Devi Chowdhurani (2025 film)

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Devi Chowdhurani
Devi Chowdhurani- Bandit Queen Of Bengal (2025) poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Subhrajit Mitra
Written byBankim Chandra Chatterjee
Screenplay by Subhrajit Mitra
Story by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Based on Devi Chaudhurani
Produced by
  • Aniruddha Dasgupta
  • Aparna Dasgupta
  • Hassan Choudhury
Starring
CinematographyAnirban Chatterjee
Edited bySujay Dutta Ray
Music by Bickram Ghosh
Production
companies
  • ADited Motion Pictures
  • LOK Studios
  • HC Films
  • Moringa Studios
Distributed by Reliance Entertainment
SSR Cinemas
Release date
  • 26 September 2025 (2025-09-26)
Running time
134 minutes
CountriesIndia
United Kingdom
United States [1]
Language Bengali
Budget₹20–25 crore

Devi Chowdhurani is an Indian Bengali-language period action-adventure film directed by Subhrajit Mitra. [1] [2] Based on Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's novel of Devi Chaudhurani, the film is produced by Aniruddha Dasgupta and Aparna Dasgupta under the banner of ADited Motion Pictures (USA) and co-produced by Hassan Choudhury under the banner of HC Films Limited (UK). [3]

Contents

Devi Chaudhurani stars Srabanti Chatterjee in the titular role, alongside Prosenjit Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Alexx O'Nell, Arjun Chakrabarty, Bibriti Chatterjee, Kinjal Nanda, Darshana Banik, Carl Harte, and Dr. Priyadarshini G. Roy in other pivotal roles. [4] [5]

Principal photography commenced in January 2024, with filming taking place in Kolkata and Purulia, West Bengal. After being delayed multiple times, the film was released in the theatres on 26 September 2025. [6] [7]

Premise

Set in the 18th century, the period drama follows Prafulla's transformation from an innocent young girl into Devi Chaudhurani, a powerful bandit queen. [8] [2] [4]

Cast

Production

Development

In August 2023, it was reported that filming would begin in March 2024. The film is produced by Aniruddha Dasgupta and Aparna Dasgupta under the banner of ADited Motion Pictures, with Hassan Choudhury as co-producer under Hc Films Limited. Devi Chaudhurani is one of the most expensive Indian Bengali films ever made, with a budget of ₹25 crore. Besides directing, Subhrajit Mitra wrote the screenplay based on the novel Devi Chaudhurani by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and also wrote the dialogues. Pradyumna Kumar Swain was hired as the action choreographer. [13]

Casting

Srabanti at the shooting of the film Chobiyal in 2019.jpg
Chatterjee at CCL Launch.jpg
Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Addresses - Group Exhibition Inauguration - PAD - Kolkata 2016-07-29 5308.JPG
Arjun Chakrabarty 4.jpg
Srabanti, Prosenjit, Sabyasachi and Arjun (left to right)

The film marks Sabyasachi Chakraborty's comeback to films. [11] [14] [15] In January 2023, Sabyasachi Chakraborty attended the 21st Dhaka International Film Festival in Bangladesh (East Bengal) as a special guest, where he told the media that he would be retiring from films for some time. [16] [17] [18] However, Devi Choudhurani: Bandit Queen of Bengal's director Subhrajit Mitra chose Sabyasachi Chakrabarty to play the role of Zamindar Haravallav Ray in May 2023. Srabanti Chatterjee will play the role of Devi Chaudhurani, [10] while Prosenjit Chatterjee will portray Bhavani Pathak, an important character in the film. [1] [9] Indraneil Sengupta was initially cast as Rangaraj, but actor Arjun Chakraborty was eventually roped in for the role. [12] [19] [20] The film went to the floors on 27 January 2024. [21]

Filming

The film was initially planned to begin shooting in November 2023 with around 250 crew members. However, delays pushed the start of filming to January 2024. [22] Filming began on 27 January 2024 in North Kolkata, at Jimmy Laha's house. At that time, Srabanti Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Kinjal Nanda, and Darshana Banik took part in the shoot. On 28 January, the crew and production team arrived in Purulia district for the remaining shoot of the first phase. Srabanti was joined by Bibriti Chatterjee, Arjun Chakrabarty, and Dr. Priyadarshini G. Roy during filming. Various scenes were shot at the Ajodhya Hills and its foothills in Purulia, including sequences in the deep forest. Some fight scenes were filmed here, featuring talwar and bow and arrow combat. These scenes were shot between 28 January and the first week of February at various locations in Purulia district. [21]

The second phase was filmed in Birbhum and Kolkata in West Bengal, as well as in the states of Jharkhand and Bihar. [23] Prosenjit Chatterjee, who plays the character of Bhavani Charan Pathak, joined the shoot for this phase. [21]

Marketing

In late 2024, the makers unveiled the official pre-teaser, announcing that Devi Chaudhurani would be released in theatres on 1 May 2025. On 22 March 2025, the official teaser, starring Prosenjit Chatterjee and Srabanti Chatterjee, was released. [24] On 8 May 2025, the film’s teaser was showcased at the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in Mumbai. [25]

The makers announced "Bengal Tour" on 6 September 2025, to promote the film across several towns in West Bengal including Kolkata (Binodiini Theatre) on 7 September 2025, Raiganj (Surendranath College) on 9 September 2025, Malda (PRM Center Point Mall) on 9 September 2025, Barasat (Barasat Government College) on 11 September 2025, Howrah (Betai Jayanti Athletic Club) on 18 September 2025, Madhyamgram (Star Mall) on 19 September 2025, Durgapur (Chaturdanga City Center) on 22 September 2025, Tarapith (Tarapith Mandir) on 12 September 2025 and Burdwan (Sabuj Sangha) on 23 September 2025 in a Devi Chowdhurani themed bus, featuring the characters in giant posters all over the bus. [26]

Release

On 28 May 2025, the producers announced that Devi Chowdhurani would now be released in cinemas during Durga Puja 2025, shifting from its earlier May release window. [27] It was released in the theatrical screens on 26 September 2025. [28]

Reception

Critical reception

Eshna Bhattacharya of The Times of India rated the film 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Despite these imperfections, Devi Chowdhurani is a landmark attempt - ambitious in scope, respectful to its literary roots, and unafraid to reinterpret when necessary. Its greatest triumph lies in how it revives Bankim’s heroine with dignity and fire, reminding audiences of her relevance as both history and myth." She applauded Srabanti and Prosenjit's peerformances, transition in Srabanti's character, cinematic arc of the novel, the supporting ensemble's performance, cinematography, background score and production design, the costumes and action choreography but bemoaned the visual effects in certain parts, few dragged stretches and weak narrative in certain scenes which unnecessarily delays the ending. [29]

Ranjan Bandyopadhyay, in Sangbad Pratidin , gave the film high praise and appreciated the director for taking the story beyond the romantic cloudiness of Bankim's time and revealing the gory reality of the then history. According to him, this film showed the best performance of Prosenjit's career. [30] Subhash K Jha, in a review for Bolly Spice, rated the film 3/5 stars and wrote "Devi Chowdhurani doesn’t quite capture the epic canvas of the novel. But it brings a wistful wisdom to the portrayal of the characters; even a British stooge like Haraballabh Ray is what he is on account of the historic forces that shaped Colonial India." He praised the emotional core of the film, the cinematography but bemoaned the action sequences for being diminished by budgetary constraints. [31]

Shatakshi Ganguly of IWMBuzz rated the film 3.5/5 stars and opined "Subhrajit Mitra’s Devi Chowdhurani is not an attempt to retell a legend. It is a deliberate act of remembering — of giving space to a woman erased by time, relegated to folklore, and relegated to fiction. Here, she returns not as myth, but as a force." She praised Prosenjit's performance, termed Srabanti's performance as her career best, applauded the well written British characters, production design, dialogues, the script the background score but bemoaned the too slow pacing of the story. [32]

Shubhajit Adhikari of Bartaman reviewed the film and noted "Devi Chaudhurani seems to have become more alive through the combination of literature, history and legends." He praised Srabanti in the action scenes, Prosenjit's portrayal as Bhabani Pathak, the fighting sequences, rooted Bengali culture throughout the film, the cinematography, editing and the background score but criticised the filming background mismatch from the original locations' background as written in the historical texts and the little awkward pure Bengali dialogues delivered the characters. [33]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Naman Ramachandran (5 April 2023). "'Bandit Queen of Bengal' Project Sets Fall Start (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Variety. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 "দেবী চৌধুরানীতে মিলে যাবে ইতিহাস-উপন্যাস, ইঙ্গিত মিলল পরিচালক শুভ্রজিতের কথায়" (in Bengali). 21 February 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "ইন্দো-ইউকে প্রযোজনায় প্রথম বাংলা সিনেমা, ঐতিহাসিক মুহূর্তের সাক্ষী দেবী চৌধুরানী". Eisamay (in Bengali). 30 June 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sankha Ghose (3 March 2023). "A galaxy of stars onboard for Subhrajit Mitra's 'Devi Chowdhurani' period drama". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Kolkata: Etimes. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Prosenjit Chatterjee, Srabanti Chatterjee-Starring 'Devi Chowdhurani' Nabs Indo-U.K. Co-Prod Status (EXCLUSIVE) – Global Bulletin". Variety. 25 June 2024. Archived from the original on 25 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  6. ↑ Bhattacharya, Torsha (4 December 2024). "Srabanti-Prosenjit: অপেক্ষা আর কতদিনের? আগামী বছর কবে মুক্তি পাবে শ্রাবন্তী-প্রসেনজিৎ-এর 'দেবী চৌধুরানী'?". ABP Ananda (in Bengali). Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "Devi Chowdhurani pre-teaser: Srabanti Chatterjee plays bandit queen of Bengal". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  8. ↑ "Latest in entertainment, lifestyle, fashion | t2ONLINE - Vibe With The tRIBE". t2online.in. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 "দেবী চৌধুরানী শ্রাবন্তী, ভবানী পাঠক প্রসেনজিৎ! সিনেমায় থাকছেন ভিকি কৌশলের বাবাও". bangla.hindustantimes.com (in Bengali). 25 February 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Subhrajit Mitra all praise for Srabanti Chatterjee's dedication, eagerly waiting to start 'Devi Chaudhurani' shoot". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. The Times of India. 11 May 2023. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Sabyasachi Chakraborty: Feels great to be a part of 'Devi Chaudhurani', I know Subhrajit will do justice to the original story". The Times of India. 10 May 2023. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Arjun Chakrabarty joins 'Devi Chaudhurani' cast". telegraphindia.com. The Telegraph. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  13. ↑ "'Adipurush' action director Pradyumna Kumar Swain joins yet another epic period drama, deets inside" (in Bengali). 21 September 2023. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  14. ↑ "পর্দায় ফিরতে প্রচণ্ড ভয়! দেবী চৌধুরানিতে 'কামব্যাক' প্রসঙ্গে কী বললেন সব্যসাচী?". www.eisamay.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Eisamay. 10 May 2023. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "বিরতি কাটিয়ে পর্দায় আসছেন সব্যসাচী, কোন বেশে ধরা দেবেন 'দেবী চৌধুরানী'তে". bangla.hindustantimes.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Hindustan Times - Bangla. 10 May 2023. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "অভিনয় জীবন থেকে বিদায় নিচ্ছি না, আমার বক্তব্যের ভুল ব্যাখ্যা হয়েছিল, বললেন সব্যসাচী". Anandabazar (in Bengali). Kolkata: Anandabazar Patrika. 2 May 2023. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  17. ↑ "অভিনয় থেকে অবসর সব্যসাচীর, বাবার সিদ্ধান্তে গৌরব বললেন…". bangla.hindustantimes.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Hindustan Times - Bangla. 17 January 2023. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  18. ↑ "অভিনয় ছাড়ছেন সব্যসাচী চক্রবর্তী, 'বিদায়' লাইট-ক্যামেরা-অ্যাকশনকে". bengali.indianexpress.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: The Indian Express - Bengali. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  19. ↑ "'রঙ্গরাজ হিসেবে শ্রেষ্ঠ অর্জুন..', 'দেবী চৌধুরানী'তে একের পর এক চমক! চূড়ান্ত খাটছেন শ্রাবন্তীও". bengali.indianexpress.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: The Indian Express - Bengali. 11 May 2023. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  20. ↑ "রঙ্গরাজ বদল! শুভ্রজিতের দেবী চৌধুরানীতে এবার ইন্দ্রনীলের জায়গায় অর্জুন, হঠাৎ হল কী". bangla.hindustantimes.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Hindustan Times - Bangla. 11 May 2023. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  21. 1 2 3 "সারাদিনে ৪টি ডিম, জল প্রায় খাইনি! 'দেবী চৌধুরাণী'র শুটের অভিজ্ঞতায় বিবৃতি". www.aajkaal.in (in Bengali). 8 February 2024. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  22. ↑ Halder, Deep (31 August 2023). "Bengali films avoid Hindu themes. But Subhrajit Mitra's Devi Chowdhurani set to change that". ThePrint. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  23. ↑ "পুরুলিয়ায় 'দেবী চৌধুরানী'র প্রথম দফার শুটিং সেরে তৃপ্ত শুভ্রজিৎ". ETV Bharat (in Bengali). Kolkata. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  24. ↑ "Devi Chowdhurani Teaser: Prosenjit And Srabanti Chatterjee Form An Undefeated Duo". Filmfare. 22 March 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  25. ↑ Chatterjee, Ashok (8 May 2025). "Bengali film teaser shown at prestigious WAVES in Mumbai". The Statesman. Archived from the original on 8 May 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  26. ↑ "Jai Bhairavi Jatra brings Devi Chowdhurani alive on Kolkata streets". Times of India . 9 September 2025. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  27. ↑ "Srabanti Chatterjee-starrer 'Devi Chowdhurani' to release in theatres during Durga Puja". The Telegraph (India). 28 May 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  28. ↑ "Tolly ready for epic Pujo box office clash". Times of India . 18 August 2025. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  29. ↑ Bhattacharya, Eshna (27 September 2025). "Devi Chowdhurani Movie Review: A visually striking adaptation backed by great performances". Times of India . Retrieved 30 September 2025.Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg
  30. ↑ Bandyopadhyay, Ranjan (27 September 2025). "Devi Chowdhurani Film Review: 'দেবী চৌধুরানী'র ধ্রুবপদ ভবানী পাঠকই, বঙ্কিমের মেঘ সরিয়ে রক্তাক্ত রিয়েলিটি দেখালেন পরিচালক". Sangbad Pratidin . Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  31. ↑ K Jha, Subhash (29 September 2025). ""Devi Chowdhurani: Prosenjit Plays An 18th Century Feminist" – A Subhash K Jha Review". Bolly Spice. Retrieved 4 October 2025.Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg
  32. ↑ Ganguly, Shatakshi (26 September 2025). "Devi Chowdhurani Review: An ode to the rebellion". IWMBuzz. Retrieved 4 October 2025.Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg
  33. ↑ Adhikari, Shubhajit (27 September 2025). "সাহিত্য-জনশ্রুতির মেলবন্ধনে জীবন্ত দেবী চৌধুরাণী". Bartaman (in Bengali). Retrieved 4 October 2025.
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