Bengali lyricist Srijato Bandopadhyay turns director with Manabjamin; updates inside

Poet-lyricist-writer Srijato Bandopadhyay, who has charmed poetry lovers with his words and metaphors will now don the director’s hat. He is all set to foray into film direction with Manabjamin, a romantic comedy. Manabjamin is however not related to or drawn from Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay’s novel of the same name. Joy Sarkar has given the music for the film. Rana Sarkar has produced the film.

Speaking to Anandabazaar Patrika, Srijato mentioned that romance and comedy, the two central elements of Bengali cinema, have become comparatively rarer as a genre in the Bengali film industry today. Srijato added that he will bring these good old yet integral elements back into the narrative of Manabjamin. He looks to emulate the ‘essence’ of the brand of cinema popularised by Tapan Sinha, his favourite film director.

In an interview with the Telegraph, the Bangla Academy award-winning poet said that the title of the film is drawn from Ramprasad Sen’s song Emon manabjamin roili potit, which became an important part of the script. Ace singer Arijit Singh will lend his voice to the titular song. National-award winning singer Shreya Ghoshal will also croon melodies for the film.

He added that the story that came to him around three years ago is ‘a relationship tale’, a story of and about people, intertwined with bits of the director’s poetic talent. Parambrata Chatterjee, Priyanka Sarkar and Paran Bandhopadhyay have been confirmed as the lead cast. Director Srijit Mukherji is doing a guest appearance in the film.

Talking about the cast with The Telegraph, Srijato went on to praise Parambrata’s acting skills and his adaptability. ‘He has a sense of cinema since he makes films himself.’, he said, adding that the actor will bring his own perspective into it and has already started sharing his inputs for it. 

Speaking about Paran Bandhopadhyay joining the cast, the Ananda Puraskar winning writer said that Bandopadhyay suits the character completely, so much so that his looks, his very manner of talking and persona fit into the role like a glove. He described Priyanka Sarkar as a ‘powerful actor’ whose acting prowess is yet to be discovered to its full potential. 

Srijato is well-known for writing popular songs for Bengali films, such as Balir Shawhor (Mishawr Rohosyo), Esho Hey (Ek Je Chhilo Raja), Chol Rastay Saji Tramline (Autograph) and more. He debuted as a screenwriter in 2019 with Indraadip Dasgupta’s Kedaara. Despite the pandemic situation, Srijato still hopes to get a big-screen release for the film, even if he might have to wait it out.