Ramdhanu

Background

The Indian Parliament passed ‘The Right to Education Act’ or RTE Act - on 4 August 2009. One of the issues addressed is that of school interviews: the act orders that for admission, there should be no interview of parents or children, so as to ensure enrollment for all. But is this ruling applicable to private schools? As the act came into being, the private schools protested, claiming that it violated their right to run themselves without government interference. The act was revised and made non- applicable to unaided, private and boarding schools. And so the interview process continued in private schools, this time disguised behind the term ‘interaction sessions’.

Plot Synopsis

Mitali was a worried mother. This time, once again, her 5-year-old son Gogol had failed to pass the admission test in a reputed school and his application was rejected. This was the fourth time and Mitali was getting desperate. She was determined to get her only son admitted into a reputed school. This was an opportunity that had been denied to her, so she wanted it desperately for her son. Laltu Dutta, her husband, owned a chemist’s shop and all his efforts centered around running his business successfully. He was extremely fond of his family and tried to do his best to fulfill his wife’s aspirations. When Gogol started being rejected school after school, a despondent Mitali took the advice of her friend and kept a tuition teacher to teach Gogol. But soon Mitali got disappointed by the young teacher’s casual attitude and decided to teach Gogol herself. Mitali’s desperation worries Laltu and he decides to try every means to fulfill his wife’s aspirations. He even approaches a tout and is willing to pay him a handsome amount if he can procure admission for his son. The tout claims that he can get his son admitted to any school they desire for a fee of Rs. 10 Lakhs. To Laltu, it was an exorbitant sum. He does not know how to procure that amount. Should he terminate his fixed deposits? But that was the only savings he had! On the other hand, he could not bear to see the disappointment on his wife’s face each time their son was rejected. The family decides to go to Bolpur, in the district of Birbhum, West Bengal, where Mitali’s parents resided. It was a special occasion as her brother was returning home from abroad, after a long time, along with his foreigner wife. The holiday turned out to be most interesting as Jennifer, the brother’s wife, was keen on adapting to traditional Bengali customs, learning the language and insisting on speaking in broken Bengali. In fact, she called Mitali’s insistence on getting her son admitted to an English-medium school and learning the English language as ‘linguistic imperialism’. While Gogol spent a wonderful holiday with his grandparents and his new aunt, Mitali was anxiously waiting for the interview call for her son. When it finally arrives, they rush back home. The three of them attend the interview, but this time, Mitali felt it was Laltu who had ruined her son’s chances by giving ludicrous answers to the questions put by the school’s interview board. Mitali is furious with Laltu. But she is not the one to give up hope so easily. She readies herself for the final bid. On the advice of another parent, Mitali decides to enrol herself along with her husband in a school that coaches parents to conduct themselves at interviews. Laltu is very reluctant at first, but finally gives in to his wife’s persuasions. What follows is poignant as well as hilarious as Laltu tries to learn the language, etiquette and build up confidence to face the toughest of situations. The teacher of the coaching school was a wonderful lady who held their hands and taught them not only how to conduct themselves at interviews but also face difficulties and recognise the worth of life itself! Does Gogol finally get through the interview? Will Mitali be able to fulfil her dreams or does she learn a greater lesson from all this and the importance of her child’s well-being? Gogol, her five-year-old, who loved the song of birds, the flight of kites, the rustling of the leaves, the wide expanse of the blue sky, was his sensitive soul being crushed by the ambitions of his parent? Does Mitali finally look deep into her son’s eye and realise what makes him truly happy? Does she finally follow her heart? Many such moments are captured in the story as it hurtles towards a dramatic climax.

Cast

Crew

Direction

Nandita Roy, also the screen playwright of the film has been working in the film industry for the past 28 years. She has worked in best banners with leading directors and in top production houses. She has worked in many National Award-winning films and television serials. She has directed as well as produced a number of television serials. She was the Creative Director and first Programming Head of ETV Bangla, one of the leading channels of West Bengal and was responsible for its establishment in Kolkata. She is the member of Indian Film Director’s Association, Mumbai and Indian Film Writer’s Association, Mumbai. She has also co-directed Bengali films like Alik Sukh, Icche, Muktodhara and Accident Shiboprosad Mukherjee has been working in the television media for the last 15 years. He was associated with ETV Bangla, a 24 hours satellite channel from its inception and was responsible for its programme designing. He has been involved in several television serials as a producer and as a programme designer. As an actor, he has worked with many leading directors of this film industry. He has also co-directed Bengali films like Alik Sukh, Icche, Muktodhara and Accident .

Casting

Shiboprosad Mukherjee’s acting career began in the year 1997 with director Kumar Shahani ‘Char Adhyay’ (Four Chapters). His next 2 film was with director Rituparno Ghosh, ‘Dahan’ (Crossfire) in 1998 and ‘Bariwali’ (The Landlady or The Lady of the House) in the year 2000, His next film was Jamai no.1 in 1998 with Nitish Roy, followed by Anup Singh Batala’s ‘Ekti Nadir Naam’ (The Name of a River) in 2002. He then turned into actor – director in the films ‘Accident ’ in 2012 and ‘Muktodhara’ in 2012 directed by Nandita Roy and himself. Rachna Banerjee is a popular actress in Oriya and Bengali Film Industry. She has done many films in Oriya, Bengali, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada languages. Her acting career began in 1994. She has acted opposite legendary actors like Amitabh Bachchan in the Hindi film Sooryavansham and Mithun Chakraborty in Oriya and Bengali films. Gargi Roychowdhury, a popular actress of the Bengali screen, began her career as a theatre artist in 1995 with Bohurupee Theatre Group. Her first television work was in 1996 with Rituporno Ghosh’s ‘Bahanno Episodes’. During that time she has also been a newscaster and radio artist. She has been the brand ambassador for many national and international companies.

Box office

After a decent 70% opening on 6 June, 'Ramdhanu' steadily attracted audience, eventually settling for a 100% occupancy across theatres last weekend. It didn't look back. While weekday collections rarely dropped below 70%, this weekend it roared back to a near 100% occupancy. At Priya in south Kolkata, which had a single show, the collections crossed Rs 4.6 lakh in the very first week. Made on a budget of INR 75 lakh, the film opened to a bumper response in the city, notching up in excess of INR 70 lakh by the 3rd weekend and in turn, emerged as the most profitable film of the year so far. It eventually ran for 7-weeks in the direct centres of the city after which it continued for 2 more weeks in the shifted centres.

Response

The film received a good response from the audience. The actors' performances were credited highly. The film also did well in the box-office, especially when it was released with another star studded Bengali film, Game. Quoting the Times of India review, "Ramdhanu is a family drama with a touch of innocence and simplicity that will make you want to watch it again."

Remake

Rajesh Nair, director of Malayalam thriller Escape from Uganda, has remade this film in Malayalam, by the name of Salt Mango Tree. It released on November 6, 2015. Shiboprosad also quipped that they are also planning to remake the film in Hindi.