Chatrak 2011 Bengali Movie Wiki May 2026

Though a commercial failure, Chatrak has become a reference point for Bengali indie cinema. It is frequently cited alongside:

Home Video:

Digital Restoration: In 2021, the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) undertook a 2K restoration of Chatrak for academic circulation.

| Field | Details | | :--- | :--- | | Title | Chatrak (ছত্রাক) | | English Title | Mushroom | | Director | Vimukthi Jayasundara | | Produced By | Fabio Conversi, Eric Heumann | | Screenplay | Vimukthi Jayasundara | | Story By | Vimukthi Jayasundara | | Starring | Paoli Dam, Anubrata Basu, Soumitra Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta | | Music | Naren Chandavarkar, Benedict Taylor | | Cinematography | Chintu Mohanty, Rana Dasgupta | | Editing | Suresh Pai | | Production Companies | The Match Factory, Paoan Production, Arte France Cinéma | | Country | India (West Bengal), France | | Language | Bengali | | Release Date | 7 October 2011 (India – Kolkata International Film Festival) | | Runtime | 90 minutes | | Budget | ~ ₹2.5 crore | | Box Office | Limited theatrical release; primarily festival circuit | Chatrak 2011 Bengali Movie Wiki

Chatrak is often cited in academic papers on eco-cinema and Bengali surrealism. It is considered a cult film among students of the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute (SRFTI). In 2021, a restored version was screened at the Bengaluru International Film Festival as part of a retrospective on Indian art-house films of the 2010s.

The film’s image of a mushroom sprouting from a concrete pillar has become a popular meme in Bengali social media, symbolizing resilience or unwanted growth.

Chatrak polarized audiences and critics. Though a commercial failure, Chatrak has become a

Spoiler warning: The following contains key plot details.

The film follows Lakhinder (played by Anubrata Basu), a migrant worker who returns to Kolkata after spending several years in Dubai. He is searching for his brother, Shonai (Soumitra Chatterjee), a celebrated but disillusioned architect. Shonai has abandoned his prestigious city life and is now living a hermit-like existence inside a half-built, abandoned high-rise structure on the marshy fringes of the city.

This unfinished building has become infested with giant, uncanny mushrooms (chatrak) that grow uncontrollably through the concrete cracks, releasing spores that affect the minds and health of those nearby. Simultaneously, Lakhinder meets and becomes entangled with a restless, enigmatic woman named Itti (Paoli Dam), who is having an affair with the married Shonai. Home Video:

As Lakhinder searches for his brother, the narrative unfolds in a non-linear, dreamlike fashion. Itti wanders through the chaotic city and the eerie mushroom-filled building, embodying a sense of sexual and emotional liberation. The mushrooms begin to symbolize both decay and a strange, organic form of life emerging from the ruins of human ambition. The film culminates in an ambiguous, visceral climax where human relationships dissolve into primal urges, and nature—in the form of the spreading fungi—seems to reclaim the concrete wasteland.

Q: Is Chatrak a horror film?
No. While it has surreal and unsettling sequences, it is a psychological drama.

Q: Why is the film called Mushroom?
The mushroom growing from concrete is the central visual metaphor for unnatural hope emerging from decay.

Q: Is the film in Bangladeshi or Indian Bengali?
Both. The characters speak a mixture of Kolkata and Dhaka dialects, reflecting the co-production nature.

Q: Can children watch it?
No. The film contains mature themes, mild language, and psychological distress suitable for adults only.