After a successful theatrical run in Calcutta, followed by a national release across five Indian cities — Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune — Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Dear Maa, starring Jaya Ahsan and Chandan Roy Sanyal in lead roles, is all set for its international release today, starting with the USA and Canada. “This is the biggest release that any Bengali film has seen in recent times in the States. We are releasing the film in more than 50 theatres across North America and also in Canada. These are all mainstream theatres, like Regal and AMC, located in New York, California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and many other places,” said an elated Roy Chowdhury to t2. “Tonight, I have my New York meet-and-greet. People are asking me to visit their states; I am getting calls and texts from all over, I will visit a few,” he added.
The film is being distributed by Bioskope Films’s Naushaba Rubna Rashid and Raj Hameed, who have distributed 50 films in North America so far. Dear Maa marks their 51st film as distributors of works from Bengal, India, and Bangladesh. “We saw the film on a laptop on a small screen, but even that blew us away. It’s an emotional film with a topic about adoption, exploring the dynamic between a birth mother and an adopted mother. The emotions involved were very touching, tugging at the heartstrings. Even though we watched it on a small screen, the direction and the themes Tonyda presented were remarkable. We have been big fans of
Tonyda for many years, and while Jaya takes on the role of a mother for the first time here, she portrays a woman torn between her career and motherhood very beautifully. Once she adopts, the way she embraces her responsibilities and interacts with others is just amazing. This is a timely topic that needed to be discussed, and Tonyda handled it well,” Rubna said.
When asked why he chose a mass release instead of the festival route for the international audience, Roy Chowdhury explained: “Rubna and Raj wanted to go big right after watching the trailer of the film. I want to make films for the audience. I have travelled to various festivals with my other films, but the real joy is in people watching the film in theatres. Raj and Rubna believe in the film and are fully committed to this endeavour. We are experimenting with this film to create an important ecosystem for Bengali films. If Korean and Malayalam films can find success worldwide, why can’t Bengali films? Bengali is a significant language, and reaching audiences with our films is crucial. This will help us secure better budgets for our future projects.”
Discussing their target market and expectations for the mass release, Raj shared: “I was looking for the ‘holy grail’ where I can take a Bengali film and reach the independent crowd in North America. The indie crowd is unique; they tend to have a college education, are financially stable, and love international and subtitled films. I want to break into that demographic. Our initial need arose from the fact that if you’re a producer in Bangladesh, even if you invest in a movie, you can’t expect the local market to return that investment. We are also losing single theatres, which hinders our ability to showcase our films effectively in just our home states of Bengal and Bangladesh. Thus, only home country shows cannot bring profit to a producer. Earlier, people used to call up their friends abroad and request for screenings, we are trying to make the process more effective and professional with our knowledge in distribution gained through our journey since 2017.”
Roy Chowdhury believes that besides social media, word-of-mouth praise has played a significant role in the film’s promotion abroad, and he feels optimistic about its success in those markets. “Whenever I watch a good film here, I call my daughter, who lives in America, and encourage her to watch it. The same has happened with Dear Maa. People living abroad are learning about the film from their relatives in India and are showing curiosity about it. The mother-daughter relationship has universal appeal, regardless of where the film is shown. We are planning to release the film in the UK, Australia, and Dubai, as there is a strong demand from audiences in those areas who have been requesting it for a long time,” said Roy Chowdhury.