Suman Mukhopadhyay announces adaptation of classic Bengali novel Putul Nacher Itikatha

Film and theatre director Suman Mukhopadhyay is all set to helm the drama Putul Nacher Itikatha. The film is an adaptation of the classic 1936 Bengali novel of the same name by Manik Bandopadhyay.

The film will star Abir Chatterjee, Jaya Ahsan and Parambrata Chatterjee. Veteran actor Dhritiman Chatterjee and National award-winning actress Ananya Chatterjee will play major roles in the film.

The director has recontextualized the plot by setting the story between the late 1930s and early 1940s. “I believe the two mediums [literature and cinema] are different and hence, it is not possible to incorporate all the elements of a literary work into its cinematic adaptation. For this film, I have given more emphasis to the equation between the characters,” the director told AnandaPlus, the entertainment supplement of Anandabazar Patrika, a leading Bengali daily.

The director added, “I believe among all of Manikbabu’s creations, the character of Shashi is extremely significant. I believe, in the last century, we have had an intellectual failure. As a consequence, we are experiencing rapid growth in communal fundamentalism and the rise of dictatorship. The intelligentsia has not responded to these circumstances with responsibility, they have made compromises. Shashi’s character is symbolical of intellectual failure for me.”

Shashi, who is played by Abir Chatterjee, is an educated man who fails to fulfil his dream of becoming a doctor and is stuck in a village. The decisions taken by the character has always intrigued the director.

“For this film, I needed both skilled actors and a huge budget. We need to keep the aspects of marketing in mind while choosing the actors. I feel Abir, Jaya and Parambrata can bring that balance in the film. Producer Samiran Das of Kaleidoscope Entertainment has relieved me of concerns regarding the budget," he said.

National award-winning director Prabuddha Banerjee, who has previously worked with the director in Posham Pa (2019) and Nazarband (2020), is in charge of the background score of the film.