Ram Kamal to Pay Tribute to Satyajit Ray

RBN Web Desk: Scribe turned director Ram Kamal Mukherjee is all set to adapt popular Bengali author Narendranath Mitra’s story Abhinetri into a short film. The film is being co-directed by Abhra Chakraborty who has written the script and dialogue of the film.

Speaking to the media recently, Ram Kamal said, the story was earlier adapted by Satyajit Ray for a television series in the mid-eighties with Smita Patil in the titular role. The series was made in Hindi and was directed by his son Sandip Ray. The Badshahi Angti director later adapted the same story for a Bengali series which had Sreelekha Mitra and Kaushik Sen in the lead. According to Ram Kamal, his short film will be in Bengali, and is a tribute to Satyajit Ray.

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The film will be shot in Kolkata before Durga Puja. The director duo plans to cast a new face for the titular role along with senior actors from the Bengali film industry.

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Ram Kamal informed that their film will be different from the earlier adaptations. While the story has not been tampered with, it has been adapted in the present-day context, keeping in mind the changed socio-economic scenario in Bengal. The teaser poster of the film, he said, is already out on the social media.

Ram Kamal had earlier directed Cakewalk with Esha Deol Takhtani in the lead.

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Many of Mitra’s works were adapted by leading filmmakers on the big screen. Satyajit Ray had adapted Abataranika to his 1964 film Mahanagar which was also the debut of leading actress Jaya Bhaduri. Director Sudhendu Roy had adapted Ras to Saudagar in 1973. The critically acclaimed film had Amitabh Bachchan, Nutan, and Padma Khanna in major roles. Filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta made Phera in 1988 with Samit Bhanja, Biplab Chatterjee, Kamu Mukherjee and others in key roles. The film was based on a story of the same name by Mitra and went on to win three national awards.