Editors:

Reffat Ferdous, Assistant Professor, Department of Television, Film and Photography, Dhaka University

Sreejata Paul, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Shiv Nadar University Delhi-NCR

Subham Dutta, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Gokhale Memorial Girls’ College (Affiliated to University of Calcutta)

The proposed volume seeks to offer insights into the transformative impact of the films of Srijit Mukherji (b. 23rd September 1977) on the landscape of postmillennial urban cinema. Till 2024, the following twenty-five films by Mukherji have been released: Autograph (2010), Baishe Srabon (2011), Hemlock Society (2012), Mishawr Rawhoshyo (2013), Jaatishwar (2014), Chotushkone (2014), Nirbaak (2015), Rajkahini (2015), Zulfiqar (2016), Begum Jaan (2017),Yeti Obhijaan (2017), Uma (2018), Ek Je Chhilo Raja (2018), Shahjahan Regency (2019), Vinci Da (2019), Gumnaami (2019), Dwitiyo Purush (2020), Kakababur Protyaborton (2022), X=Prem (2022), Sherdil: The Pilbhit Saga (2022), Shabaash Mithu (2022), Dawshom Awbotaar (2023), Oti Uttam (2024), Padatik (2024), Tekka (2024). Shotyi Bole Shotyi Kichhu Nei is slated to be released on 23rd January 2025. While this number testifies to Mukherji’s prolificity as a filmmaker, the themes that his films explore underline his dexterity in dealing with multiple and eclectic genres: tragedy, romantic comedy, dark comedy, social drama, thriller, historical drama, biopic, etc. Predominantly known for his contribution to Bangla cinema, Mukherji has also carved out a substantial niche in the Hindi film industry. 

Economic liberalisation since 1991, the turn of the century and the entry into the new millennium significantly altered the cultures of film production, consumption and dissemination in India. Departing from the institutional bindings and cultural imaginaries of the social realist films of the previous eras (Tiwari 2024: 14-15), postmillennial cinema emerged with a distinct set of aesthetic, formal and thematic designs (Sidhar Wright 2015: 6)  A series of socioeconomic and cultural changes, including the growth and penetration of the digital world and the proliferation of multiplex culture into semi-urban and rural spaces, re-configured the social imaginary of Indian cinema (Biswas 2011, Sarkar 2012, Sidhar Wright 2015). 

This shift can be aligned with the growing visibility of what Fernandes (2006) dubs the new middle class in India’s societal firmament, which coincided with the rise of shopping malls with multiplexes and the concomitant diminution of single-screen theatres. The postmillennial Bangla film industry adapted itself to these cultural changes in the processes of film production, dissemination, and consumption. Nag and Bhattacharya (2021) show how the emergence of a production house like Shree Venkatesh Films gradually blurred the watertight divisions between massy, hero-centric films directed predominantly by Ravi Kinagi, Haranath Chakraborty and Swapan Saha among others, and the more cerebral and sensitive “parallel” cinema directly mainly by Rituparno Ghosh and Aparna Sen (57-103).

This changing aesthetic landscape augured the rise of a “fashionable, stylized, sleek and polished […] middle-of-the-road cinema” (Nag and Bhattacharya 2021: 85) with iconic heroes, intricate plot structures, and psychological depth. The increasing focus on Mukherji as the poster child of Tollywood in the post-Rituparno or post-2014 era promoted this brand of cinema as the new mainstream. Moreover, Mukherji adeptly integrated social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter into the promotion of his films and managed to reach out to a wider audience through pre-release posters, trailers, songs, and reviews, a culture ushered into Bollywood from the first decade of the new millennium. While some of his films were received well, especially his early works and recently Padatik, some were pilloried (see Biswas, Indian Express Online, 22 Oct. 2023 for instance) and parodied vehemently (such as “Parody Likhhche Bidhata”, Youtube 2015). This kind of polarization opened up a new dimension of film criticism, where not only the films but also the director’s social media presence became a constant point of interaction and engagement. As Dasgupta (2023) shows, the integration of social media into film promotion, thereby, opened up an alternative orientation to film reception in Tollywood beyond the institutional markers of conventional media.  

Mukherji’s cinema explores the thematic tensions between reality and art, the individual and society, and history and memory. While Rajkahini portrays the story of a kotha (brothel) afflicted by the Partition and presents it as a site of resistance, Jaatishwar ventures into the story of Anthony Phiringee, the Portuguese-born musician from the late eighteenth century, through the register of cultural history accessed by reincarnation and individual memory. In Autograph and Chotushkone, Mukherji weaves plots around the dark side of stardom. Uma brings together a failed director’s final quest for a masterpiece and a father’s relentless mission to save the life of his child. Sherdil, Padatik, and Tekka address environmental, social, and economic injustices. Ek Je Chhilo Raja, Gumnaami, X=Prem, and Shotyi Bole Shotyi Kichhu Nei dwell on the legal and ethical grey areas of ‘official’ narratives. Nirbaak takes an unconventional approach towards the romantic dyad. Hemlock Society disseminates a crucial message about suicide prevention. Mukherji's films, thus, not only portray characters with radical transformative urges, but also bring to the fore social, cultural, and political insecurities of the times they live with and confront. 

Over the past fifteen years, Mukherji has remained the most conspicuous filmmaker in the Bangla film industry, as evidenced by the thematic diversity, popular engagement, and critical reception of his films. It is pertinent to explore and understand how Mukherji’s films resonate with audiences both within and beyond Bangla-speaking regions (including diasporic communities outside of India and Bangladesh), how they remain in aesthetic and cultural dialogues with the mainstream and arthouse cinemas of India, and how they are instrumental in engaging with the changing tides of the postmillennial public sphere. To initiate a discussion on the above, this volume plans to bring together chapters of about 7500 words each on one or more (thematically related) films of Srijit Mukherji. 

 Possible broad topics may include, but are not limited to:

● Representation of gender in Srijit Mukherji's films

● Representation of class-caste in Srijit Mukherji's Films

● Representation of religious identity in the films of Srijit Mukherji

● Representation of space in the films of Srijit Mukherji

● Death in the films of Srijit Mukherji

● Loneliness in the films of Srijit Mukherji

● Forms of resistance in the films of Srijit Mukherji

● Truth and objectivity in the films of Srijit Mukherji

● Love and desire in the films of Srijit Mukherji

● Memory in the films of Srijit Mukherji

● History and temporality in the films of Srijit Mukherji

● Nature and the non-human in the films of Srijit Mukherji

● Music in the films of Srijit Mukherji

● Frame narrative and fourth wall in the films of Srijit Mukherji

● Srijit Mukherji as an ‘Indian’ filmmaker

● Reception of Srijit Mukherji’s films by diasporic audiences

● Srijit Mukherji and social media

● Srijit Mukherji’s fandom

● Srijit Mukherji’s cop universe

● Srijit Mukherji and adaptation

● Srijit Mukherji and Bangla literature

● Srijit Mukherji and Bangla arthouse cinema

● Srijit Mukherjee and middle-of-the-road cinema

To indicate your interest in being part of the volume, please send a short abstract (250 words) and a brief bio-note (50 words) to srijitmukherjivolume@gmail.comon or before 15 March 2025.

The book will be released through a reputed international publisher.