April 01, 2026 05:23 pm (IST)
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80s cabaret dancer role has special charm: Rituparna
Kolkata, Feb 23 (IBNS) Tollywood diva Rituparna Sengupta now comes up in a role of cabaret dancer of the 80s’ era Kolkata night club in a Bengali thriller by Bollywood art director Nitish Roy.
Rituparna tells IBNS her character in Todonto has traces of enigmatic seductresses across ages – from the female character of the 50s Merilyn Monroe to 70s famed cabaret dancer in Kolkata Miss Shefali, nee Arati Das, in short all such women – dissected in the eyes of a patriarchal society without trying to know her side of the story.
“It was a challenge to portray such a role steeped in the 80s, which always holds special charm for me. The times have changed but when I look at the films and music of that age, I see it as a transition from the retro to the more contemporary,” she says.
Rituparna rates Raat Baki Baat Baki and Dum Maro Dum as her two favourite numbers of the past, the two evergreen chartbusters, she grew up listening to in her teen days.
Singer Jojo, who has lent her voice to one beat-based number, retaining the 80s era, says lots of instrumentation like saxophone and trombone were used in the music of that time, the time when people and singers alike would wait for Bengali light modern songs and the songs would remain in public memory for years.
“Todonto has sought to bring back that flavor in story line and music,” she says.
Director Nitish Roy, who had first debuted in direction in Ek Poshla Bristi in 1989 and later made Gosaibaganer Bhoot, says Rituparna delivered an unbelievable performance in the film and became the character herself.
Theatre personality Goutam Halder, in his first role in Bengali feature film, enacted the role of pimp of the seedy night club, the ones having dotted the stretch of central Kolkata in the 80s, while theatre actor-film actor Debshankar Halder enacted the role of a cop who will come to know about Rituparna’s life and how she is trapped by the racket, as women are through the ages, and rescue her.
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