Jhora Palok: Bratya Basu, Jaya Ahsan’s film to be screened at Dhaka Film Festival

Bratya Basu’s portrayal of poet Jibanananda Das in Sayantan Mukherjee’s Jhora Palok was well acclaimed by critics. The film was screened at the 27th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) 2022 in the Bengali Panorama section. In the film, Jaya Ahsan plays the character Labonyo, the wife of the poet, and Rahul Arunodoy Banerjee plays the younger poet. The film also features a group of prominent actors including Kaushik Sen and Debshankar Halder. Now the film is also selected for the 21st Dhaka International Film Festival, The festival will be held at the beginning of next year. 

Jhora Palok is essentially a biopic of poet Jibanananda Das. In the film, Sayantan paints the poet’s life, his complex emotions, pains, and thoughts. He also elaborates on the lives of the people related to him in the film’s canvas. Jibanananda Das’ first book, Jhora Palok, is the inspiration behind the film’s name. In an earlier interview, Bratya told OTTplay that playing an icon like Jibanananda was a challenge for him. “Buddhadeb Basu pointed out that Jibanananda was a loner as a person. I also found him to be a very private man. I have always been an ardent reader of Jibanananda and to prepare for the character, I read a lot of his biography. That is to understand him as a person. It was not an easy character,” said the actor. 

Bratya Basu and Rahul Arunodoy Bandyopadhyay star in the role of the poet at two different ages. Jaya Ahsan plays the poet's wife. Debsankar Halder, Koushik Sen, Biplab Bandyopadhyay, and Supriya Dutta play other important characters. Debsankar Halder plays the role of Sajanikanta Das. Koushik Sen plays Buddhadeb Basu. The film festival will be from January 14 to January 22.