Parambrata Chatterjee and Raima Sen, starring “Reunion” premiered at the Dubai film festival on 1st of May, 2019. It later had a theatrical release in the UAE making it the first ever Bengali to be screened in the Arab nation.
The Gulf region has perpetually been popular with Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam releases. This movie has also had a great welcome in Dubai, and a great opportunity to see that a Bengali film has made it to the theatres of the Gulf Region.
“It’s a great moment for people that love Bengali cinema here. ‘Reunion’, a Bengali film to release in Dubai for the first time, has all the commercial and emotional components that you just anticipate in a film. it’ll fill you nostalgically,” said producer Subhajit Rakshit. It’s his 1st film production and the UAE-based director was keen to bring it to the current region that sees mostly Hindi and South Indian language films taking part in the cinemas.
“With Reunion running successfully at UAE cinemas, the Bengali community has finally had a movie of their own to cheer about. “Bringing a Bengali language film to the community in UAE was one among my long-cherished dreams,” said producer Subhajit Rakshit. “It wasn’t easy to release a Bengali film on a huge commercial scale to the UAE, however with the release of Reunion here, that dream has come true – and we are flooded by the love and support from the community here,” he added.
This is the first time a star-studded commercial Bengali film, starring Raima Sen, Parambrata Chatterjee, and Anindita Bose, are released in the theaters of Dubai. Generally, the Bengali community in the UAE depends on festivals or their annual vacations to India to get pleasure from Bengali cinema. However, the trend is currently changed.
“Reunion” hits the UAE theatres on May 2, 2019, which was coincidently the birth anniversary of Oscar winner and legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray. The film, exploring the murky world of student politics in universities and colleges of India, is going to release in theaters of UAE on May 2, 2019.
The actors of Reunion are equally excited about its UAE screening, Raima Sen describes “Reunion”, set within the 1990s college days, as a relevant film which is suitable for the politically-charged times we live in.
“There’s plenty to enjoy in such a relevant film like ‘Reunion’. you will feel nostalgic and you’ll enjoy our sincere performances. simply just don’t overthink it,” said Raima Sen in an interview over the phone, while she won’t be attending the UAE premiere screening at Dubai festival city on May 1, her sister Riya Sen will be there on her behalf.
“I even shot the film in the Kalyani university that I studied in. Reunion has many authentic locations,” said Rakshit.
The film focuses on the nostalgia of old college friends reunite after a long, when they had become busy in their own lives, and finally meets after a long time. This movie focuses on a university in Bengal and it’s life and how can university’s student politics involved in students lives and the related violence be left behind? ‘Reunion’ focuses on mixing the longing bond to a walk down the memory lane with the brutality of hardheaded politics.
‘Reunion’ sees Parambrata Chatterjee and Raima Sen teaming up once again after Kaushik Ganguly’s ‘Bastu Shaap’ which was released back in 2016. Directed by Murari Mohan Rakshit, the film also stars Anindya Banerjee, Anindita Bose, and Sabyasachi Chakraborty. The film is actually a tale of a bunch of university friends who reunite after a hiatus of 20 years – and the succeeding dramatic flip of events that spring forth from the volatile student politics of the decade of the 1990s.
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Raima plays the role of an independent girl Monideepa in the film. The film truly stands on the strength of two shining performances by Parambrata and Raima. Seasoned performers as they always are, the couple would have carried this off in their sleep as well and it’s the presence of the two acting powerhouses that provides the film its elegiac undertones, and an open-ended climax.
Hopefully, the experience of Reunion will also facilitate to impress community efforts to bring more commercially produced Bengali cinema to the UAE region in the future. Until then, you can always enjoy a screening of Reunion at a cinema close to you.
