Rituparna Sengupta stars as the eponymous heroine in Bela, the biopic on radio personality Bela Dey. The upcoming film will recount the inspiring journey of a woman who empowered millions of others with her immensely popular radio programme, Mohila Mahal.
Dropped recently, the trailer of Bela comprises a collection of moments from Dey’s life story that offers a brief but insight into her personality, her work and the enormous legacy she has left behind. Rituparna brings to life the character of Bela Dey in a moving and sensitive portrayal which bears testament to the actress’s versatility and to the depth and range of her craft as an actor. Tracing the steps taken by Dey before she became famous through her radio programme, Rituparna captures the young Bela’s dreams as a newly-married wife, how she adapts to life in England, her eagerness to learn recipes of Continental cuisine, the sudden crisis in her life and how she decides to cope with it finally.
Rituparna’s portrayal of Dey’s life balances her vulnerabilities and strength, her pain and courage, her stoicism and her optimism to offer a well-rounded and realistic portrait of a woman who became a beacon of light and the symbol of emancipation and empowerment to generations of Bengali women in the post-Independence era. The trailer also suggests how her radio programme served as a window to the world to countless women whose lives were confined to the home and hearth, showing them a totally fresh perspective to life and living. Draped in sober, cotton saris and minimal make-up, Rituparna embodies the dignified and sophisticated elegance of Bela Dey and other women of that era who, through their sustained efforts, strived for the welfare and sought to uplift women by teaching them self-fulfilling ways of leading their lives.
The trailer highlights the massive popularity of Bela Dey’s pioneering programme Mohila Mahal that was presented from national broadcaster Akashvani’s Calcutta radio station and how it positively impacted the lives of Bengali women, especially housewives. The simplicity, sincerity and spontaneity of Dey’s style of presentation are emphasised, which won the hearts of her listeners and made her a household name among Bengalis in that golden era of radio broadcasting.
More than her vastly popular programmes where she shared recipes from around the world or gave tips on stitching, knitting and such other skills and talents of a homemaker, the trailer touches upon her intention to talk about the lives of ordinary women, particularly those from humble backgrounds, who rose above their adversities to take charge of their lives, thus inspiring others and making a difference to society.
As a woman who has been abandoned by her husband, the trailer showcases her resilience and sheds light on the purpose behind her decision to host a programme through which her listeners would develop self-belief, self-confidence and feel empowered and enlightened. The trailer also shows how Dey broke social conventions and traditions to pursue her vision of doing something meaningful and useful with her life, a fact that clearly outlines that the film will also deal with the taboo she faced as a woman venturing out to work in a field considered a male domain.
The trailer, which includes a reference to her memoir, suggests that Bela Dey’s story will perhaps be played out in flashback in the film. Basabdatta Chatterjee, Biswajit Chakraborty, Bhadra Basu, Debdut Ghosh, Manasi Sinha, Bhaswar Chatterjee, Mir Afsar Ali and others are also seen briefly in the trailer and are expected to portray important roles in Bela, written and directed by Anilava Chatterjee.
