After Ashutosh Gwarikar, Madhur Bhandarkar and Mahesh Bhatt, now legendary Bimal Roy’s son Joy pens his thought after watching Mukherjee‘s magnum opus in Mumbai.
Joy Bimal Roy, son of verteran filmmaker Bimal Roy shared his feelings after the screening of Binodiini Ekti Natir Upakhyan. He writes…
“Though I have known Ram Kamal Mukherjee for over five years I hadn’t seen any of directorial work his work until his latest Bengali feature Binodiini: Ekti Natir Upakhyan. Binodini’s story is famous in Bengal, but unlikely to be known anywhere else. It is a tale of redemption, about how the daughter of a prostitute rises to the pinnacle of fame with her acting prowess, and then marries an aristocrat, thereby becoming a pillar of the very same society that had shunned her all her life.
“Leading lady Rukmini Maitra in the eponymous role of Binodiini begins falteringly but goes from strength to strength in what could very well be the role of her lifetime. She ignites the screen with her incandescent beauty, enhanced by the combined aesthetics of Ram Kamal, costume designer Suchismita Dasgupta and the cinematographer Soumik Halder.
“The film deftly treads the borderline between the spiritual and the erotic with a languorous sensuality. Kaushik Ganguly portrays the role of Girish Chandra Ghosh, Binodiini’s mentor, in a close parallel to the immortal Henry Higgins and his relationship to Eliza Dolittle. Like Eliza, Binodiini finally outgrows her mentor and comes into her own…a fiery, outspoken and articulate woman who lives life on her own terms.
“The spiritual part of the film relates to her encounter with mystic sage Ramakrishna Paramhansa, (Chandan Roy Sanyal’s magical presence) believed by his followers to be a saint with miraculous powers. He comes to Star theatre to see her play and blesses her. For Binodiini it is a life-changing experience and in her later years she turns to the Ramakrishna Mission for salvation.
“Rahul Bose plays the enlightened nobleman Ranga Babu who proposes marriage to Binodiini turning stigma into status. And there is the Kumar Bahadur, a prince from Benaras played by Om Sahani, who leads Binodiini literally up the garden path. A chequered life indeed, captured with sensitivity by Ram Kamal Mukherjee.
“For me the film ended when Ranga Babu proposes to Binodini. It is a lyrical moment (Sourendro-Soumyojit soul stirring music) beautifully captured by the Ganges in Kolkata. All else could have come as captions on the screen thereafter. Somewhat more unfortunate is the prosthetic make up by Somnath Kundu on Rukmini showing her as an old woman. I do wish it had been better, as it mars the otherwise exquisite quality of the visuals.
“But all said and done, the film is indeed a remarkable achievement. Needless to say, we don’t get to see such extravaganza from Bengal. I guess the timing of the release also worked in favor. Binodiini’s dream has finally come true. The age old Star Theatre was recently renamed Binodini Theatre in her memory, after 141 years of ‘betrayal’. I do hope Ram Kamal gets the accolades he richly deserves.”
