After Avijatrik, Subhrajit Mitra to bring Debi Chowdhurani onto the big screen

Subhrajit Mitra’s 2021 film Avijatrik which premiered at the Kolkata International Film festival bagged two National Awards – one for the best cinematographer and the second one for the Best Bengali Film of the year. The film is an extension of the Apu Trilogy of Satyajit Ray. Now, the director is all set to come up with another defining subject of socio-political significance: Debi Chowdhurani.

In an interview, Subhrajit said that after working on a number of subjects, he zeroed in on Debi Chowdhurani. Earlier, he started working on Mayamrigaya also before Avijatrik. However, a national production house also suggested that Debi Chowdhurani is the best subject to take a Bengali film on a national platform. The director also said that with respect to creativity, this will be an even bigger challenge for him. 

Debi Chowdhurani has been explored a number of times on television and the big screen. Despite that, the director chose the subject to dig deeper into. “We are using the archive records of the East India Company. That means the important events between 1770 to 1780 – like the Great Bengal famine of 1770, Fakir-Sannyasi Resistance, etc will be covered. That is the time Bhabani Pathan and Debi Chowdhurani came to the fore. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay discovered the details when he was deployed as the district magistrate in 1870. The historical references will come to the fore,” said the director who also added that this historical reconstruction will help the younger generation to understand the significance of the character better. 

As per the sources, Srabanti Chatterjee will be seen as the lead character. While he only said the leading actors and actresses will be part of the film, he did not admit the possibility of Srabanti playing the role.