Suman Mukhopadhyay’s ‘Putul Nacher Itikatha’ finally ready to release

Back in 2006, fresh off his National Award-winning film ‘Herbert’, filmmaker Suman Mukhopadhyay had set his sights on adapting ‘Putul Nacher Itikatha’, the acclaimed work by legendary Bengali writer Manik Bandopadhyay. But what followed was a long and winding road, including copyright hurdles, the absence of like-minded producers and several other setbacks that delayed the project for years. Fast forward to 2022: after much persistence and patience, Mukhopadhyay finally completed shooting. And now, three years later, the film starring Abir Chatterjee, Jaya Ahsan, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Shantilal Mukherjee, Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Ananya Chatterjee is all set to hit theatres on August 1, 2025.

“I had written the script way back in 2006. The world has changed - politically and socially - and the screenplay evolved right alongside it. A novel like this is vast and you can’t bring everything to the screen. As a director, you have to make choices. In my version, I chose to focus on the stories of Shashi and Kusum,” said Mukhopadhyay.

Abir, who plays Shashi, admitted he was initially nervous about taking on the role. “But I trusted Suman da completely. Shashi is a man riddled with inner turmoil. And I think we all carry a bit of that conflict within us. That’s what makes the character feel so relatable, so contemporary,” he said.

Jaya, whose recent performance in Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s ‘Dear Maa’ earned high praise, steps into the role of Kusum. “This is the kind of role any actor would dream of,” she said.

The ensemble cast also includes Dhritiman Chatterjee as Yadav Pandit, Shantilal Mukherjee as Gopal Das, Parambrata as Kumud and Ananya as Sendidi.