Jio Studios: Arna Mukhopadhyay-Anirban Bhattacharya’s hit play Athoi to be adapted on the big screen

In 2016, the Bengali theatre group Natadha staged its Othello adaptation Athoi. Directed by Arna Mukhopadhyay, the play features Anirban Bhattacharya, Turna Das, and Arna in the lead. Even since Athoi is considered to be one of the most successful plays in Bengal in recent times. 

Confirming the project, Anirban said, "Yes, we are working on the project. Arno and I have been working on the screenplay."

Now the play will be adapted to the big screen. The title was declared at the slate announcement event of Jio Studios in Mumbai. The on-screen adaptation will be produced jointly by SVF and Jio Studios. According to sources, while Arno will direct the film, Anirban will be the creative director. 

On Wednesday, in a star-studded evening, Jio Studios and SVF announce five films, including Athoi, Srijit Mukherji’s cop universe saga Dhashamavatar, Dhrubo Banerjee’s comedy Bagalamama, Mithun Chakraborty’s Kabuliwala, and Raj Chakraborty’s upcoming commercial venture. Prosenjit Chatterjee, Srikant Mohta, Mahendra Soni, and Mithun Chakraborty were present on stage during the announcement.    

Athoi, a Natadha production, which still hosts successful shows across Bengal, features Arno as Athoi, aka Othello, and Anirban as Anogro and Iago. During its initial days, Turna used to play Diamona, aka Desdemona. However, later Sohini Sarkar took over the baton. As per sources, the film adaptation is still in its preliminary stage. The script changes are done to make it suitable for the big screen. The casting and other important preproduction work are yet to begin.