Exclusive! Rahul Arunoday Banerjee: More than Sourav Ganguly’s biopic, I am more interested in the way he impacted the Bengali community

The actor-turned-director revealed the first look of his directorial debut Kolkata ’96 which features Ritwick Chakraborty, Sohini Sarkar and others

Rahul Banerjee and Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly turned a day older today and social media was flooded with wishes from different corners. While several Tollywood stars, including Rituparna Sengupta and others, took to social media to wish the cricketing legend, Rahul Arunoday Banerjee revealed the first look of his directorial debut Kolkata ’96. The film that focuses on the celebration of Dada’s first century in Lord’s in 1996 and how it impacted the common people in Kolkata features Ritwick Chakraborty, Sohini Sarkar, Bidipta Chakraborty, Lama Halder and Chandan Sen in key roles.

Talking about the storyline, Rahul said that more than Dada’s biopic, it is his impact on the Bengali community that intrigues him more. “My film will talk about a family in the Bijoygarh colony area. The story focuses on three days – between June 20 and 22 in 1996. On June 22, Dada scored the first century against England at Lord's. That changed the Bengali community in Kolkata for good. My film talks about those days and how the match affects the neighbourhood,” he said.

The film will also feature his and Priyanka Sarkar’s son Shohoj in a small role. While Priyanka and Rahul separated some years ago, the actor-turned-director posted a family picture on his social media feed.

Meanwhile, producer Rana Sarkar informed us that the film will go on the floors on July 15 and will hit the theatres in January 2023. “The entire Bengali community is impacted by Dada’s influence. This film will give a taste of those initial days. We chose to reveal the first look on Dada’s birthday as the film revolves around him,” he said.

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