India's leading OTT platform Zee5 will premiere Ram Kamal Mukherjee's Hindi digital feature A Tribute To Rituparno Ghosh: Season's Greetings on April 15. The film marked the return of Bollywood actor Celina Jaitly Haag post marriage and motherhood and revolves around a mother-daughter relationship with a twist. Thespian and fIlm actor Lillete Dubey plays the role of the mother, while Celina plays the role of the daughter. Debutant actor Azhaar Khan plays Celina's boyfriend, while transgender actor Shree Ghatak plays the role of Chapala the house-help.
The film has already earned appreciation at several film festivals including the prestigious Cardiff International Film Festival and Rajasthan International Film Festival earlier this year. "I thank Tarun Katiyal and Jay Pandya from Zee5 for showing faith in my vision. They have always selected unique content and I am glad that my film will be a part of their Short Film Festival. Poila Baishak (Bengali New Year) is an auspicious day for us, and since the film is set in Kolkata and pays tribute to Bengal's most loved filmmaker, this is the best time to release it," tells Ram Kamal.
Produced by Aritra Das and Shailendra Kumar under the banner of Assorted Motion Pictures and SS1 Entertainment respectively, the film has been shot extensively in Kolkata. The music has been composed by Shailendra Sayanti Kumar Sanu's son Jaan Kumar Sanu has been introduced as a playback singer. Two other tracks are rendered by Sayani Palit and Sarbani Mukherjee. Incidentally, the first look of the film was launched by none other than Amitabh Bachchan.
Producer Aritra Das says, "It takes a lot to make a feature and then release it at the right platform. Though the time is gloomy and people are locked down at home, I feel that this film will bring a smile to their faces," feels Aritra Das, adding that they have decided to go digital with the film's entire promotion keeping the safety of people in mind.
"I trusted Ram Kamal and his way of storytelling. This is a very special one for all of us, and I am sure Rituparno Ghosh will be happy with this homage. When we were filming this, we could have never imagined that a mutant flu virus could sabotage the pre-release promotions. Life is unpredictable, but we have decided to continue to see the promise of spring in the depth of winters and are sure our film will be just what you need to keep your spirits high," says Celina Jaitly Haag from Austria.
"Season’s Greetings will be a part of ZEE5 Short Film Festival, with eight other distinctive films across genres that will be released on April 15 as well. Season’s Greetings deals with human emotions, interwoven with many contemporary social aspects which one needs to address and has powerful performances by Celina Jaitly Haag and Lillete Dubey,” says Aparna Acharekar, programming head of ZEE5 India.