Rukmini Maitra is headlining the long-awaited biopic Binodiini - Ekti Natir Upakhyan, directed by Ram Kamal Mukherjee.
Announced on Teachers’ Day (5 September), it was revealed through a teaser poster that the actress will play theatre legend Binodini Dasi in the Bengali film.
To me this is not just cinema, but a Tribute to the "Queen of Indian Stage" who carved the way and inspired many generations of artists.
— RUKMINI MAITRA (@RukminiMaitra) September 5, 2022
A story untold, a Woman's journey amidst patriarchy to Unfold.
Need All Your Best Wishes, Blessings, Love & Support for this.🙏🏻#BINODIINI pic.twitter.com/uQVD5tr5tm
The motion poster of the film, designed by Ekta Bhattacharjee and music composed by Neel, shows Maitra transformed in costume as Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a character that Binodini played on stage.
#BINODIINI - Ekti Natir Upakhyan 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/bMOfWCynHI
— RUKMINI MAITRA (@RukminiMaitra) September 5, 2022
The fictional biopic will be presented by Dev Entertainments Venture and produced by Shhailendra Kkumar, Suraj Sharma and Prateek Chakravorty.
Journalist-turned-filmmaker Mukherjee shared that he was elated to announce Maitra as Binodini in a film he had been wanting to make for ages. He said, “I had to struggle for almost two years to get the kind of budget I was expecting to mount a musical film like this. The only person who stood beside my faith like a Rock of Gibraltar was Rukmini Maitra. Since she saw my work in Season's Greetings (2020) and Ek Duaa (2021), she believed that I could probably handle the pain and journey of this mega star from Bengali theatre.”
Maitra revealed that she had been preparing for the film for the past two years, practising Indian classical dance and reading various books depicting the social status of women in that era.
“It's a dream come true for me,” she shared. “Since the time Ram Kamal mentioned that he wants to make Binodiini, I knew he would have a different take on the subject. Without questioning him even once, I trusted him blindly.”
She continued, “This film would have happened two years ago, but [the] pandemic changed the entire scenario. Our entertainment industry suffered the most. With such reputed banners, producers and most importantly Dev coming on board as presenter makes this movie a magnum opus indeed.”
The biopic will be shot by cinematographer Modhura Palit in West Bengal and Benaras, and is due to be released next year on Poila Baishak (Bengali New Year).
Popular actor Dev, who is presenting the film, stated, “I was not even aware that [Mukherjee] was planning this film with Rukmini, until they shared the teaser poster. This was probably the most well kept secret from me. But when I saw the passion and love for their project, I, as a creative person, wanted to extend my gratitude towards a prestigious subject like Binodini Dasi.”
He added, “We don't make such films these days, and it takes a lot of courage to touch upon subjects as sensitive as Nati Binodini. I am sure that Rukmini and Ram Kamal will create magic on screen.”
Prateek, the grandson of veteran filmmaker Pramod Chakravorty of Pramod Films in Mumbai shared, "I was completely bowled over by [Mukherjee’s] narration and teaser poster. I knew this could be a game changer for Bengali cinema. Rukmini Maitra had put in so much dedication in bringing the character alive for a teaser shoot, says a lot about the efficiency of the entire unit. Since we completed 60 glorious years as producers in Indian cinema, we thought of joining hands on something that is creatively satisfying and commercially promising.”
Produced along with the Mumbai-based production houses Pramod Films, SS1 Entertainment and PK Entertainment, in association with Assorted Motion Pictures, Binodiini - Ekti Natir Upakhyan’s story, screenplay and dialogue has been written by Priyanka Poddar.
The makers are still to announce the cast who will play the key characters of Girish Ghosh, Amritalal, Jyotindrinrath, Ramkrishna, Kumar Bahadur and Ranga Babu in the biopic.