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The two-day extravaganza on the heritage instrument ‘Mohanveena’ of Radhika Mohan Maitra ended with a bang

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2 years ago

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The Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), an academic institute under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, organized a two-day festival on Mohanveena – now a heritage instrument of India which was created by the legendary musician the late Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra in 1948, on 25th and 26th of July. The festival started with the screening of the documentary made by Prasar Bharati, Government of India during the late 1990s entitled “Mohanveena – a Genesis”. The screening was attended by several cinema buffs of the city and the students, staffs of SRFTI at the main auditorium. The hall was almost houseful for the 90-minute documentary and ended with a great applause. This documentary was telecasted in the National Television several times till 2010.

The next day was much more exciting. There was performance on Mohanveena by Joydeep Mukherjee, a dynamic and iconic musician of Gen X, and a grand disciple of Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra followed by demonstrations and a short recital by Somjit Dasgupta, a disciple of Pt. Maitra. Mukherjee started his recital with Raag Megh and there was pin-drop silence in the hall. This technically sound and aesthetically brilliant performer started with alaap, jor, & jhala followed by two compositions – one in 12 bit Chowtaal demonstrating the ‘been-baaj’ and next was in 16 bit Teentaal demonstrating the sarod style playing. Raag Megh ended with a super jet speed jhala which received standing ovations. Mukherjee then played a couple of very popular tunes composed by Satyajit Ray in Mohanveena – “Ese Hirok Deshe, Dekhe Hirer Chomok” and “Feluda theme music” which the audience enjoyed to the fullest.

Next item was of Somjit Dasgupta where he first explained the history of Mohanveena. He said, “In the year 1943 when my Guruji Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra played a jugalbandi in Sursingar with Ustad Sadik Ali Khan in Veena, he conceptualized a special instrument which should have the tonal quality of the Veena, resonance of a Sursingar and the ability to execute high speed taans like the Sarod. In 1948 he finalized a new instrument which had all the above qualities and on the same year Thakur Jaidev Singh, the then Chief producer of All India Radio named this instrument as “Mohanveena” after the middle name of Pt. Maitra. After that he performed some 22 National programs and countless recordings with this Mohanveena which are the assets of the Akashvani archives now. Today this 76-year-old ‘parampara’ of Mohanveena is still running among his disciples, grand disciples and great disciples,” He then played a melodious alaap in Raag Chhayanut followed by a composition in Raag Khamaj. Shree Mrinal Bhattacharya accompanied both the artists very sensitively in the tabla. His work on the left hand drum was quite admirable.

The next part of the festival was the most interesting one. The open house – direct interaction with the audience and the artists, moderated by Prof. Prajna Dutta – a nascent ex faculty of the SRFTI. Prof. Dutta gave a very contextual introduction to start the conversation and asked both the artists about the idea of musical instruments in cinema. Somjit Dasgupta told, “As per my Guruji cinema is analogous to Maa Durga with 10 hands and family members with their riders – implicating lots of characters, props, music, production crews, directors, producers etc. The same is there for music too where we have several raags, taals, tempos and playing styles.” Asking the same question to Joydeep Mukherjee he told, “Presenting a raag is just like making a cinema. Here the musician has to establish the raag note by note, just like several shots create a scene. Then continuity in music is much more important same like that of the cinema. A musician slowly builds the raag and goes to the climax at the end, just like I approached to the high speed jhala from the slow alaap -without letting a single audience any continuity jerk. The same is applicable for the director, editor & post production crews in the cinema.”

There were musicians like Bhabani Shankar Dasgupta, son & disciple of Padma Bhusan Late Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Subir De, a disciple of Pt. Maitra and distinguished persons like Prof. Sukanta Majumdar, HoD of the department of sound, SRFTI, Prof. Dr. Nabinanda Sen, Dipankar Dasgupta, head of cultural wing at USA Consulate, Dipankar Dasgupta, a former journalist among the audience as distinguished guests.

While both the musicians (Mukherjee & Dasgupta) avoided gently on the controversy regarding another namesake instrument Mohanveena created atleast four decades after Pt. Maitra, Bhabani Shankar Dasgupta clearly explained in the open house, “Any instrument except this Sursingar-Sarod blend is just a misnomer. Please don’t get confused. Do remember a patent is on the design and process and not on the name. For name there is trademark which has already been objected and the patent is challenged at the Honourable court. The namesake instrument is a matter of sub judice and no one can’t talk about that publicly. At the same time Radhika Mohan Maitra’s Mohanveena is a traditional instrument and can be freely discussed upon.”

It was a hyper packed house as several audience sat on the floor and stairs to listen to the program.

This program is an ongoing series organized by the Department of Sound Recording and Design under “Voices: Lecture Series”, under the leadership of Prof. Sukanta Majundar.

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Mirzapur: The Movie’s music album launched with full cast in attendance

The music album of Mirzapur: The Movie was launched in Mumbai with Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi and the film’s cast in attendance, ahead of its September 4 theatrical release.

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23 hours ago

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September 2, 2026

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Mirzapur: The Movie’s music album was launched in Mumbai on Monday, with the film’s full cast turning up for the event.

New songs unveiled at the launch included Varoon Forever, a fresh rendition of Saason Ki Mala, Do Numbari and Ghoom Ghoom, performed by Rashmeet Kaur, Romy and Dhanda Nyoliwala.

Ali Fazal and Pankaj Tripathi were joined by Ravi Kishan, Sonal Chauhan, Divyendu, Jitendra, Shweta Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Rasika Duggal at the event.

Pankaj Tripathi shared that he first learned of the song ‘Sajanva’ from the film only after his wife saw it in a social media reel.

Mirzapur: The Movie is scheduled to hit cinemas on September 4, 2026, in Hindi and Telugu.

The film extends the Mirzapur franchise from its original web series format into a full theatrical release, with Fazal and Tripathi reprising their roles from the show.

The Mirzapur franchise has been one of the most-watched Hindi-language web series since its 2018 debut, building a large and highly engaged fanbase across its three seasons.

Amazon MGM Studios and Excel Entertainment are behind the film adaptation, extending the franchise’s streaming-first success into a theatrical format.

The album launch event drew significant media attention in Mumbai, with photographs and clips from the evening circulating widely across entertainment news outlets and social media.

With the film’s release just days away, the album launch marks one of the final major promotional events before Mirzapur: The Movie opens in theatres.

The event was attended by the film’s full cast, including Ravi Kishan, Sonal Chauhan, Divyendu, Jitendra, Shweta Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Rasika Duggal, alongside Ali Fazal and Pankaj Tripathi.

The album features performances by singers including Rashmeet Kaur, Romy and Dhanda Nyoliwala, debuting new songs titled Varoon Forever, a new rendition of Saason Ki Mala, Do Numbari and Ghoom Ghoom.

Photo of Ali Fazal, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

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Shweta Tiwari clarifies abusive trolls weren’t MNS members

Actress Shweta Tiwari thanked an MNS advocate for tracking down an online abuser and securing a handwritten apology, after clarifying the trolls were not actual party members.

Published

5 days ago

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August 29, 2026

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Shweta Tiwari has clarified that the social media accounts that sent her abusive messages were not genuine MNS members, despite claiming affiliation with the party.

An MNS advocate reached out to the actress and helped track down one of the abusers, who eventually issued a handwritten apology.

“They do not take insults against women lightly… if I ever face any such problem, I can get in touch with them,” Shweta said, thanking the party for stepping in.

The advocate shared the abuser’s phone number along with the apology, resolving the situation within about three days of Shweta first speaking out.

“The problem is much bigger than one person or one incident. It is the mentality that makes people believe they can abuse women online,” she said, calling it a systemic issue.

She said online abuse against women remained a systemic issue that required stronger action from technology companies and social media platforms, not just individual apologies.

The actress, known for her long-running television career, has previously spoken out publicly against online harassment directed at women in the entertainment industry.

The resolution came within roughly three days of Shweta first raising the issue publicly, a relatively quick turnaround for this kind of online harassment complaint.

MNS’s response drew attention on social media, with several users noting the party’s swift clarification that the abusive accounts were not affiliated with it.

The episode has reignited broader conversations in India about accountability for anonymous online abuse and the role political parties play when their name is invoked by trolls.

Shweta had initially posted stories exposing abusive messages sent by social media users identifying themselves as MNS supporters, questioning whether Raj Thackeray endorsed such conduct.

An MNS advocate reached out to her within days, providing the abuser’s phone number along with a handwritten apology letter as part of the resolution.

Photo of Shweta Tiwari, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

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Toxic day 1 box office: Yash’s film nets Rs 82.88 crore

Yash’s ‘Toxic’ released in theatres today and collected a net Rs 82.88 crore on its opening day, taking its total India gross to Rs 97.80 crore.

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1 week ago

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August 26, 2026

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Yash’s much-anticipated film ‘Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups’ released in theatres today.

The film closed its opening day with a net collection of Rs 82.88 crore, taking its total India gross to Rs 97.80 crore.

The film is directed by Geetu Mohandas and stars Yash in a double role, alongside Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Rukmini Vasanth, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria, Akshay Oberoi and Sudev Nair.

Toxic’s opening day net collection of Rs 79.12 crore, tracked till 6 PM, ranked fourth among top A-rated Indian openers, behind Dhurandhar 2, Salaar: Ceasefire and They Call Him OG.

Despite the strong box office numbers, the film received largely negative reviews from critics, with several citing weak writing and uneven execution.

The film’s UAE release was delayed amid regional tensions in the Middle East, a development that had been separately reported ahead of the worldwide rollout.

Toxic had generated significant pre-release buzz after multiple delays, with an English-language trailer released ahead of its worldwide debut generating strong anticipation among fans of Yash’s earlier work.

The film is being released in multiple languages as part of a simultaneous pan-India rollout, a distribution strategy several major regional productions have adopted for wide-reach openings in recent years.

The film is directed by Geetu Mohandas and stars Yash in a double role, alongside Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Rukmini Vasanth, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria, Akshay Oberoi and Sudev Nair.

Toxic’s opening day net collection of Rs 79.12 crore, tracked till 6 PM, ranked fourth among top A-rated Indian openers, behind Dhurandhar 2, Salaar: Ceasefire and They Call Him OG.

Despite the strong box office numbers, the film received largely negative reviews from critics, with several citing weak writing and uneven execution.

The film’s UAE release was delayed amid regional tensions in the Middle East, a development that had been separately reported ahead of the worldwide rollout.

Photo by Bollywood Hungama, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

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