Singapore-based impact production company Hazelnut Media has acquired international rights to Bengali feature film Pinjar, directed by Kolkata physician-filmmaker Dr. Rudrajit Roy.
The company will also support the film’s release with an initiative promoting education for girls in rural West Bengal. The agreement was marked in Kolkata with a white dove release ceremony, reflecting the film’s central theme of liberation.
Pinjar is scheduled for a theatrical release in India on July 10.
Produced by Chasing Dreams Films in association with Bell Jar Films, Pinjar follows the story of Tarak, a bird-catcher who survives by trapping the freedom he himself lacks; his daughter Jhimli, who comes of age in a restrictive environment; Paromita, a widowed teacher grappling with loneliness; Shefali, a working wife concealing domestic abuse; and Iqbal, a migrant Muslim man searching for acceptance in the city.
Their journeys are linked by a wild bird that is captured, traded and confined, symbolising their shared yearning for freedom.
The ensemble cast includes Mamata Shankar, Joy Sengupta, Sagnik Mukherjee, Mallika Banerjee Roy, Satakshi Nandy, Ishan Mazumder, Tathagata Mukherjee, Swastidipa Rabidas and Samiul Alam.
Manas Bhattacharyya served as director of photography, while Ratul Shankar composed the music. Pluto Music has acquired the film’s music rights.
“From the very beginning, we believed in ‘Pinjar’s’ power to move hearts and spark change,” said Hazelnut Media co-CEOs Olivier A. Dock and Isabella Sreyashii Sen told Variety in a statement. “Our commitment has been to stand behind the film and its makers, ensuring its story of resilience and freedom reaches audiences worldwide while creating tangible impact on the ground.”
“Pinjar was born from the image of a bird in a cage, a metaphor for the boundaries that shape human lives,” said Roy. “My vision was to invite viewers to reflect on the cages we inherit and the quiet human desire to transcend them.”
Since its world premiere at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival in 2025, Pinjar has screened at the Asian Film Festival Barcelona, the International Indian Film Festival Toronto, the Indian Film Festival of Sydney, the London Bengali Film Festival, the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal and Haapifest.
Roy also received a best director special jury mention at the Third Eye Asian Film Festival in Mumbai.