Kangana vs Rukmini at the BO? Ram Kamal decries the battle of Binodinis

News broke yesterday that Kangana Ranaut is set to portray the role of Noti Binodini in a new film by Pradeep Sarkar. Meanwhile, on the home front, Ram Kamal announced Binodiini Ekti Natir Upakhyan — a Bengali biopic that’s scheduled to go on floors in January 2023 and stars Rukmini Maitra in the role of the iconic thespian. However, Ram Kamal doesn’t seem to think a battle of the Binodinis is on the fore.
“My best wishes to Pradeep da (Sarkar), he is such a lovely human being and a great filmmaker, I loved his Parineeta. I am sure he will tell this story in his own style. I am making Binodiini Ekti Natir Upakhyan with Rukmini in Bengali, and I hope people will appreciate our humble tribute to the legendary theatre actress from Bengal. We don't compete against each other, I am competing with my own work. Pradeep da is a veteran, I can only seek blessings from him,” Ram Kamal told CT recently.
Pradeep Sarkar’s untitled project has been written by Prakash Kapadia and is set to go on floors early next year, much like Rukmini’s Binodini biopic. However, Ram Kamal’s film, which has been in the works since 2019, may just have a home advantage, even if their release dates collide.
In a recent interview with CT, Rukmini shared her excitement about the project. “I am very excited about this film! I hope it is a milestone and makes a mark in the history of Bengali cinema. Not because I am doing it but because of the woman, the icon we are presenting on screen. An iconic, legendary personality. Her fight and flight is something to look up to. She is the 'Queen of Indian Stage' and she has literally carved the way for us,” she said.
“As an actor, I believe it is so crucial to know who has carved the way for me to be here and to respect that. The script came to me in 2019 and when Ram offered me the role I was taken aback. The poster for Binodiini was shot back in January 2020 but I had kept it under wraps from friends and family. Nobody knew that I had started taking Kathak classes back in 2019. Then on the verge of announcing it, the pandemic hit us and the project got stalled. Thereafter two years went by. The reason why I relate to this character so much is simply that in a man’s world it is tremendously difficult to hold your own as a woman. Even today, it is not easy. But that is exactly what she did! When one hears the story of Binodini, what she faced amidst all the patriarchy, one feels the pain, the angst for someone who tried to do so much as she was an ambitious woman. I was so invested in her as a human that I told Ram this year that if it doesn’t happen then I might let go of the film, as it was taking a toll on me on an emotional front. Whenever I read about her, I was moved by her. People were scared to invest in a women-centric film of this magnitude. So, the struggle went on but ultimately everything fell in place,” Rukmini added.