Upcoming women-centric Bengali films to watch out for

If you aren’t obsessed with patriarchal ego, it won’t take too long to acknowledge stories related to women were subdued for long. However, with the recent wave of strong feminism, the demand for equality has finally found its place everywhere, and Indian cinema has been one of the most significant medium for this struggle. But, now filmmakers have started to acknowledge their responsibility and the stories of women are finding their voices through films. In 2018, we have seen a number of women-centric Bengali films. Even this year ‘Mukherjee Dar Bou’, released on the International Women’s Day, has received rave reviews. But the list doesn’t end here. Here’s a list of few Bengali films we have churned out for you to add to your calendar.

The Shiladitya Moulik directorial, releasing on March 29, stars Ishaa Saha in the lead. Ishaa here plays Tuku who is an under-confident girl. Before marriage her would be mother-in-law places a condition that she has to be an expert in knitting. Tuku reaches out to a relative to learn the art and eventually it transforms her into a different person. The film also stars Kharaj Mukherjee, Sreelekha Mitra, Sourav Das, June Maliah, Anuradha Mukherjee and Cactus fame Sidhu among others.

The narrative revolves around the mythical unicorn and our Bengal’s famous traditional ‘Nokshikatha’, tries to merge both to create an impassioned tale. The hour long social drama, expected to release in April, sees director Tathagata Mukherjee’s wife, actress Debleena Dutt Mukherjee, playing the female lead Apala who is a new age financially independent married woman. Raj Dey essays out her husband’s role in the film. Grappled with the ups and downs of life, Apala gradually discovers her solace in the family heirloom - a Nakshikatha. She drifts away to a land of fantasy and delusion to escape the harsh reality. Apala slowly loses detaches herself from the real as she can’t differentiate between the magical and the pragmatic world. It leads others to see her as a mentally imbalanced person.

Ushasie Chakraborty who recently launched her own production house titled ‘Hundred Flowers’ will play the lead in a sports drama ‘Kusumitar Goppo’ based on a real life incident of a woman footballer. Directed by Hrisikesh Mondol, the film is releasing on March 15. This is the first time a Bengali film has been made on a woman footballer. While Soumitra Chatterjee plays a senior sports journalist, who helps Kusumita during her struggling days, veteran actress Madhabi Mukhopadhyay will be seen as Soumitra’s on-screen wife. Former Mohun Bagan captain Shilton Paul will be seen playing himself in the film.

This is again will be directed by Srijit. It’s based on Bina Das, the freedom fighter who served a significant role in the Indian revolution and was best known for her brave attempt to kill governor Stanly Jackson at a young age. Rituparna Sengupta will play the brave heart of Bengal. Srijit wants to portray different stages of the Bengali freedom fighter’s life. While a young actress will be cast as a young Bina Das, Rituparna will be seen playing the iron lady in her mature stages. What’s more interesting is prosthetics will be used to show an elderly Bina Das. This news surely excites Rituparna’s fans as seeing her as an elderly woman on screen is something new. Research work is already underway and he will soon start working on the script. However, the rest of the cast hasn’t yet finalized.

Srijit Mukherji is finally making a biopic on Swapna Barman, who became India's first ever heptathlete to win a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games. Sohini Sarkar will be seen Swapna and she will soon start her rigorous workshop to prepare for the challenging role. Despite having six toes on each foot and facing several obstacles throughout her sporting career, the Bengali lady made India proud in the international arena through her immense hard work and dedication, the statement read further.