| Projapati | |
|---|---|
 Projapoti film poster | |
| Directed by | Avijit Sen |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Gopi Bhagat |
| Edited by | Sujay Datta Ray |
| Music by | Anupam Roy Surojit Chatterjee Rathijit Bhattacharjee |
Production companies | Bengal Talkies Dev Entertainment Ventures |
| Distributed by | SSR Cinemas |
Release date |
|
Running time | 141:42 min |
| Country | India |
| Language | Bengali |
| Box office | ₹13–14 crore[2][3] |
Projapati (transl. Butterfly) is a 2022 IndianBengali-languagefamilydrama film directed byAvijit Sen, produced by Atanu Raychaudhuri (Bengal Talkies), co-produced byDev and distributed by SSR Cinemas. The film features Dev himself, alongsideMithun Chakraborty,Mamata Shankar,Koushani Mukherjee andShweta Bhattacharya in lead roles.[4][5]
The movie was theatrically released on 23 December 2022 and had its digital premiere on the streaming platformZEE5 on 14 April 2023.[6] It grossed over ₹14 crore and became thehighest grossing Bengali film of 2022 and thesixth highest-grossing Bengali film of all time.[7]
Gour, a widower and a retired government officer, wants his son Joy, a wedding planner to get married. He tries a lot to convince his son to get married. But Joy is very busy with his work and has no time to plan for himself. Meanwhile, Gour's college friend, Kusum meets him suddenly in a temple and finally, they decide to marry. The Film was shot majorly in theKolkata and some scenes were shot atVaranasi featuring the famousGanga Arti at Dashaswamedh Ghat the oldest city of temples.
A critic fromThe Times of India wrote that "As holiday releases go,Projapoti brings a lot to the table, be it in terms of cast, story or a family-friendly viewing experience and audiences wouldn't be remiss if they walked into the theatre for this, especially if they’ve ever been Mithun fans".[8] A critic fromOTT Play wrote that "Projapoti is an outright entertainer and it will not let you down in terms of entertainment. It makes you laugh and cry".[9] Shatarupa Bose reviewing inAnandabazar Patrika praised the performances of Chakraborty and Dev along with other cast, music, cinematography, screenplay and dialogues and noted thatmelodrama at the end of the movie could have been toned down.[10]
After the release of the film, it was not allowed to be shown inNandan Cinema Hall, inKolkata, which is being operated byGovernment of West Bengal. Netizens replied that as the leading actor of the filmMithun Chakraborty is an active leader ofBharatiya Janata Party, the show has been cancelled. Following the decision of show cancellation, Producer and Supporting actor of the filmDev reacted by a post.[11] In the post, Dev regretted for reply to that, Dev also reacted to sign more films again with theBollywood's megastar under his banner (Dev Entertainment Ventures) if his budget matches.[12] BJP member of ParliamentDilip Ghosh regretted that the movie has not been released in Nandan, because of Mithun's political status.
The film collected₹13−14 crore at the box-office against a budget of₹1.5 crore[citation needed] and emerged as a blockbuster.[7] The film earned an additional 5 crores by selling the digital streaming rights, which was acquired byZee5.[citation needed]
On 1 January 2025, Dev announced on his X handle that a sequel toProjapati, titledProjapati 2 will be released in December 2025. Directed by Avijit Sen, and co-produced by Atanu RayChaudhuri, the film was released on 25 December 2025.[13]
Projapati earned over Rs 13 crore, thereby emerging as the highest grossing Bengali film of the year.