Rukmini Maitra to star in Binodini Dasi biopic, co-produced by rumoured boyfriend Dev Adhikari

Rukmini Maitra announced her next project, Binodiini, a biopic on Bengali theater actor Binodini Dasi, also known as Nati Binodini. Rukmini made her Bollywood debut with Vidyut Jammwal in Sanak.

Sanak actor Rukmini Maitra is all set to essay the role of popular Bengali theatre actor Nati Binodini in filmmaker Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s upcoming biopic Binodiini-Ekti Natir Upakhyan. The film will highlight the career of the actor in 19th century Bengal and how she rose to fame from the age of 12 to 23. On the occasion of Teacher’s Day, Rukmini shared the first look motion poster of Binodiini on social media.

Rukmini Maitra to star in biopic Binodiini.

In the teaser poster, Rukmini looks unrecognisable as Chri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, one of the popular characters played by Binodini Dasi on stage. The film is written by Parineeta writer Priyanka Poddar. It’s backed by Shhailendra Kkumar for SS1 Entertainment and Suraj Sharma for PK Entertainment, alongside Prateek Chakravorty (Pramod Films) with Assorted Motion Pictures and Dev Adhikari’s production house Dev Entertainment Ventures.

Making the big announcement, Rukmini said on social media, “To me this is not just cinema, but a Tribute to the "Queen of Indian Stage" who carved the way and inspired many generations of artists. A story untold, a Woman's journey amidst patriarchy to Unfold. Need All Your Best Wishes, Blessings, Love & Support for this.”

Reportedly, Rukmini took two years to prepare for the role. This included taking up classes for Indian classical dance and going through books to expand her knowledge of the social status of women in the 19th Century. The biopic is said to be shot by Kishmish cinematographer Modhura Palit in several locations across West Bengal and Varanasi. While makers have not yet confirmed the release date, they are eyeing for a release in 2023.

The last biopic on Nati Binodini was released in 1994. Directed by Dinen Gupta, it starred Prasenjit Chatterjee, Debashree Roy and Dilip Roy in the lead roles.