''Ramdhanu'' ( en, The Rainbow) is a 2014 Bengali family drama film, adapted from
Suchitra Bhattacharya
Suchitra Bhattacharya (10 January 1950 – 2015) was an Indian novelist, known for works including ''Hemanter Pakhi'', ''Kachher Manush'', ''Aleek Shukh'', ''Icche'' and ''Kacher Dewal''. During her career as a writer, she composed over 20 nove ...
's short story, Ramdhanu Rawng and directed by
Nandita Roy
Nandita Roy (born April 3, 1955) is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. She made her directorial debut with the film ''Icche'' (2011) along with her co-director Shiboprosad Mukherjee. The two have also directed ''Accident'', ''Muktodhara'', ...
&
Shiboprosad Mukherjee
Shiboprosad Mukherjee (, Bengali: ; born 20 May 1974) is an Indian film director, writer and actor. He, collaborating with Nandita Roy, debuted with their film ''Icche'', which garnered both critical acclaim as well as commercial success. The ...
, the directors of
Icche
''Icche'' (English:''Wish'') is a 2011 Bengali language Indian drama film directed by Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy. This is the debut film of the director duo. The film is based on Suchitra Bhattacharya's novel and revolves around the r ...
,
Muktodhara
''Muktodhara'' is a 2012 Bengali film directed by Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy. This is a story about the prisoners of a correctional home ‒ Presidency jail who all have a dark past life but here they are being reformed day by day.
P ...
,
Accident
An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researcher ...
and
Alik Sukh
''Alik Sukh'' (English: ''Unreal Happiness'') is a 2013 Bengali Medical psychological thriller based on the novel ''Alikh Sukh'' by Suchitra Bhattacharya. The film is directed by the duo Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy, starring Debshanka ...
. The film has been produced by Windows and Jalan International Films. The film is presented by Atanu Raychaudhuri and released on 6 June 2014. The film has done well at the box office. The film has been cinematographed by Sirsha Ray and edited by Moloy Laha.
The movie was remade in Malayalam as ''
Salt Mango Tree
''Salt Mango Tree'' is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Rajesh Mohanan, starring Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli and Suhasini Maniratnam. The film is a remake of the 2014 Bengali film ''Ramdhanu'' and the ...
''.
Background
The Indian Parliament passed ‘The Right to Education Act’ or
RTE Act
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE) is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted on 4 August 2009, which describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for chi ...
- on 4 August 2009. One of the issues addressed in that was of school interviews. An order was passed that for admission, there should be no interviews of parents or children to ensure smooth enrollment for all. But was this ruling applicable to private schools? As the act came into being, the private schools protested, claiming it violated their right to run independently without government interference. The act was revised and made non-applicable to unaided, private and boarding schools. And so the interview process continued in private schools, this time disguised behind the term ‘interaction sessions’.
Plot Synopsis
Mitali (played by
Gargi Roychowdhury
Gargee Roychowdhury is an Indian actress. She works in Bengali movies in Tollywood and serials in television. Gargi Roychowdhury is one of the popular actresses of the Bengali screen. She began her career as a theatre artist, performing in Utta ...
) is a worried mother. Her 5-year-old son, Gogol (played by Akashneel Mitra), has once again failed to pass the admission test in a reputed school and the application gets rejected. This is the fourth time and Mitali gets desperate. She is determined to get her only son admitted into a reputed school. Laltu Dutta (played by
Shiboprosad Mukherjee
Shiboprosad Mukherjee (, Bengali: ; born 20 May 1974) is an Indian film director, writer and actor. He, collaborating with Nandita Roy, debuted with their film ''Icche'', which garnered both critical acclaim as well as commercial success. The ...
), her husband, owns a chemist's shop, and all his efforts centre around running his business successfully. He is completely attached to his family and tries to do his best to fulfil his wife's aspirations. When one school after school starts rejecting Gogol, a despondent Mitali takes the advice of her friend and hires a teacher for Gogol's tuitions. Soon, Mitali gets disappointed by the young teacher's casual attitude and decides to teach Gogol herself. Mitali's desperation worries Laltu and he decides to go the extra mile to make his wife happy. He even approaches a tout and is willing to pay him a handsome amount if he can procure admission for his son. The tout claims that he can get his son admitted to any school for Rs 10 lakh. The sum is exorbitant. He does not know how to procure that amount. Should he terminate his fixed deposits? But that is his only savings! On the other hand, he cannot bear to see the disappointment on his wife's face each time their son gets rejected. The family decides to go to Bolpur, in the district of Birbhum, West Bengal, where Mitali's parents reside. It is a special occasion as her brother is returning home from abroad after long, along with his foreigner wife. The holiday turns out to be interesting as Jennifer, the brother's wife, shows her keenness to adapt traditional Bengali customs, learn the language, and insist on speaking Bengali. She terms Mitali's insistence on getting her son admitted to an English-medium school and learning the English language as ‘linguistic imperialism'. While Gogol spends a wonderful holiday with his grandparents and his new aunt, Mitali is anxiously waiting for the interview call for her son. When it finally arrives, they rush back home. The three of them attend the interview, but this time, Mitali feels it was Laltu who had ruined her son's chances by giving ludicrous answers to the questions put by the school's interview board. Mitali is furious. But she is not the one to give up hope so easily. She readies herself for the final bid. On the advice of another parent, Mitali decides to enroll herself along with her husband in a school that coaches parents to conduct themselves at interviews. Laltu is very reluctant at first but finally gives in to his wife's persuasions. What follows is a poignant but hilarious journey as Laltu tries to learn the language, etiquette and build his confidence to face the toughest of situations. The teacher of the coaching school is a wonderful lady who handholds them into conducting themselves well at interviews and readies them to face difficulties and recognize the worth of life itself! Does Gogol finally get through to the interview? Will Mitali be able to fulfil her dreams or does she learn a greater lesson from all this and the importance of her child's well-being? Does Gogol's love for the song of birds, the flight of kites, the rustling of the leaves, the wide expanse of the blue sky, get crushed by the ambitions of his parent? Does Mitali finally look deep into her son's eye and realise what makes him truly happy? Does she finally follow her heart? Many such moments are captured in the story as it hurtles towards a dramatic climax.
Cast
*
Gargi Roychowdhury
Gargee Roychowdhury is an Indian actress. She works in Bengali movies in Tollywood and serials in television. Gargi Roychowdhury is one of the popular actresses of the Bengali screen. She began her career as a theatre artist, performing in Utta ...
as Mitali Dutta
*
Shiboprosad Mukherjee
Shiboprosad Mukherjee (, Bengali: ; born 20 May 1974) is an Indian film director, writer and actor. He, collaborating with Nandita Roy, debuted with their film ''Icche'', which garnered both critical acclaim as well as commercial success. The ...
as Laltu Dutta
*
Rachana Banerjee
Rachna Banerjee (born Jhumjhum Rakesh Banerjee; 2 October 1974) also known as Rachana, is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and television presenter. She is known for her works in Bengali and Odia film industries and has also appeared in severa ...
as Madam
*
Kharaj Mukherjee
Kharaj Mukherjee or Kharaj Mukhopadhyay (born 7 July 1963) is an Indian actor. He completed his early education from St. Lawrence High School, Kolkata He made his debut in Bengali film with the film ''Hulusthul'' in 1980. In the last 32 years, ...
as Akash Singhania
* Akashneel Mitra as Gogol
* Rajat Ganguly as Sanju's father
* Rumki Chatterjee as Sanju's mother
*
Chitra Sen
Chitra Sen is an Indian actress and dancer who works in Bengali language films and television series. She has worked mainly in theatres, but she has also worked in films and on television. She started her career under Jnyanesh Mukhopadhyay. She ...
as Mitali's mother in Bolpur
* Arijit Guha as Mitali's father in Bolpur
* Sasha Ghoshal Mitali's brother in Bolpur
*
Suzanne Bernert
Suzanne Bernert (born 26 September), is a German-born Indian actress living in India who works primarily in Indian films in various languages. She has acted in '' Ramdhanu - The Rainbow'', '' Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.'' and television serials ...
as Mitali's sister-in-law in Bolpur.
Crew
* Produced by Windows & Jalan International Films
* Presented by Atanu Raychaudhuri
* Directed by
Nandita Roy
Nandita Roy (born April 3, 1955) is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. She made her directorial debut with the film ''Icche'' (2011) along with her co-director Shiboprosad Mukherjee. The two have also directed ''Accident'', ''Muktodhara'', ...
&
Shiboprosad Mukherjee
Shiboprosad Mukherjee (, Bengali: ; born 20 May 1974) is an Indian film director, writer and actor. He, collaborating with Nandita Roy, debuted with their film ''Icche'', which garnered both critical acclaim as well as commercial success. The ...
* Screenplay & Dialogue by
Nandita Roy
Nandita Roy (born April 3, 1955) is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. She made her directorial debut with the film ''Icche'' (2011) along with her co-director Shiboprosad Mukherjee. The two have also directed ''Accident'', ''Muktodhara'', ...
&
Shiboprosad Mukherjee
Shiboprosad Mukherjee (, Bengali: ; born 20 May 1974) is an Indian film director, writer and actor. He, collaborating with Nandita Roy, debuted with their film ''Icche'', which garnered both critical acclaim as well as commercial success. The ...
* Story inspired by Suchitra Bhattacharya
* Director of Photography Sirsha Ray
* Editor Maloy Laha
* Art Director Amit Chatterjee
* Sound by Anirban Sengupta & Dipankar Chaki
* Costume Designer Ruma Sengupta
* Music by Vinit Ranjan Moitra
* Background design by Vinit Ranjan Moitra
* Publicity Design by Saumik & Piyali
Direction
Nandita Roy is an Indian filmmaker, screenplay writer and producer. She has been working in the film industry for the past 30 years. She has worked in many television serials and National Award-winning films. Shiboprosad Mukherjee is an Indian filmmaker, actor and producer. He started his acting career by joining the Theatre in Education Project and was a regular theatre artiste at Nandikar. He learnt his art from celebrated thespians like Rudraprasad Sengupta and Ibrahim Alkazi.
The director duo started directed films since 2011, with their first film
Icche
''Icche'' (English:''Wish'') is a 2011 Bengali language Indian drama film directed by Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy. This is the debut film of the director duo. The film is based on Suchitra Bhattacharya's novel and revolves around the r ...
. From then on, they have co-directed films like
Accident
An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researcher ...
(2012),
Muktodhara
''Muktodhara'' is a 2012 Bengali film directed by Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy. This is a story about the prisoners of a correctional home ‒ Presidency jail who all have a dark past life but here they are being reformed day by day.
P ...
(2012),
Alik Sukh
''Alik Sukh'' (English: ''Unreal Happiness'') is a 2013 Bengali Medical psychological thriller based on the novel ''Alikh Sukh'' by Suchitra Bhattacharya. The film is directed by the duo Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy, starring Debshanka ...
(2013), Ramdhanu (2014),
Belaseshe
''Bela Seshe'' (; also written as ''Belaseshe: In The Autumn of my Life'') is an Indian Bengali-language family drama film directed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee and presented by Atanu Raychaudhuri. It is produced by Windows and dis ...
(2015),
Praktan
''Praktan'' (Bengali: প্রাক্তন, lit. ''Former'') is a 2016 Indian Bengali film directed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee and starring Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta. It brings back the Prosenjit - Rituparna ...
(2016)
Posto
Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the opium poppy (''Papaver somniferum''). The tiny, kidney-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years. It is still widely used in many countries, ...
(2017),
Haami
''Haami'' is a 2018 Bengali film directed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee. The movie is produced by Windows and is distributed regionally by the same. As per the figures provided by trade magazine. Film Companion, it was the highest gro ...
(2018),
Konttho
''Konttho'' ( en, Voice) is a 2019 Bengali drama film directed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee. The movie is produced by Windows Production.
Plot
A story of friendship, a story of struggle, Konttho is about the indomitable human spi ...
(2019),
Gotro
''Gotro'' () is a 2019 Indian Bengali-language emotional drama film, directed, produced and co-written by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee. It stars Anashua Majumdar, Nigel Akkara and Manali Dey, with Ambarish Bhattacharya, Saheb Chat ...
(2019), which have been critically acclaimed and commercially successful. Their films have been appreciated for their socially relevant content and entertaining narrative structure.
Casting
Shiboprosad Mukherjee
Shiboprosad Mukherjee (, Bengali: ; born 20 May 1974) is an Indian film director, writer and actor. He, collaborating with Nandita Roy, debuted with their film ''Icche'', which garnered both critical acclaim as well as commercial success. The ...
’s acting career began in the year 1997 with director Kumar Shahani ‘Char Adhyay’ (Four Chapters). His next 2 film was with director
Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh (31 August 1963 – 30 May 2013) was an Indian film director, actor, writer and lyricist. After pursuing a degree in economics, he started his career as a creative artist at an advertising agency. He received recognition for his ...
, ‘
Dahan’ (Crossfire) in 1998 and ‘
Bariwali
''Bariwali'' (translation: ''The Landlady'', English-language title: ''The Lady of the House'') is a Bengali film released in 2000 directed by Rituparno Ghosh. The film features Kirron Kher, Roopa Ganguly, and Chiranjeet Chakraborty.
Synopsis ...
’ (The Landlady or The Lady of the House) in the year 2000, His next film was Jamai no.1 in 1998 with
Nitish Roy
Nitish Roy is an Indian film art director, production designer, and costume designer in Hindi cinema and a Bengali Film Director, who is also known for his work with art cinema directors, Shyam Benegal, Mrinal Sen and Govind Nihlani, Hind ...
, followed by
Anup Singh Batala’s ‘Ekti Nadir Naam’ (The Name of a River) in 2002. He then turned into actor – director in the films ‘
Accident
An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researcher ...
’ in 2012 and ‘
Muktodhara
''Muktodhara'' is a 2012 Bengali film directed by Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy. This is a story about the prisoners of a correctional home ‒ Presidency jail who all have a dark past life but here they are being reformed day by day.
P ...
’ in 2012 directed by
Nandita Roy
Nandita Roy (born April 3, 1955) is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. She made her directorial debut with the film ''Icche'' (2011) along with her co-director Shiboprosad Mukherjee. The two have also directed ''Accident'', ''Muktodhara'', ...
and himself.
Rachna Banerjee
Rachna Banerjee (born Jhumjhum Rakesh Banerjee; 2 October 1974) also known as Rachana, is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and television presenter. She is known for her works in Bengali and Odia film industries and has also appeared in several ...
is a popular actress in Oriya and Bengali Film Industry. She has done many films in Oriya, Bengali, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada languages. Her acting career began in 1994. She has acted opposite legendary actors like
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
in the Hindi film
Sooryavansham
''Sooryavansham'' (, ) is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language Romance film, romantic Musical film, musical Drama (film and television), drama film directed by E. V. V. Satyanarayana. It stars Amitabh Bachchan in dual roles, with Soundarya, Jayasudha, ...
and
Mithun Chakraborty
Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, producer and politician who predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali language films. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three ...
in Oriya and Bengali films.
Gargi Roychowdhury
Gargee Roychowdhury is an Indian actress. She works in Bengali movies in Tollywood and serials in television. Gargi Roychowdhury is one of the popular actresses of the Bengali screen. She began her career as a theatre artist, performing in Utta ...
, a popular actress of the Bengali screen, began her career as a theatre artist in 1995 with Bohurupee Theatre Group. Her first television work was in 1996 with
Rituporno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh (31 August 1963 – 30 May 2013) was an Indian film director, actor, writer and lyricist. After pursuing a degree in economics, he started his career as a creative artist at an advertising agency. He received recognition for his ...
’s ‘Bahanno Episodes’. During that time she has also been a newscaster and radio artist. She has been the brand ambassador for many national and international companies.
Box office
After a decent 70% opening on 6 June, 'Ramdhanu' steadily attracted an audience, eventually settling for a 100% occupancy across theatres. While weekday collections rarely dropped below 70%, the weekends roared back to a near 100% occupancy. At Priya in south Kolkata, which had a single show, the collections crossed Rs 4.6 lakh in the very first week. Made on a budget of Rs 75 lakh, the film opened to a bumper response in the city, notching up more than Rs 70 lakh by the 3rd weekend and in turn, emerged as the most profitable film of the year so far. It eventually ran for 7 weeks in the direct centers of the city after which it continued for 2 more weeks in the shifted centers.
Response
The film received a good response from the audience. The actors' performances were credited highly.
The film also did well in the box-office, especially when it was released with another star studded
Bengali film, ''
Game
A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...
''. Quoting the Times of India review, "Ramdhanu is a family drama with a touch of innocence and simplicity that will make you want to watch it again."
Remake
Rajesh Nair, director of Malayalam thriller
Escape from Uganda
''Escape from Uganda'' is a 2013 Malayalam thriller film directed by Rajesh Mohanan. The cast includes Rima Kallingal, Vijay Babu, R. Parthiepan, Joju George, Tashu Kaushik, Winston Witecker and also Mukesh in a cameo appearance. The story is b ...
, has remade this film in Malayalam, by the name of ''
Salt Mango Tree
''Salt Mango Tree'' is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Rajesh Mohanan, starring Biju Menon, Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli and Suhasini Maniratnam. The film is a remake of the 2014 Bengali film ''Ramdhanu'' and the ...
''. It released on 6 November 2015. Shiboprosad also quipped that they are also planning to remake the film in Hindi.
See also
* ''
Muktodhara
''Muktodhara'' is a 2012 Bengali film directed by Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy. This is a story about the prisoners of a correctional home ‒ Presidency jail who all have a dark past life but here they are being reformed day by day.
P ...
''
* ''
Accident
An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researcher ...
''
* ''
Icche
''Icche'' (English:''Wish'') is a 2011 Bengali language Indian drama film directed by Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy. This is the debut film of the director duo. The film is based on Suchitra Bhattacharya's novel and revolves around the r ...
''
* ''
Alik Sukh
''Alik Sukh'' (English: ''Unreal Happiness'') is a 2013 Bengali Medical psychological thriller based on the novel ''Alikh Sukh'' by Suchitra Bhattacharya. The film is directed by the duo Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy, starring Debshanka ...
''
* ''
Hindi Medium
''Hindi Medium'' is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Saket Chaudhary, and produced by Dinesh Vijan and Bhushan Kumar under their respective banners Maddock Films and T-Series. It stars Irrfan Khan, Saba ...
''
References
External links
*
{{Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee
2014 films
Bengali films remade in other languages
Indian drama films
Bengali-language Indian films
2010s Bengali-language films
Films directed by Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee