Here’s why ‘Mukherjee Dar Bou’ is a must watch this Women’s Day

‘Mukherjee Dar Bou’ explores the relationship between a mother and daughter-in-law in a new light. Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy’s Windows Production has always churned out topics that are way beyond our common thoughts and they are back again to produce Pritha Chakraborty’s directorial debut. What makes this film for special is its release on International Women’s Day today. So ‘a film by the women, for the women’ tagline seems fitting. Ahead of its release, we spoke to the protagonists, director and the story writer of ‘Mukherjee Dar Bou’ to give you enough reasons to go and watch the film. Here are the excerpts:

Koneenica believes every woman will be able to understand what message this film wants to deliver: “I believe every woman will relate to my character Aditi. There are so many women like my character in the film. So, essaying it was both easy and difficult at the same time as I had to keep in mind the audience needs to identify themselves with the character. I think my performance in Haami helped me grab the lead and I was literally excited to be a part of it, so I said yes even before reading the full script. In fact, I was two months pregnant during the shoot but I enjoyed so much being a part of the film.”

The seasoned actress explains how relevant this film is given the adverse situation in almost every family: “I play Aditi’s mother-in-law who has recently lost her husband and can’t adjust with the loneliness. Her son is married and daughter-in-law runs the household things. We all have come across these situations where people are cornered in their family. Shobharani feels the same until Aditi realises this needs to be changed. A relationship can’t survive like this. So, she tries to show her mother-in-law a way out to live a more dignified life. They make peace and the acute loneliness fades away.”

Rituparna has essayed a wide range of characters in her illustrious career and her latest role in ‘mukherjee Dar Bou’ no doubt adds one more feather to her crown. “I am playing a psychologist Aratrika. You can call her a mentor as well just like Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Dear Zindagi’. She bridges the gap between two persons and guides their relation to a positive aspect. Aratrika has her own problems as well in personal life. Being a woman she can understand Radharani and Aditi’s problems. I believe when two people are lost there’s always a need of a third person to let them know what the problem is all about and guide them to find a solution,” said the actress.

The popular actor will be seen as the junior Mukherjee Da, on-screen husband of Koneenica and he assures this film will narrate the story of every middle-class Bengali family. “When I started reading the script it looked like the typical story we see every day in the TV serials. But then when I completed about 40% I was completely moved. The way this story takes a turn and reaches its climax the only word I can say is amazing. ‘Mukherjee Dar Bou’ tells the story of every middle-class family. It somehow solves an age-old problem. I strongly believe it will give new life to many dying relations,” explained Biswanath.

Pritha who is also making her directorial debut with the film insists it’s not the typical saas-bahu drama we see in TV these days: “Yes, these two women often indulge in a sort of cold war but that doesn’t mean they are against each other. We have to understand it’s the situation that forces them react like this. In my film the saas-bahu jodi rediscovers their new identity and the true meaning of their relationship. Also, for a long time the voices of women have remained unheard and that’s what leads to their identity crisis. Women have to go through a lot of hardship every day to establish their identity. This story revolves around the bittersweet journey where the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law rediscover their own identities, more specifically true identity.”

The simple yet touching idea and concept of ‘Mukherjee Dar Bou’ has moved everyone and the person who has penned the story and co-written the screenplay with director Pritha Chakraborty is Samragnee Bandyopadhyay. She believes Mukherjee Dar Bou is not an unknown character to us. “We all know Mukherjee Dar Bou. Yes, the surname is Mukherjee but it can be Banerjee or may be Ganguly, ultimately she is someone’s wife. That’s the identity after marriage. So, when I wrote the story it came spontaneously. I have seen these characters closely everyday as I grew up, revealed Samragnee.