Pradeep Sarkar confirms he'll make biopic on 19th century Bengali thespian and actress Notee Binodini

Director Pradeep Sarkar has confirmed he will helm the biopic of Bengali theatre doyen Notee Binodini, the screenplay for which will be developed by noted scholar Shibashish Bandhopadhay. [caption id=“attachment_7253341” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Pradeep Sarkar. Image from Twitter[/caption] Also known as Binodini Dasi, the thespian started her career as a courtesan, played her first drama role in Calcutta’s National Theatre at 12 in 1874, under the tutelage of its founder, Girish Chandra Ghosh. She went on to become one of the most celebrated actresses of 19th century Bengal. Speaking about the film, Sarkar tells Bombay Times, “I have been looking into her story for some time now. It just so happened that I came in touch with Shibashish, who has thoroughly explored the subject. Notee Binodini was the first of her kind. She started very young, when she was still in her teens, and in a matter of 10 years, she had gone off the stage. Many people, including Ramakrishna Paramhans, have watched her perform. She’s a fascinating person, and her story is equally captivating.” Sarkar, who made his feature film debut with Parineeta in 2005, says Vidya Balan was able to adapt the character of Lolita in her own way because she was a fictional character. However, whoever is cast in Notee Binodini’s part would have to mould herself in the celebrated thespian’s ways. Parineeta was an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1914 eponymous Bengali novel. Sarkar reveals he has not decided if the biopic is going to be a Hindi language film or a Hindi-Bengali bilingual movie. Producer Vasant Thakkar had earlier confirmed that he had acquired the rights of the book, and would produce the film. While it was earlier reported that Vidya Balan may reunite with Sarkar 14 years after Parineeta to play the lead in Notee Binodini, Sarkar has not shed light on the casting yet. Binodini’s tale has earlier been adapted to screen in a 1994 Bengali film Nati Binodini, starring Prasenjit and Debashree Roy.