Exclusive! Rukmini Maitra on Binodiini – Ekti Natir Upakhyan: I think after many years a woman-centric film is taking place in Bengal

Rukmini Maitra is all set to play legendary theatre actress Binodini Dasi – aka Noti Binodini – in Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s next, Binodiini – Ekti Natir Upakhyan. The first look of the film was revealed earlier this month. Now the actress talked about bagging the role. 

Rukmini said that playing Binodini Dasi is a dream-come-true moment for her. “For any actress, playing Notee Binodini is an honour. I remember around three years ago when Ram told me that he was going to make a biopic of Nati Binodini. I was very happy for him. One day he called me from Mumbai and told me that he wanted to cast me for the character. Initially, I did not believe it. I was surprised. But then the lockdown came and everything stopped due to the pandemic. Finally, the journey has begun. We received a lot of love for the character look and the poster that was launched,” the actress told us.

The first poster shows Rukmini as Binodini on stage while performing Chaitanya Leela. The moment of her spiritual elevation is captured in the photo. 

Rukmini also pointed out that this will be a big-scale woman-centric film. “The character needs a lot of preparation and we are on it. I think after many years a woman-centric film is taking place in Bengal. It is a huge deal not only for me but for the industry as a whole,” the actress said. 

Meanwhile, Ram Kamal is also very excited. “I have been researching Binodini Dasi for years. Finally, we launched the first look on Teacher's day and it was well accepted. It is a dream project for me. Initially, the pandemic stalled the work. Also, I approached big producers, and studios to make the film but they did not stand by me. Finally, I managed to get producers. Later, Dev came on board as the presenter of the film. He believes in the idea. This film is my interpretation of Binodini. Many years ago Dinen Gupta made a film, Nati Binodini, with Deboshree Roy. But nothing was made after that. I seek blessings from everybody to make this film,” said the maker.