Rukmini Maitra to Lead Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s Bengali Theater Actor Biopic ‘Binodiini’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Rukmini Maitra (“Sanak”) will play the lead in Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s Bengali-language film “Binodiini – Ekti Natir Upakhyan” (“Binodiini – Tale of a Theater Artist”).

The film will be a biopic of Binodini Dasi, also known as Nati Binodini, who had a flourishing career as an theater actor in 19th century Bengal between the ages of 12 and 23 and was known for her innovations, including creating a stage make-up style that blended European and Indian techniques. (The difference in spelling between the actor’s name and the title of the film is due to numerology.)

The film is written by Priyanka Poddar (“Parineeta”) and will be produced by Shhailendra Kkumar for SS1 Entertainment and Suraj Sharma for PK Entertainment, who are currently collaborating on “1770 – Ek Sangram,” and Prateek Chakravorty for Pramod Films (“Maara”) in association with Mukherjee’s Assorted Motion Pictures and popular Bengali cinema actor Dev Adhikari’s Dev Entertainment Ventures.

Mukherjee, who is an author and has made several acclaimed shorts, said: “I always wanted to tell the fascinating story of Binodini Dasi for Bengali audiences. 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’ and ‘Ek Duaa,’ she believed that I could probably handle the pain and journey of this mega star from Bengali theater.”

Maitra has been in prep for two years on the role, practicing Indian classical dance and reading up on the social status of women in that era.

“With such reputed banners, producers and most importantly Dev coming on board as presenter makes this movie a magnum opus indeed,” Maitra said.

The film will be shot by cinematographer Modhura Palit (“Kishmish”) on location in Bengal and Varanasi, and is aiming for a 2023 release after a stint on the global festival circuit.

Adhikari said: “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.”

Sharma added: “I feel that this will connect with every women in our society who faced oppression from male chauvinist society.”

A previous biopic on the same subject, “Nati Binodini,” was released in 1994.

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