankar encounters, rescues and nurses Diego Alvarez, a middle-age Portuguese explorer and gold/diamond prospector. Alvarez's arrival becomes a turning point in Shankar's life.

While recovering, Alvarez describes his exploits in Africa with his friend Jim Carter. He explains that, lured by the prospect of a priceless yellow diamond from a Kaafi village chief, Alvarez and Carter searched for these yellow diamond caves, on the Mountain of the Moon (Chander Pahar) in theRichtersveld. Rumors suggested a mythical monster, theBunyip, guards the mine. The explorers set off into the dense jungle, much against the villagers' advice, and Carter was gruesomely killed, supposedly by the Bunyip.

Shankar, inspired by Alvarez's exploits, resigns from his job and accompanies Alvarez to venture again for the mines. They meet hardships, like a ragingvolcano. Eventually, they get lost in the forests where Alvarez is killed by theBunyip. Demoralised, Shankar tries to return to civilization. He finds the Bunyip's cave and the diamond mines by accident. Almost getting lost, he finds the remains of the Italian explorer, Attilio Gatti, and learns that the cave is in fact the diamond mine.

Leaving, he becomes lost in the deserts ofKalahari and nearly dies of thirst. Fortunately, he is rescued by a survey team and taken to a hospital inSalisbury,Rhodesia, from where he sets sail for home. Before going back, he writes his account in a newspaper, earning him money. He names the volcano after Alvarez. He ends the book saying that he will return to the cave one day with a large team, and continue the legacy of Alvarez, Carter, and Gatti.

• Writer Partha De has written two of the novels featuring Shankar as the protagonist. Name of those novels are -Chander Upatyaka andRajhangsir Sarobar. In both novel another character Prasad Das Bandyopadhyay from the original novel also featured along with Shankar Roy Chowdhury. Later in 2017, two of the novels were published in a collection book namedChander Upatyaka by Prativas Prakashan.^[5]

Prasad Das Bandyopadhyay is now atBrazil and doingrubber business. Where Shankar was called by him to take a part in that business. Soon Shankar finds that he has been called here for a different reason. He learns, the treasure of lastInca kingAtahualpa was hidden somewhere inAmazon. He tries to explore the place.

Prasad Das Bandyopadhyay is now in a Russian jail. A mysterious lady invites Shankar to Russia to help Prasad Das. After arriving at Russia Shankar gets involved in a conspiracy, which might lead to a worldwide devastation.

• Shankar Roy Chowdhury — The hero of the story, a young man from a village in Bengal. He is a smart, brave person who has a penchant for adventures.
• Diego Alvarez — A Portuguese explorer. He is a friend and mentor to Shankar, and together they explore the deepest reaches ofRichtersveld for the Mountain of the Moon.
• Jim Carter — A British explorer who was Alvarez's companion in his previous expedition. Alvarez revealed to Shankar that Carter was killed by theBunyip while he and Carter were exploring the Mountains of the Moon.
• Attilio Gatti — An Italian explorer. He discovered the diamond mine caves inc. 1879 but dies in a cave (later discovered by Shankar) on his way back, in the hands of his traitorous followers.
• Prasad Das Bandyopadhyay
• Rameswar Mukhopadhyay
• Shankar's mother
• Shankar's father

• Suarez
• Miguel
• Bruno
• Buendia
• Carvalho

• Dr. Marojov
• Mikhail
• Vasilisa
• Dr. Jing

Moon Mountain is a 2014Graphic novel adapted fromBibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's classicChander Pahar. The graphic novel is published byPenguin Books India, has its script written bySaurav Mohapatra with illustrations bySayan Mukherjee^[6][7][8]

Amazon Obhijaan is a 2017Graphic novel based on thefilm of the same name.^[9] The graphic novel is written by film's directorKamaleswar Mukherjee, and available in two languages - English and Bengali.^[10] The graphic novel acts as a promotional activity for the film. It is released on 11 November 2017.^[11]

A film based on the novel, directed byKamaleshwar Mukherjee was released on 20 December 2013 (27 December 2013 in all over India).^[12] The film, poorly received by critics and the Bengali audience,^{[citation needed]} was produced byShree Venkatesh Films and has been shot on locations across Africa. It was reportedly being made with a budget of nearly₹150 million (US$1.8 million), making it one of the most expensive in the Bengali film industry.

Director Kamaleshwar Mukherjee mentionedChander Pahar as his "Dream Project". The film has reportedly incorporated CGI and visual effects at par with Hollywood and Bollywood standards.Dev plays the role of the main protagonist,Shankar.^[13] Most of the other cast members are from South Africa. According to the crew members, it took a considerable time to decide who would play the role ofDiego Alvarez, and South African actorGérard Rudolf was selected. The first theatrical trailer of the film was released by Shree Venkatesh Films, at the Kolkata Nicco park on 14 November 2013.

Shooting locations includeKruger National Park, the mountains ofDrakensberg, and the deserts ofKalahari.^[14]

According to a Bengali magazine, directorKamaleshwar Mukherjee is already penning the script, taking the story forward from where it left andDev has been quoted as saying that the next location, after the African safari, will be the dense forests ofAmazon rainforest.^[15] The film has been titledAmazon Obhijan.^[4]

The story of the film is original, written byKamaleshwar Mukherjee with some character reprising their roles from the originalChander Pahar. Reportedly it will be made with a budget of whopping₹20crores.^[16]

The shooting of this film has been started from May 2016 and ended in July 2017.^[17]

A sequel toAmazon Obhijaan is instantly announced after the release of the film. Commonly referred asShankar's Next Adventure the film announced along with 24 more films of 3 upcoming years.^[18]

• Mountains of the Moon atIMDb
• Amazon Obhijaan atIMDb

• 2010s Bengali-language films
• Indian film series
• Action film franchises
• Adventure film series
• Bengali-language Indian films

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from February 2017
• Use Indian English from February 2017
• All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from December 2015