Debutant director Jayabrata Das’s controversial Bengali film The Academy Of Fine Arts has begun streaming on Bangla ZEE 5, but there’s a catch. The feature film debuted in a six-episode series format on the streamer.

Titled The Academy Of Fine Arts: The Series Raw & Uncensored, the dark comedy action thriller features the film's raw and uncensored version. The cast includes Rudranil Ghosh, Payel Sarkar, late Rahul Arunoday Banerjee, Sourav Das, Rishav Basu, Anuradha M, Rishika Nag, Sudip Mukherjee and Rahul Saha in key roles.

The series follows the story of Porichoy Gupto, a mysterious mastermind who recruited five criminals — Dinabandhu (Rudranil Ghosh), Rakhal (Rahul Arunoday Banerjee), Bireshwar (Amit Saha), Sachin (Rishav Basu) and Jibonto (Sourav Das) — to steal a priceless antique wine bottle from ruthless gang leader Kim Ling (Sudip Mukherjee).

As the plot unfolds, the group finds itself trapped in a web of betrayal, bloodshed and personal entanglements as the seemingly ideal heist spirals into a violent showdown.

“At Bangla ZEE5, every month we endeavour to showcase something new, engaging and entertaining for our viewers across all genres,” said Ms Rusa Banerjee, Business Head, Bangla ZEE5.

“The unique narrative laced with raw action sequences with a fine blend of humour, romance and suspense will be a one-of-its-kind experience for the audience. We are super excited to bring this gritty series for our dynamic audience,” she added.

The series is jointly produced by Prateek Chakravorty and Saumya Sarkar, and co-produced by Sanket Mishra and Manab Saha.

The Academy of Fine Arts faced several challenges during its theatrical release. The November 14, 2025 release was halted after objections from the technicians’ body over the alleged non-involvement of professional Tollygunge technicians.

Made in 2021 by Das and his film school colleagues with significant funding, the film’s director insisted it was strictly a “student film” and therefore there was no mandatory requirement to employ federation members.

Countering this, federation president Swarup Biswas questioned why none of the professional technicians was involved in a project made with a substantial budget and intended for commercial release.

The film finally released a week later.