Bengali cinema is in a Kolkata rut. Can Sundarbans goddess Bonbibi pull it out?

Kolkata: A giant statue of Lord Jagannath presides inside film producer Rana Sarkar’s spacious South Kolkata office. But Sarkar, known in West Bengal for his award-winning films, hit series, and acerbic tongue alike, is currently obsessed with another divine being—Bonbibi, the enigmatic goddess of the Sundarbans, who is headlining his next film. He wants to bring her from the mangroves to the silver screen not just for profit but the opportunity to draw in rural audiences to Kolkata-obsessed Bengali cinema.

Bonbibi, the goddess of the jungle, never featured in the grand pantheon of mainstream Bengali divinities—either Sanskritik or tantrik. She dwelled only the Sundarbans mangrove, a guardian spirit in a land of man-eating tigers and ‘tiger widows’. She gained wider recognition only as recently as two decades ago through novelist Amitav Ghosh’s book The Hungry Tide.

Now, with the 1 March release of Bonbibi, starring Parno Mittra, Sohini Sarkar, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, and Rupanjana Mitra, among others, Sarkar says he is hoping for the goddess’s divine and cinematic intervention to jolt the Bengali film industry out of a rut.

“You will not find an audience for Bengali cinema 20 kilometres outside Kolkata’s borders,” Sarkar, 46, rues. “But they come out to watch dubbed versions of South Indian films like Kantara, KGF, and Pushpa. This is happening because we have become an industry that either produces cinema for the city audience or does poor copies of Bollywood films for the masses. With Bonbibi, I am trying to change that.”

Producer Rana Sarkar | Photo by special arrangement

While the popular web series Byomkesh (2017-2023) might currently be his most recognisable project outside West Bengal, Sarkar says the productions closest to his heart are the films Ranjana Ami ar Ashbona (2011), Jaatishwar (2014), and Manobjomin (2023). Ranjana, a musical about an aging rockstar, garnered three national awards; Jaatishwar, inspired by the 19th-century Portuguese-origin folk-poet Anthony Firingee, bagged four Filmfare awards; and the drama Manobjomin received mixed reviews. Yet, for Sarkar, a film’s value lies not in accolades but its ability to break new ground. “Cinema should provoke and take us out of our comfort zone, but also tell a story beautifully,” he says.

Everybody is copying everybody else. But the audience is looking for authenticity.

-Rajdeep Ghosh, ‘Bonbibi’ director

 

The comfort zone Sarkar seeks to escape through Bonbibi is Kolkata’s urban milieu, the dominant setting of Bengali cinema. On top of this, there’s a preoccupation with the older generation of directors and actors, evident in biopics and tributes to figures like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, and Uttam Kumar. It’s almost as if there’s no Bengal outside Kolkata, Sarkar observes. The upcoming venture, set in the Sundarbans, therefore, is relatively unchartered territory. “I pray for Bonbibi’s blessings,” he says with a smile.

Bonbibi unfolds in the mystic mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, exploring the unforgiving existence of tiger widows—women whose husbands have been claimed by the jungle’s fiercest predator.

 

The ‘Kantara’ effect

When Bengali movie buffs swarmed to catch the 2022 Kannada hit Kantara (Mystical Forest), it hit Sarkar like a bolt of lightning—a hyperlocal story well told has the power of drawing in a much wider audience. Set in a coastal Karnataka village, Kantara blends folklore, action, indigenous cultures, and even an ecological message in an entertaining package.

“How many people outside a thin slice of the southern belt were aware of Buta Kola, the highly stylised dance performance for local spirits? I am deeply religious myself and am a devotee of Lord Jagannath. But Kantara exposed me to a part of the Indic tradition that I had little knowledge of,” says Sarkar. “Watching Kantara, I realised what we are missing here in the Bengali film industry is authenticity. Either we make films for the Kolkata crowd or we copy masala Hindi and South cinema.”

The shamanistic Buta Kola dance, as depicted in Kantara | YouTube screengrab

Rajdeep Ghosh, the director of Bonbibi, adds that this elusive “authenticity” is something that audiences want too, but no one is catering to the demand.

“Everybody is copying everybody else,” he says. “But the audience is looking for authenticity. If you cannot give her a unique viewing experience, she would prefer to watch content in the home theatre rather than take the trouble of going to the cinema hall.”

The goal isn’t to imitate Kantara and merely give it a Bengali twist, but rather to adopt a similar approach of  representing subregional cultures and issues in a way that resonates with a wider audience.

Bonbibi director Rajdeep Ghosh (standing, left) at work in the Sunderbans | Photo: Facebook/@Arya Dasgupta

To make the film more accessible, Sarkar says he is in talks with film distributors to reduce ticket prices for Bonbibi. He also plans to hold special screenings for the inhabitants of the Sundarbans. “The idea behind reduced ticket prices is to draw more people to the cinemas,” he says. “I could have released the film on OTT, but as a producer I have a responsibility towards Bengali cinema that has been struggling for decades now.”

This need to reconnect with Bangali-ana, a sense of pride in the state’s cultural heritage, isn’t just recognised by the filmmakers.

“I am happy this film’s makers have at least stepped out of South Kolkata and gone to explore the Sundarbans,” says film publicist Indranil Roy.

A goddess of Arabic origin, Bonbibi, the lady of the forest, transcends religious lines, and is worshipped as a guardian spirit by both Muslims and Hindus in the Sundarbans.

A scene from ‘Bonbibi’ showcasing the sweeping beauty of the Sundarbans | Screengrab

Bonbibi and Sundarbans politics

Bonbibi unfolds in the mystic mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, exploring the unforgiving existence of tiger widows—women whose husbands have been claimed by the jungle’s fiercest predator. Deemed cursed and shunned as ‘swami khejos’ (husband eaters), they are often cast out of their marital homes and forbidden from eking out a living in the forest.

With tiger-human conflicts increasing in the region, due to shrinking habitats and more people returning post-pandemic, the number of such widows has also grown. While cases tend to be underreported, according to data from the NGO Goranbose Gram Bikash Kendra (GGBK), there were 30 attacks in 2019, 78 in 2020 and 60 in 2021.

Parno Mittra as ‘tiger widow’ Resham in Bonbibi | Screengrab

In the drama film, which weaves together mythological and contemporary threads, a tiger widow, Resham, falls for a local musician, Himon. However, the local gang lord Jahangir, both a protector and oppressor of tiger widows, opposes their love. The young widow’s fight against Jahangir’s tyranny forms the heart of the story, mirroring the legendary feud between Bonbibi and her arch rival Dakshin Rai, ruler of beasts and demons.

In Bonbibi, tiger widows come out in protest against Jahangir in pretty much the same way Sandeshkhali widows have come out against Trinamool’s Sheikh Shahjahan

-Rana Sarkar, producer

There’s a real-world parallel too. Sarkar acknowledges that Jahangir’s portrayal as a ruthless Muslim don ruling with an iron fist might evoke comparisons to Sheikh Shahjahan, a Trinamool Congress leader accused of similar actions in the region.

The TMC leader and his associates face allegations of land grabbing and sexual assault against women in Sandeshkhali village. Local women, who have been protesting for Shajahan’s arrest, have alleged that the situation had become so dire that they had stopped venturing out after sunset due to fear of “humiliation and molestation”. Sheikh has been absconding ever since an Enforcement Directorate team tried to arrest him in another case on 5 January but were allegedly attacked by his supporters.

“You cannot avoid politics from seeping into art,” Sarkar says. “In Bonbibi, tiger widows come out in protest against Jahangir in pretty much the same way Sandeshkhali widows have come out against Trinamool’s Sheikh Shahjahan.”

A still from ‘Bonbibi’ that are somewhat reminiscent of the ongoing protests in Sandeshkhali | Photo by special arrangement

Sarkar clarifies, however, that Bonbibi was filmed before the current crisis began in Sandeshkhali. “It is like Valmiki writing the Ramayan before the arrival of Ram,” he jokes.

The essence of the film, according to Sarkar, is not about the conflict but about how integral Bonbibi is to the Sundarbans, where she is venerated as a protector from evil. “My film is about exploring the Bonbibi within,” he says.

 

A syncretic goddess

A goddess of Arabic origin, Bonbibi, the lady of the forest, transcends religious lines, and is worshipped as a guardian spirit by both Muslims and Hindus in the Sundarbans. People here risk life and limb every time they go out to collect honey from the forest or go fishing in the river. They place their faith in Bonbibi for protection from the dangers lurking in the dark, swampy depths—crocodiles, man-eating beasts, and even the shape-shifting demon king Dakshin Rai, who often appears in the guise of a tiger.

A scene from Bonbibi imagines the shape-shifting Dakshin Rai | Screengrb

Attempts by some within the Hindu community to rename her to the more Sanskritised “Bonodebi” and criticisms from some Muslims citing Islam’s prohibition of idol worship haven’t eroded her status. Bonbibi is still for everyone.

“Bonbibi is worshipped by the margins of Bengali society,” says Anamitra Anurag Danda, director of the Sundarbans programme for the World Wide Fund For Nature. “She was never a mainstream goddess but she is integral to the Sundarbans story. It’s a shape-shifting archipelago where settlements dissolve into rivers and new islands are formed. A syncretic culture sustains a people who lead a hard life.”

Danda says he hopes the film will not only make Bonbibi’s story more popular but draw attention to the precarious living conditions of the islanders. “With tiger attacks, snake bites, crocodile-infested rivers, as well as the vagaries of nature, the Sundarbans need serious attention apart from Bonbibi’s blessings to survive,” he says.

(Edited by Asavari Singh)