Prasun Chatterjee바카라�s 바카라�Dostojee바카라�, A Bengali Film You Might Not Have Heard Of, Is Winning Hearts The World Over

바카라�Dostojee바카라�, after having a successful run in its native West Bengal and a short but impactful release in several Indian cities, ventured to North America, the Middle East (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ajman), Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. In 2017, Kabir Khan바카라�s 바카라�Tubelight바카라� was touted as the first Bollywood film to be featured on the iconic Times Square billboards in New York. In 2023, 바카라�Dostojee바카라�, a small, intimate story about two friends became the first Bengali film to make it to Times Square. Come July 28, it will be released in Taiwan. 

바카라�Dostojee바카라� is a heartwarming tale of friendship and innocence set in rural Bengal. It talks about Palash and Shafikul, two boys who live in Murshidabad of the 1990s, right on the edge of communal tension. But the political turmoil always stays in the background as the film chooses to focus on the boys and their world. It follows them through the dirt roads of the village, traveling to and from school on a rickshaw-cart, splashing in the pond, trying to domesticate a caterpillar, grooving to Bengali film music from the 바카라�80s and being taught together by a home-tutor. Their houses are separated by the porous border of a bamboo fence, which they penetrate often. The minutiae of their lives form the throbbing heart of the film, until something terrible happens and the story takes a more sombre, if poignant, turn. It바카라�s strongly reminiscent of other celebrations of childhood and innocence, such as 바카라�Pather Panchali바카라�, 바카라�Children of Heaven바카라� or 바카라�Village Rockstars바카라�, but 바카라�Dostojee바카라� has significant differences with these films and is quite its own thing. 

But how did the film바카라�s global conquest pan out? The film바카라�s young director Prasun Chatterjee explains, 바카라�Our first international release was on March 17, 2023. It was a big release. Usually, Bengali films from India do not get a theatrical release in the US. In such cases, weekend screenings are the norm. Usually, theatres are booked on Saturdays and Sundays for a limited audience. At least, that바카라�s how it is for Bengali films from West Bengal.바카라� 

바카라�Dostojee바카라�, in contrast with this norm, was an official theatrical release on the same day across 75 cities in the United States and 15 cities in Canada. It was screened everywhere for all three shows throughout the week like any other mainstream US release. Prasun continues, 바카라�It opened at the Jamaica Multiplex, for instance, with four shows a day, 28 shows a week. It did well there. At the time, 바카라�John Wick: Chapter 4바카라� was running. Imagine 바카라� in the heart of Hollywood, 바카라�John Wick 4바카라� was playing at Laemmle theatre, Los Angeles, alongside 바카라�Dostojee바카라�! There are some properties which are Oscar-qualifying. Laemmle is one of those. Because of the coast-to-coast theatrical release, 바카라�Dostojee바카라� became eligible for consideration in the Main Cateogry at the 96th Academy Awards, 2024.바카라�

But the goosebump moment for team 바카라�Dostojee바카라� in the United States was when their film was showcased in Times Square. 바카라�I couldn바카라�t believe that a Bengali film바카라�s teaser was playing on Times Square바카라�s billboard. Tom cruise running, Brad Pitt shooting a gun, and squeezed between them, our boys from Murshidabad rowing a boat. I can바카라�t forget that moment. I바카라�d be eternally grateful to our American distributors. They spared no expense,바카라� says Prasun.

The distributors Prasun has been gushing about is the California-based Bioskope Films LLC. Raj Hameed, the CEO of Bioskope, had utter and absolute faith in the power of 바카라�Dostojee바카라� to attract global audiences: 바카라�Dostojee바카라�s universal appeal transcends borders, races, division among people. And that is why the film deserves a diaspora as well as the global audience 바카라� the film with that magical crossover appeal. Dostojee바카라�s storyline, direction, cinematography and above all its simplicity is as pure as the bond it depicts바카라�That is why the film deserves a shot at the Academy Awards. We did an Academy Awards qualifying run for the film, coast to coast at least two county week-long matinee and evening shows, a proper premiere, special screenings for the film critics and journalists, a push to get it to Academy Award members, attended late year festivals, and an exposure at the AFM (American Film Market) in Los Angeles.바카라�

Much of Dostojee바카라�s charm lies in the effortless performances of its lead cast, played by wonder-boys Arif and Asik, and the skilful direction of Prasun, who officially debuts as a director with the film. Prasun has a background in theatre, and his only filmmaking experience before this was making a short film called 바카라�Shades바카라� back in 2017. The story of getting 바카라�Dostojee바카라� made is so intriguing that it can be a whole other film. What can also make for a film would be the kind of experiences Prasun had showing his film across the world. 바카라�During the US release, Leena Yadav [the director of 바카라�Parched바카라� (2016)] was there in Hollywood. We met, she came to our LA premiere with some of her Hollywood producer friends. After the show, they stood their with blank faces. 바카라�You made us cry,바카라� they said. One of them was flushed, and Leena said pointing to him that he was sobbing so loud that the rest of them had trouble seeing the film. One of her friends asked me if I had submitted the film for the Foreign Language category. Not for this year, I said. 바카라�Let us know if you need any help,바카라� they said.바카라�

A Russian journalist in the UK, while interviewing him about the film after a press screening, suddenly shut his recorder and burst into tears. He held the director tight and just bawled, drenching Prasun바카라�s shirt with his tears. Turns out that the journalist had lost a daughter sometime ago 바카라� a daughter who faked the Cuckoo바카라�s call, much like the kids in 바카라�Dostojee바카라�. Another woman of 70 years, during the world premiere in London, came and hugged him for a good 20 seconds. She had just turned a widow and her kids stayed far away. Her classmate, another lady of the same age, had recently been divorced and the two of them lived together. This woman visited again the next day, during a screening at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, right on the bank of Thames. This time, her friend was there too. She introduced her friend to him. Prasun reminisces, 바카라�They kept elbowing each other, calling one another 바카라�Dostojee바카라� the whole time. It was so amazing. What else can I expect from my cinema? I don바카라�t know if any of my future films will do this, but 바카라�Dostojee바카라� has, and I am glad.