Chabiwala: The Keysmith

Chabiwala: The Keysmith
Chabiwala: The Keysmith
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Raja Ghosh
Screenplay by	Raja Ghosh
Story by	Raja Ghosh
Produced by	Raj Kumar Bhuina
Starring	Subhasish Mukhopadhyay ; Soumen Chakraborty ; Koushik Kar ; Amrita Chattopadhyay
Cinematography	Prosenjit Chowdhury
Edited by	Anirban Maity
Music by	Nabarun Bose
Production; companies	Pepperpot Pixels ; White Owl Entertainment
Distributed by	SSR Cinema
Release date	6 June 2025; (Theatrical)
Running time	119 minutes
Country	India
Language	Bengali

Chabiwala: The Keysmith is a 2021 Indian Bengali independent poignant drama film written and directed by Raja Ghosh. It has been produced by Raj Kumar Bhuina under the banners of Pepperpot Pixels and White Owl Entertainment. It has been co-produced by Dhagaa Production and Satadeep Saha, and presented by Suvankar Mitra and Manasi Sinha.^[1] The film stars Subhasish Mukhopadhyay, Soumen Chakraborty, Koushik Kar and Amrita Chattopadhyay in the lead roles while Rahul Banerjee and Sohag Sen play other pivotal roles.^[2]

The first look pictures of the lead characters from the film were released in March 2025. The film has been shot over a short schedule of 20 days. Principal photography took place in Kolkata and some rural locations in West Bengal. Nabarun Bose has composed the music of the film. Prosenjit Chowdhury did the cinematography while Anirban Maity handled the editing. The film had its first screening at the 17th Thrissur International Film Festival in 2021.^[3] Subsequently, it was screened at around 30 film festivals. It was released in the theatres on 6 June 2025.^[4]

Synopsis

After losing their work in the village, key-makers Bhaben and Nagen come to Kolkata. Bhaben starts searching for his former lover Fatima. Their relationship was not accepted by Fatima's family because of their different religions backgrounds. Fatima was married off in Kolkata by her family.

As Bhaben looks for Fatima, he meets many people from different parts of the city. Each of them has lost a key in some way. For some, it is a physical key, while for others it is something connected to their personal lives. Through these encounters, Bhaben sees different sides of life in the city.

Cast

Source:^[5]

Subhasish Mukhopadhyay as Amlan, a despondent writer
Soumen Chakraborty as Nagen, a senile key-maker
Koushik Kar as Bhaben, a young key-maker
Amrita Chattopadhyay as Fatima, Bhaben's love interest
Rahul Banerjee as Bhukharam, an odd-jobber
Sohag Sen as Zaira, a criminal lawyer
Dhritiman Chatterjee as the owner of an advertising agency
Shankar Debnath
Debapratim Dasgupta
Manashree Biswas

Reception

Critical reception

Shubhadeep Banerjee of The Wall rated the film 8.5/10 stars and wrote "Chabiwala will touch people of all classes, this is where the film is unique. It is not known how long such films will be available in the theatres! Not everyone has the eye of a jeweller to recognize genuine things. The effort of going to see them will be worthwhile." He praised the direction, the director's usage of the screen as a canvas, the performance of all the actors, the make-up, the screenplay, the cinematography, the editing and the depiction of the life of people from various fields of life.^[6]

Shampali Moulik of Sangbad Pratidin reviewed the film and opined "Ultimately, it can be said that Chabiwala is a film to watch on the big screen. Every frame of the film is very beautiful. Although very faint, the frames in the film is a reminder of Buddhadev Dasgupta's frame-concept." She appreciated the central idea of the film, the performance of all the actors, the concept of dawn displayed in the film, the depiction of the life of people from various fields of life and the cinematography but bemoaned the weak screenplay.^[7]

Accolades

Selected festival screenings

17th Thrissur International Film Festival (Indian Panorama section)^[3]
London Film Festival^[4]
6th Sri Lanka International World Film Festival: Best Director (Feature Film) — Raja Ghosh, Best Supporting Actor (Breakthrough) — Subhasish Mukhopadhyay, Best Actor (Jury Special) — Kaushik Kar, Best Actress (Breakthrough) — Amrita Chattopadhyay and Best Background Score — Nabarun Bose^[8]
Jharkhand International Film Festival: Best Actress - Amrita Chattopadhyay^[8]
28th Kolkata International Film Festival^[9]
London Bengali Film Festival^[10]

References

↑ "দীর্ঘদিনের ঝঞ্ঝাট কাটিয়ে মুক্তির পথে 'চাবিওয়ালা', অসাধ্যসাধন করলেন কারা?". Sangbad Pratidin (in Bengali). 22 May 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
↑ "The first look of the key players in the film Chabiwala". t2Online. 2 June 2025. Archived from the original on 2 September 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
1 2 Chatterjee, Arindam (16 March 2022). "The first look of the key players in the film Chabiwala". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 31 August 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
1 2 Poddar, Atreyee (21 May 2025). "After festival wins, bengali indie film Chabiwala is set for June 6 release". Indulge Express. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
↑ "দীর্ঘ দিন ক্যানবন্দি থাকার পর অবশেষে শহর কলকাতায় মুক্তি পাচ্ছে 'চাবিওয়ালা', নেপথ্যে কারা?". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). 21 May 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
↑ Banerjee, Shubhadeep (8 June 2025). "'চাবিওয়ালা', পর্দায় যেন ক্যানভাস, শিল্পের পর্যায়ে পৌঁছে দিল সিনেমাকে". The Wall (in Bengali). Retrieved 30 August 2026.
↑ Moulik, Shampali (11 June 2025). "'চাবিওয়ালা'রা হারিয়ে যায়নি, মনে করিয়ে দিল অমৃতা-কৌশিকের ছবি". Sangbad Pratidin (in Bengali). Retrieved 30 August 2026.
1 2 "Bengali indie film 'Chabiwala – The Keysmith' sweeps trophies at Sri Lanka International World Film Festival". The Telegraph. 2 April 2026. Archived from the original on 31 August 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
↑ Ghosh, Sankha (13 December 2022). "Raja Ghosh: It's a privilege to see 'Chabiwala' at KIFF, feels like homecoming for us". Times of India. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
↑ Dey, Snigdha (9 June 2025). "বহু প্রতীক্ষার পর বড়পর্দায় মুক্তি পেল 'চাবিওয়ালা', কতটা মন ছুঁলো কৌশিক-অমৃতার জুটি?". Aajkal (in Bengali). Retrieved 1 October 2026.

External links

Chabiwala: The Keysmith at IMDb

[1] "দীর্ঘদিনের ঝঞ্ঝাট কাটিয়ে মুক্তির পথে 'চাবিওয়ালা', অসাধ্যসাধন করলেন কারা?". Sangbad Pratidin (in Bengali). 22 May 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

[2] "The first look of the key players in the film Chabiwala". t2Online. 2 June 2025. Archived from the original on 2 September 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

[tele-3] 1 2 Chatterjee, Arindam (16 March 2022). "The first look of the key players in the film Chabiwala". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 31 August 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

[indulge-4] 1 2 Poddar, Atreyee (21 May 2025). "After festival wins, bengali indie film Chabiwala is set for June 6 release". Indulge Express. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

[5] "দীর্ঘ দিন ক্যানবন্দি থাকার পর অবশেষে শহর কলকাতায় মুক্তি পাচ্ছে 'চাবিওয়ালা', নেপথ্যে কারা?". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). 21 May 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2026.

[6] Banerjee, Shubhadeep (8 June 2025). "'চাবিওয়ালা', পর্দায় যেন ক্যানভাস, শিল্পের পর্যায়ে পৌঁছে দিল সিনেমাকে". The Wall (in Bengali). Retrieved 30 August 2026.

[7] Moulik, Shampali (11 June 2025). "'চাবিওয়ালা'রা হারিয়ে যায়নি, মনে করিয়ে দিল অমৃতা-কৌশিকের ছবি". Sangbad Pratidin (in Bengali). Retrieved 30 August 2026.

[telegraph-8] 1 2 "Bengali indie film 'Chabiwala – The Keysmith' sweeps trophies at Sri Lanka International World Film Festival". The Telegraph. 2 April 2026. Archived from the original on 31 August 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

[9] Ghosh, Sankha (13 December 2022). "Raja Ghosh: It's a privilege to see 'Chabiwala' at KIFF, feels like homecoming for us". Times of India. Retrieved 1 October 2026.

[10] Dey, Snigdha (9 June 2025). "বহু প্রতীক্ষার পর বড়পর্দায় মুক্তি পেল 'চাবিওয়ালা', কতটা মন ছুঁলো কৌশিক-অমৃতার জুটি?". Aajkal (in Bengali). Retrieved 1 October 2026.

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