00:00I think it's the story of a great warrior, a theatre person, an artist of the 19th century,
00:12one of the greatest and stories like this needs to be told because it always talks about
00:18women empowerment which is very much needed in today's society.
00:21So I think that's a wonderful reason to make this film.
00:27I think a very important yet a lost chapter in history, that is the reason why this story
00:34needed to be retold and it had to reach the future generations because of course we are
00:40moving ahead with the times but we cannot forget the people and the women who have paved
00:45the way for us to be here today.
00:47So this is a story from Bengal, of Bengal, by Bengal but for the entire world to see
00:53and witness the magic of.
00:56I feel personally that as Rukmini and Chandan said, I'm voicing the same, that there are
01:06many stories from Bengal which needs to be told, there are many stories which we generally
01:12tend to forget.
01:13But if we don't look back at history, if we don't look back at history, then we will
01:20end our relationship with our roots or we will run away from that relationship or we
01:26will try to get rid of that relationship.
01:29That's not right because the contribution of Binodini Dasi should have come to Indian
01:34cinema and we tried in our own way to pay tribute to her and I hope that people will
01:42go and see her and whatever tribute she has done, whatever they like or dislike, they
01:46will tell us.
01:47I hope they will like it and not dislike it.
01:55I think of course, very big shoes to fill in.
01:58Emotionally, of course, there is an instant connect because any woman will feel her pain,
02:04will feel the burdens that she has faced.
02:06Yet, I think Binodini was or rather is a beautiful amalgamation of both pain and pleasure
02:12and that is what a woman's life is all about.
02:14So, that is a journey I think.
02:16We as women, we have been going through this since birth.
02:20So, that is something which I always knew.
02:23But yet, playing I think Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a big challenge because I think in 1883,
02:311884, she was the first woman who acted in the character of a man.
02:36And I think maybe, I don't know, I am sorry if I am mistaken, but almost 140-150 years
02:41later, I got the opportunity to act in the character of a man and that too in the character
02:47of God.
02:48So, that was an experience which was the biggest challenge.
02:53But the kind of adulation, the love that the performance is receiving, I think, what is it?
03:03I won it.
03:04Won it.
03:11Okay.
03:12Yeah, the whole approach of making this entire movie is completely different because I being
03:18a student of history, we were very conscious that we will make this biopic, try and be
03:24as authentic as possible.
03:26But at the same time, target the youth and the younger generation so that they can also
03:31go and see the film and they can also relate to the subject and not alienate any audience
03:36saying that, oh, this is for this section of audience.
03:40We wanted to make it for like as the story is from 7 to 70 of Binodini Das's journey,
03:45we want audiences from 7 to 70 to come and watch the film too.
03:48So, it's been a very conscious decision for me and Rukmini to kind of, you know, while
03:53we were making this film that we'll have all the commercial elements, but at the same
03:57time, the soul and the research will be in place.
04:00So, that's how we thought of making this film.
04:08Actually, being from a Bengali family in my childhood, I used to be part of the Ram Krishna
04:14mission.
04:15So, most of my school days, I've spent evenings at the Ram Krishna mission listening to his
04:21bhajans, reading his books in the library, the Swami Vivekananda literature, which was
04:28very sort of a common thing for most of us growing up in Bengali family.
04:32We always have a Ram Krishna picture or a Vivekananda picture side by side on the wall
04:37and ma.
04:39So, when the role got offered to me and I reconnected with my childhood, my past and
04:45my mother was very happy because she being a devotee of ma, Sarodama, I started playing
04:51the bhajans every day in the morning and almost most of the day, I used to play the bhajans
04:56in my house and she was really happy that kuch kaam kar raha hai life mein, jo achi
05:01cheez toh kar raha hai bera beta.
05:04And I had started reading on the, I mean the book came to me, Autobiography of a Yogi,
05:11the Paramahansa Yogananda book and that's how it started and I did my normal acting
05:16things and yeah.
05:22I think it's a great moment and time in history, what we have just witnessed, not
05:28only as an actor, not only as team Binodini, I think but just as citizens of the country,
05:33this is a very proud moment because this is a moment which has never happened all over
05:37the world.
05:38Having a theatre named after a heroine which was rightly hers to begin with, so rightfully
05:45so and then thereafter to have the premiere, the first premiere to be held in that theatre
05:50is her very own biopic, Binodini.
05:54So that is a huge, huge, huge honour in itself and of course this provides as inspiration,
06:00this provides as motivation, the reason why I always say that Binodini is not just cinema,
06:05Binodini is a movement.
06:07This is something I have always said, if we success, if we successfully manage to do this
06:12then this will be another renaissance which Bengal, which is happening in Bengal at this
06:17very moment rather in India.
06:19So that is the reason why I think when you see the fact that this woman, she has struggled,
06:24she has fought for her rights and eventually even though, even though her justice has been
06:29delayed but she has finally received it.
06:32So I think there's this saying, people say that, my father used to always tell me that
06:38do not, even if you lose a battle that's fine but don't quit it halfway.
06:44So maybe you think that you're only battling it out while you're alive but her battles
06:48went on beyond that and finally she has won.
06:51So it is a big win for not only an artist, not only a woman but I think as humankind in general.
06:58So this is most definitely a huge inspiration for many, many young girls and boys because
07:03it is a story of a fight within and a fight which is won.
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