Currently making waves in the film circuit is director RamKamal Mukherjee’s debut Bengali feature – ‘Binodiini – Ek Natir Upakhyan (The Tale Of A Theatre Artist)’. Suguna Sundaram explores this journey that resulted in the fulfillment of a promise made 141 years ago. Kolkata’s iconic Star Theatre was finally renamed Binodini Theatre, enabled by the Honourable CM Mamata Banerjee, at the urging of Rukmini Maitra.
Produced by Dev Entertainment Ventures and Pramod Films, in association with Assorted Motion Pictures, the 151-minute tale of Bengal’s most iconic actress – ‘Binodiini’, stars Rukmini Maitra in the titular role. Alongside her are stalwarts of Bengali cinema playing pivotal characters in that journey – Kaushik Ganguly, Rahul Bose, Mir Afsar Ali, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Chandreyee Ghosh and Om Sahani. The heartbreaking but inspiring story of the actress from age seven (delightfully livened by Swara Bhattacharya) to 70 in the film, primarily delves into the 12 years that she seared her way, vociferously defying age-old customs, societal traditions, battling caste and character slurs, fighting for women empowerment in 19th century Bengal, and carving her place under the sun for all eternity.
The dynamic tech team comprised cinematographer Soumik Halder, music composer duo Sourendro–Soumyojit, released by Saregama Bengali. The production designer was Tanmay Chakraborty, and costumier Suchishmita Dasgupta. ‘Binodiini’ was released in January across India. The film received many laudatory reviews, validating RamKamal’s five-year-long struggle and the passion of the dedicated team of technicians and actors.
Says RamKamal, “Making anything that is not regular takes time. The five years it took was no cakewalk.” Ram met Rukmini through Bengali superstar Dev (also the producer). He felt she had the talent and the confidence to carry a heavyweight role like ‘Binodiini’. He says, “Rukmini supported the film in a way many actresses wouldn’t. Rather than professional, it was more an emotional approach to the film. It was my dream, but she made it her dream too. She was totally committed to the film.
Rukmini says, “When RamKamal told me I’m making ‘Binodiini’ with you, I fell silent. Binodiini had dared to dream of being the greatest of all times, long ago. Rukmini never thought that she could fill such big shoes. But Ram said he saw it in me, even if I didn’t believe it.”
Chandan Roy Sanyal cast as Ramkrishna Paramhansa, was inspired casting. The actor delivered an impactful performance. Ram smiles, “I saw peace and poise in Chandan’s eyes. Yes, he has mostly played negative characters. But as a director, I could foresee what we would achieve with Chandan, who gave 100 percent. The prosthetic makeup team also worked hard towards his look. Chandan’s homework is impeccable.”
Chandan admitted that he didn’t see himself in the role and didn’t think he could pull it off. He shares, “My dad passed away in February 2022 and I was disoriented. A friend showed me the path of spiritualism. When I started meditating, I realised that I’m meant to do this. No lie, but when I did the role, I became him. As an actor, to play and live this character is challenging and daunting. But you realize somewhere that a blessing like this doesn’t come twice in your life.”
To capture the physicality of a time 200 years ago, RamKamal and his team did a ton of research. The writing team, cinematographer Soumik Halder, art director Tanmay Chakrakraborty and their teams worked hard at recreating that era. ‘Binodiini’ was shot on recreated locations on sets in Kolkata and Varanasi. In post-production, the film required heavy VFX work, extending timelines. And the film looks like a dream!
‘Binodiini’ had perfect casting, great cinematography, and moving music. (Ram roped in Shreya Goshal for the song ‘Kanha’, and Rekha Bharadwaj for ‘Bhaishya Jaibo’.) The outcome is a stunning project, shining in many facets.
RamKamal is now gearing up for his next opus, ‘Draupadi’. He says, “‘Binodiini’ needs to work for me to get the funding for ‘Draupadi’. It’s the ‘Mahabharat’ from Draupadi’s point of view. The budget resources required are immense.” Rukmini signs off, “‘Binodiini’ is not only a film, or an emotion, it’s a movement. Towards a newer world for women.”
