Suman Ghosh's 'Kabuliwala' Finds Audience in US Theaters, Attracts Bengali Diaspora
Mithun Chakraborty Starrer Released in 20 US Locations Across 14 States; Highlights the Unique Bond in an Adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore's Tale
On February 2, Suman Ghosh's most recent movie Kabuliwala debuted in theaters in 20 US locations spread across 14 states. Kabuliwala, starring Mithun Chakraborty in the lead role, debuted in Indian theaters around Christmas week in December 2023.
"I'm happy that this has a normal US release schedule and that it came out in the US only one month after it was launched in India. The crowd is going crazy, as I can see. Individuals are traveling in groups. Suman, who adapted Rabindranath Tagore's short tale Kabuliwala and drew inspiration from Tapan Sinha's 1957 cult hit, remarked, "It's a good feeling."
The central theme of the narrative is on the remarkable bond that develops between seven-year-old Mini (Anumegha Kahali) and Rahmat Ali (Mithun), an elderly Afghan immigrant who makes his living by selling shawls and dried fruits on the streets of Kolkata. The second Indo-Pakistani war is the setting for Suman's adaption, which takes place in the 1960s and features Abir Chatterjee and Sohini Sarkar as Mini's parents.
Director Suman Ghosh during a Nandan, Kolkata, screening with child performer Anumegha Kahali, who portrays Mini.
Director Suman Ghosh during a Nandan, Kolkata, screening with child performer Anumegha Kahali, who portrays Mini.
A Bengali movie being released theatrically in the US is an exception rather than the rule, and Suman has brought Kabuliwala to areas of the country where there is a substantial Bengali diaspora.
"I've always puzzled why Bangla films never have a regular release schedule, yet Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam films premiere in the US like any other Hollywood film and their viewers go to the theaters to see them too. Of course, there are one-off movie screenings here; maybe in the Bay Area, where there are a lot of Bengalis living, but it might just be for one show over the weekend, Suman said to The Telegraph Online.
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Suman emphasized the business side of a Bengali movie being released in the US, stating that these screenings will bring in money for the film industry. You're still restricting yourself if you confine Bengali movie theater screenings to the West Bengal market alone (streaming services like Hoichoi, of course, have expanded outside of Bengal). The economics of Bengali films would benefit greatly from tapping into the sizable diaspora market, said the National Award-winning director, whose most recent picture, The Scavenger of Dreams, had its global debut at the Busan International Film Festival in 2023 and is gaining praise from critics.
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