Bismillah trailer: The tale of a shehnai artiste's incredible journey

Music director-turned-filmmaker Indraadip Dasgupta’s upcoming film Bismillah is a story of an amateur flautist who turns into an accomplished shehnai artiste and undergoes a spiritual journey.

According to the trailer, the film – an ode to the legendary shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan – also establishes that a musician only follows the religion of sadhna or dedicated perseverance.

A village youth, Bismillah (Riddhi Sen), the son of a shehnai artiste (Kaushik Ganguly) spends his idle hours with his flute until one day he understands the urgency of earning money for his impoverished family. He gets easily manipulated into playing DJ music at weddings and village events. His father soon learns that Bismillah is going down the wrong path and tasks him with carrying forward the family legacy. Bismillah timidly complains that no one listens to the antiquated instrument these days but his father instils the fire in him by asking him to accept the challenge of making his music heard.

As his dedication grows, he faces external forces that jeopardize his quest. Bismillah’s unflinching spirit, faith in his Ustad and exploration of the alleys of passion through a fiery romance with a courtesan (Subhasree Ganguly) add colour to his journey of becoming a full-fledged musician.

There is an interesting camaraderie between Surangana Bandyopadhyay's character and Bismillah in the story, which hasn’t been disclosed in the trailer, thankfully. Bismillah also stars Bidipta Chakraborty and Gaurav Chakrabarty.

The trailer is accompanied by a beautiful composition by the director himself, which has been rendered by Arijit Singh. While Riddhi Sen seems to have embodied the character, the musicality amplifies the elements of drama, jealousy and passion in the storyline.

Bismillah is slated to be released in theatres on 19 August.

Check out the trailer below and let us know if you are keen on watching the film.