Srijit Mukherji is mounting a film on the making of Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne.
Maharaja Tomare Selam will film in 2027.
Mukherji is now promoting Winkle Twinkle.
Satyajit Ray's 1969 classic, Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, will find a homage to its making in Srijit Mukherji's upcoming film, Maharaja Tomare Selam. The period drama will trace the inception, making and release of the iconic film against the politically riven backdrop of 1960s Calcutta.
Jeetu Kamal, Ritwik Bhowmik, Rudranil Ghosh, Satakshi Nandy, Sairity Banerjee and Arijit Dutta star in the film, produced by Hoichoi Studios and Friends Communication in association with Piyali Films Pvt. Ltd, the original producer of Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne. The iconic film competed for the Golden Bear at the 1969 Berlin Film Festival. Its 1980 sequel, Hirak Rajar Deshe, was a sly takedown of authoritarian rule. Ray's son, Sandip Ray, closed out the trilogy with Goopy Bagha Phire Elo in 1992.
Srijit Mukherji On His Film
“I am just trying to tell the incredible true story of how one of the greatest classics of Indian cinema, ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne,’ was conceived and made,” Mukherji said about his promising film. "When I was doing the research for Doshor in 2021, the behind-the-scenes stories for Pather Panchali were already well documented, but the making of Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne was equally interesting in a different way," he said.
"The release of Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne was during one of the most turbulent times for the industry, socially and politically. Formation of committees and subcommittees and the divide between the Left and the Congress — all these things will also come. I found those stories to be very interesting", he added. Music for Maharaja Tomare Selam will be composed by Debojyoti Mishra, who has also worked with Ray himself.
Between promoting Winkle Twinkle, post-producing Emperor vs Sarat Chandra and revealing Queen Victoria Aar Goyenda Kanaichawron, the director has now added Maharaja Tomare Selam. It was written in 2021 as a part of a 10-episode series called Doshor on the intertwining lives of two maestros, a part of which was later shuffled out to make Padatik, Mukherji's biopic on Mrinal Sen. At any given time, Mukherji is one of the busiest filmmaker, straddling multiple projects.
The film is expected to start shoot in 2027.
