Rahul Bose, Kaushik Ganguly, Mir and Om Sahani have joined the cast of Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s Bengali magnum opus Binodiini Ekti Natir Upakhyan with Rukmini Maitra playing the title role of Binodini Dasi, the legendary theatre artiste from Bengal from the 19th century. Rukmini Maitra, who plays Binodini Dasi, says, “I have been preparing for this character for the past year. I have been doing workshops with Sudipta Chakraborty and getting trained in kathak from Pandit Birju Maharajji’s disciple Shouvik. Ram Kamal has weaved the screenplay so emotionally that it will instantly connect with the audiences.”

Produced by Prateek Chakraborty from Pramod Films and Dev Adhikari from Dev Entertainment Ventures in association with Assorted Motion Pictures, the film will feature an ensemble cast of talented actors from Bengal and Mumbai. “This is our humble tribute to 150 years of Bengali theatre and Binodini Dasi. We will tell this story with the right vision,” says Dev.

Kaushik Ganguly will portray the character of Girish Chandra Ghosh, who mentored Binodini and played the role of a catalyst in her life. “When Ram Kamal narrated the story, I was surprised. He has a completely different vision and he is trying to make a film that will be a visual delight. We see Girish from Binodini’s perspective, which is yet again another unseen aspect of any visual narrative so far,” says Kaushik Ganguly.

Actor Rahul Bose who plays Ranga Babu feels that the role is of a quintessential hero any woman would fall for. “We barely get to see silent lovers, when the world is talking only of violence. Ranga Babu is one of those rare men who stood beside Binodini through thick and thin, someone who actually loved her the most. Dev is a good human being, warm and generous, and I am delighted to collaborate with him. Ram Kamal is a sensitive maker, I am sure people would love to see his version,” says Rahul Bose.

Mir plays the character of businessman Gurmukh Rai, who fulfilled Binodini’s dream of having a theatre in her name. “Of course, I knew about Binodini, but not to this extent. She gave a lot to Bengali theatre and it’s high time that we tell her story on screen,” says Mir.

Om Sahani plays Binodini’s love interest, Kumar Bahadur. “This is a challenging role for me and I am sure people will get a pleasant surprise,” says Om.

The story and screenplay have been penned by Priyanka Poddar, while Soumik Halder will be heading the cinematography, Tanmaay Chakraborty is recreating the era as art director and Suchismita Dasgupta is the costume designer. Music will be composed by Sourendro Mullick and Soumyojit Das, while Ram Kamal will pen the lyrics.

Speaking about this magnum opus, Prateek Chakravorty says, “I have faith in Ram Kamal’s vision and he has been working on this subject for the past couple of years. Rukmini is an extremely talented actor from Bengal and they both will create magic on screen!” Speaking about collaborating with Dev, he added, “Dev is a superstar and a successful producer also. He understands the creative and commercial aspects of movie-making. I am glad that we joined hands with such a prestigious film like Binodiini.”

(L-R) Mir, Kaushik Ganguly, Om

Rahul Bose