Tollywood actress Rukmini Maitra captures the pain, struggles and moments of triumph in the life of Binodini Dasi, the first celebrated actress of Bengali theatre, in the trailer for the Ram Kamal Mukherjee-directed biopic Binodiini - Ekti Natir Upakhyan, dropped by production banner Dev Entertainment Ventures on Saturday.
The three-minute-one-second-long video delves into the life of the theatre icon, born in 1862 in a North Kolkata neighbourhood inhabited by sex workers. Binodini began her acting career at the age of 12 and retired at 23, as recounted in her autobiography Amar Katha (The Story of My Life), published in 1913.
The trailer offers a glimpse into the Bengali theatre industry of the late 1800s, highlighting how Nati Binodini was introduced to the stage by thespian Girish Ghosh (played by Kaushik Ganguly). Binodini defied the patriarchal norms of the 19th century to become the queen of the Bengali stage.
Slated to hit theatres on January 23, Binodiini - Ekti Natir Upakhyan also features Rahul Bose as Binodini's love interest and Chandan Roy Sanyal as Ramakrishna Paramahansa. The film’s music has been composed by Soumyajit Sourendro.
Rukmini was last seen in Srijit Mukherji’s Tekka alongside Dev, Swastika Mukherjee, Paran Bandyopadhyay and Sujan Mukherjee.