Chaamp
Chaamp is a 2017 Indian Bengali-language sports action drama film co-written and directed by Raj Chakraborty. Conceptualized and produced by Dev under the banner of Dev Entertainment Ventures, the film is loosely based on Moti Nandi's famous novels Shiba and Shibar Phire Asha. It stars Dev himself in the titular role, alongside an ensemble cast of Rukmini Maitra in her debut, Chiranjeet Chakraborty, Priyanka Sarkar, Laboni Sarkar, Kamaleshwar Mukherjee, Biplab Chatterjee and Supriyo Dutta. It revolves around the rise and fall of an aspiring boxer Shibaji, who makes a comeback to sports due to the circumstances.
The film was officially announced in September 2016 under the tentative title, Dev 29 as it is Dev's 29th film and the official title was announced in November 2016. Principal photography commenced in December 2016. It was predominantly shot in Kolkata, with a minor schedule in Delhi, and wrapped by mid-April. The film has music composed by Jeet Gannguli, Anupam Roy and Raftaar, while Indraadip Dasgupta provided its background score, with lyrics penned by Anindya Chatterjee, Srijato and Raja Chanda. The cinematography was handled by Soumik Haldar and editing was by MD. Kalam.
Chaamp was released on 23 June 2017 theatrically in West Bengal, while it was released worldwide on 30 June 2017.
Plot
Shibaji, a famous Indian boxer, loses fame overnight when he meets a tragic accident that ruins his boxing career. After losing his title, he fights all odds to revive his career and become a champion again.
Cast
- Dev as Shibaji "Shiba" Sanyal; A boxer
- Rukmini Maitra as Jaya Sanyal; Shiba's wife
- Chiranjeet Chakraborty as Coach Buro Bagchi
- Laboni Sarkar as Shiba's mother (dead)
- Ranajit Chatterjee as Shiba's late father (dead)
- Supriyo Dutta as Narukaka; A local grocer
- Priyanka Sarkar as Swathi Bagchi;
- Kamaleswar Mukherjee as Reporter Shantanu; Main Antagonist
- Padmanava Dasgupta as Shantanu's friend
- Biplab Chatterjee as Chacha
- Krishnokishore Mukhopadhyay as Mr. Sanyal; Jaya's Dad
- Joydip Kundu as a businessman
- Akbar Hasan as Prashant Singh; A boxer and Shiba's rival
- Animesh Badhuri as a businessman
- Arjun Dasgupta as a doctor
- Raj Chakraborty as Swathi's husband / Cameo Appearance
Production
In September 2016, The Times of India reported that Dev was going to launch Rukmini Maitra through a new production of his directed by Raj Chakraborty. It was reported that boxing is the main core of the film, with Dev playing the role of a boxer and Chiranjeet, playing the role of a retired boxer who wants to fulfill his dream through Dev's character.
The film is Dev's debut production with his company, Dev Entertainment Ventures.
Release
The film released in West Bengal on 23 June 2017, and released in the rest of India on 30 June 2017. The film was distributed by SVF Entertainment in India.
Critical reception
The Times of India praised the film, giving Chaamp 3.5 stars out of 5 and calling the film a must watch. Their review praised the directing by Chakraborty, saying that the film shows his coming of age as a director. Despite calling him "deadpan as usual", the review notes that Dev has been played to his strengths and has the perfect body language. Maitra was praised for a debut performance, being called a natural in the review. The rest of the cast was commended for their performances, including Chakraborty, Sarkar, Kamaleshwar Mukherjee, and Supriyo Dutta. The review also commended the crew, specifically cinematographer Soumik Halder, art director Tanmoy Chakraborty and editor Md Kalam. However, the film's story was criticized for its similarities to Sultan, a 2016 Hindi film also about the comeback of an athlete. Dev told they wanted to do a film based on a Moti Nandi's story but didn't get the rights to it, hence Chaamp was made.
Soundtrack
There are 2 additional songs by Raftaar and Anupam Roy which were not in the film but in the soundtrack. The soundtrack was initially released on Saavn on 14 May 2017, and was later released on other streaming services like Apple Music on 10 June 2017.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tu Hi Hai Chaamp" (Title Track) | Anindya Chattopadhyay | Jeet Gannguli | Supratip Bhattacharya | 4:09 |
| 2. | "Jaya Tomari" | Raja Chanda | Jeet Gannguli | Dev Negi | 3:49 |
| 3. | "Dekho Dekho Chaamp" | Raftaar | Raftaar | Raftaar, Dev | 2:36 |
| 4. | "Tumio Chaamp" | Anupam Roy | Anupam Roy | Anupam Roy | 3:07 |
| 5. | "Maula Re" | Anindya Chattopadhyay | Jeet Gannguli | Arijit Singh | 5:36 |
| 6. | "Shibaji Shibaji" | Srijato | Jeet Gannguli | Shayon Biswas | 3:07 |
Jeet Gannguli, one of the composers of the soundtrack, expressed disappointment with the inclusion of Anupam Roy and Raftaar on the soundtrack. He explained that he initially composed four tracks for the soundtrack, and felt that since he had already done that, he should complete the soundtrack by composing the rest of the music. Gannguli further explained that he is not fond of the trend of hiring multiple composers for a single soundtrack album, a trend which has become popular in the Hindi film industry.
Album critical reception
"Jaya Tomari" has been described as a runaway hit, and was commended along with "Maula Re" and "Tumio Chaamp".
Accolades
The film was nominated for multiple awards at the 2018 Filmfare Awards East.