>Citation bot at 01:18, 24 December 2020

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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Bioscopewala
| image = Bioscopewala - Poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| director = Deb Medhekar
| based_on = [[Kabuliwala (short story)|Kabuliwala]] by [[Rabindranath Tagore]]
| producer = Sunil Doshi
| story = Sunil Doshi<br>Deb Medhekar
| screenplay = Deb Medhekar<br>Radhika Anand
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Danny Denzogpa]]
*[[Geetanjali Thapa]]
*[[Adil Hussain]]
*[[Tisca Chopra]]
}}
| music = [[Sandesh Shandilya]]
| cinematography = Rafey Mehmood
| editing = Dipika Kalra
| studio = Handmade Films<br>[[Star India]]
| distributor = [[Fox Star Studios]]
| released = {{film date|df=yes|2017|10|28|[[Tokyo International Film Festival]]|2018|05|25|India}}
| runtime = 91 minutes<ref name="TIFF" />
| country = India
| language = Hindi
| budget =
| gross =
}}

'''''Bioscopewala''''' ({{translation|Man with a bioscope}}) is an Indian [[Hindi]]-language [[Drama Film|drama film]] directed by Deb Medhekar, and produced by Sunil Doshi. The film stars [[Danny Denzongpa]] and [[Geetanjali Thapa]] in lead roles and had its world premiere at the 30th [[Tokyo International Film Festival]] on 28 October 2017.<ref name="TIFF">{{cite web|url=http://2017.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=34 |title=Asian Feature - Bioscopewala - World Premiere |publisher=[[Tokyo International Film Festival]]}}</ref> The film is an adaptation of [[List of Nobel laureates|Nobel Laureate]] [[Rabindranath Tagore]]'s 1892 short story [[Kabuliwala (short story)|Kabuliwala]] and released on 25 May 2018 in India.<ref name="HT">{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/danny-denzongpa-is-today-s-version-of-rabindranath-tagore-s-kabuliwala-in-bioscopewala-trailer/story-GgqCRB8U3LKMSaPpACV6xL.html |title=Danny Denzongpa is today's version of Rabindranath Tagore's Kabuliwala in Bioscopewala trailer |publisher=[[Hindustan Times]]}}</ref> The official trailer of the film was released on [[YouTube]] by [[Fox Star Studios]] on 8 May 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNQq32twAH0 |title=Bioscopewala Trailer - Danny Denzongpa - Geetanjali Thap |publisher=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> ''Bioscopewala'' has taken forward the timeline of ''Kabuliwala'', the original story written by [[Rabindranath Tagore]], from the 19th century to somewhere in the 1980s during the [[Taliban regime]] and changed the profession of Rehmat, the central character, from a dry fruit seller to a man who goes around showing films to children through his bioscope.<ref name="HT" />

==Plot==

''Bioscopewala'' is the story of Rehmat Khan ([[Danny Denzongpa]]), a man from [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]] who used to show films to children through his [[Movie camera|Bioscope]]. Rehmat befriends a little girl named Minnie who is of the same age as his own daughter and one day he disappears from her life. Many years later a grown-up Minnie ([[Geetanjali Thapa]]), who is now a documentary film-maker living in [[France]], comes to know about her father, who died in a plane crash while traveling to Afghanistan. As Minnie tries to figure out the reason why her father made that trip, she comes across Bioscopewala, the man who used to tell her stories when she was a child.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/at-tokyo-film-fest-tagore-kabuliwala-transforms-into-bioscopewala-1560403.html |title=At Tokyo Film Fest, Tagore's Kabuliwala Transforms into Bioscopewala |publisher=[[News18]]}}</ref>

==Cast==

* [[Danny Denzongpa]] as Rehmat Khan
* [[Geetanjali Thapa]] as Minnie Basu
* [[Adil Hussain]] as Robi Basu
* [[Tisca Chopra]] as Wahida
* Maya Sarao as Ghazala
* [[Brijendra Kala]] as Bhola
* [[Ekavali Khanna]] as Shobita
*[[Ivan Sylvester Rodrigues|Ivan Rodrigues]] as Airline Spokesperson
* Shashi Bhushan as Bakht Rawan
* [[Mir Sarwar]] as Zadran
* [[Ahmer Haider]] as Security Officer
* [[Sumiit Sarrkaar]] as Lawyer

==Production==

===Development===

In the year 2009, it was reported that French-Afghan filmmaker [[Atiq Rahimi]] was planning to adapt Rabindranath Tagore's short story Kabuliwala into a film but the project did not materialize.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/interviews/I-wrote-my-screenplay-from-Kabuliwalas-point-of-view/articleshow/4882313.cms |title='I wrote my screenplay from Kabuliwala's point of view' |work=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> In the year 2012, it was reported that Sunil Doshi was collaborating with [[Atiq Rahimi]] to make Kabuliwala, which was an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore's short story of the same name, and [[Amitabh Bachchan]] was going to play the title role.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/amitabh-bachchan-to-star-in-kabuliwala-/5049196.article |title=Amitabh Bachchan to star in Kabuliwala |publisher=[[Screen Daily]]}}</ref> The film, which had its screenplay written by [[Atiq Rahimi]] and [[Jean-Claude Carrière]], was set in modern-day [[Kolkata]] where a refugee from [[Afghanistan]] befriends a 5 year old [[Bengalis|Bengali]] girl and was supposed to be filmed in Kolkata and [[Jaisalmer]] for a period of 60 days beginning from June 2013. Apart from Amitabh Bachchan, Iranian actress [[Golshifteh Farahani]], Sara Arrjun, [[M.K. Raina]] and [[Rajat Kapoor]] were also supposed to be a part of the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood//articleshow/37136925.cms |title=The Kabuliwala is back! |publisher=[[Mumbai Mirror]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/eyecatchers/story/20130304-amitabh-bachchan-in-sunil-doshi-production-kabuliwala-762226-2013-02-23 |title=The BIG Switch: BigB to play a small role in Kabuliwala |publisher=[[India Today]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/a-new-kabuliwala/1039932/ |title=A New Kabuliwala |publisher=[[The Indian Express]]}}</ref> But the project got indefinitely delayed. In the year 2016, Sunil Doshi approached [[Ram Madhvani]] with the idea of adapting the story of Kabuliwala to the screen who in turn directed him towards his colleague Debashish Medhekar, who was an ad-filmmaker at Equinox. Debashish says that, "When Sunil said to do this film I felt it was everything that I wanted to do in my first feature – it had children, magic realism, nostalgia, travel, and says something about the world we live in and how people are suffering."<ref name="Deb">{{cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/india/mail-today/20180518/textview |title=Kabuliwala 2.0 |publisher=[[Mail Today]]}}</ref>

In 2016, Deb Medhekar's ''Bioscopewala'' was selected to be a part of the Work-in-Progress lab at the 10th [[National Film Development Corporation of India|NFDC]] Film Bazaar (an annual event where filmmakers present a rough cut of their projects for review and feedback by a panel of international film experts) held in [[Goa]] during 20–24 November 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/rare-languages-genre-films-light-up-film-bazaar-recommends/5111488.article |title=Rare languages, genre films light up Film Bazaar Recommends |publisher=[[Screen Daily]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-cinema/film-bazaar-2016-five-debutants-works-chosen-for-work-in-progress-lab/story-Dw9FggRxH3gjTwF5ikvw9H.html |title=Film Bazaar 2016: Five debutants' works chosen for 'Work-In-progress' lab |publisher=[[Hindustan Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Seven-projects-selected-for-Film-Bazaar/articleshow/55372094.cms |title=Seven projects selected for Film Bazaar |work=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>

===Casting===

Director Deb Medhekar says that for the role of Minnie Basu he was not just looking for a good actress but also someone who resembles [[Meena Kumari]], as a result of which he finalized [[Geetanjali Thapa]] for the role. Deb says, "I am a big Meena Kumari fan and I think no other actress can look as authentically beautiful and Bengali as Meena Kumari did in ‘Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’. So when I was casting Mini in ‘Bioscopewala’ as an adult, I cast Geetanjali Thapa because she has an uncanny resemblance."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/bioscopewala-cast-geetanjali-thapa-meena-kumari-look-alike-5171877/ |title=Bioscopewala director cast Geetanjali Thapa as he wanted Meena Kumari look-alike for film |publisher=[[The Indian Express]]}}</ref>

==Soundtrack==

{{Infobox song
| name = Bioscopewala
| type = Song
| artist = K Mohan
| album = Bioscopewala
| language = [[Hindi]]
| released = {{start date|df=yes|2018|05|17}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/bioscopewala-title-song-from-bioscopewala-single/1386379270 |title=Bioscopewala (Title Song) [From "Bioscopewala"] |publisher=[[iTunes]]}}</ref>
| format =
| genre =
| length = 04:03
| label = [[Zee Music Company]]
| composer = [[Sandesh Shandilya]]
| lyricist = [[Gulzar]]
| misc = {{External media
| audio1 = {{YouTube|GxUfQgVOEkE|Song}}}}
}}

There is only one song in the film, titled ''Bioscopewala''. Sung by K Mohan this song was composed by [[Sandesh Shandilya]] while the lyrics were written by [[Gulzar]].

==Critical reception==

Reza Noorani of [[The Times of India]] praised the performances of [[Danny Denzongpa]] and [[Geetanjali Thapa]] and gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5 saying that, "At one hour and 31 minutes, the film doesn’t waiver much and wraps up the loose ends perfectly."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/bioscopewala/movie-review/64319238.cms |title=Bioscopewala Movie Review |work=[[The Times of India]]}}{{Rating|3.5|5}}</ref> Saibal Chatterjee of [[NDTV]] gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 saying that, "Danny Denzongpa's Performance Is First-Rate In This Well-Crafted Sparkling Little Gem."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/bioscopewala-movie-review-danny-denzongpas-performance-is-first-rate-in-this-well-crafted-sparkling--1857363 |title=Bioscopewala Movie Review : The well-crafted film is wonderfully served by a fine cast |publisher=[[NDTV]]}}{{Rating|4|5}}</ref> Prasanna D Zore of [[Rediff]] gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 and said that ''Bioscopewala'' "is a sweet film, soothing to the eyes, and weaves a story of human suffering cutting across national boundaries."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-bioscopewala-is-a-sweet-film/20180525.htm |title=Review: Bioscopewala is a sweet film |publisher=[[Rediff]]}}{{Rating|3|5}}</ref> [[Rajeev Masand]] of [[News18]] called the film "a smart, moving adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Kabuliwala." The critic praised the performances of all actors with special mention for [[Danny Denzongpa]] and concluded his review saying, "Make time for Bioscopewala, it’s a deeply affecting film, imbued with a lingering love for cinema."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/bioscopewala-movie-review-deeply-affecting-film-with-lingering-love-for-cinema-1760395.html |title=Bioscopewala Movie Review: Deeply Affecting Film With Lingering Love For Cinema |publisher=[[News18]]}}</ref> [[The Indian Express]] praised the performances of [[Danny Denzongpa]] and [[Brijendra Kala]] but felt that the film failed to tap its complete potential and gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/bioscopewala-danny-denzongpa-star-rating-5191023/ |title=Bioscopewala movie review: The Danny Denzongpa film realises only some of its great potential |publisher=[[The Indian Express]]}}</ref> Sweta Kausal of [[Hindustan Times]] praised the adaptation as well as the performances of all actors and gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/bioscopewala-movie-review-a-sparkling-danny-denzongpa-and-the-power-of-cinema/story-vGH0d1X318El66hWQROorO.html |title=Bioscopewala movie review: A sparkling Danny Denzongpa and the power of cinema |publisher=[[Hindustan Times]]}}{{Rating|4|5}}</ref> Shrishti Negi of [[News18]] gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 and said that, "In a rising atmosphere of cultural intolerance, hate and violence, director Deb Medhekar’s Bioscopewala promises hope and manages to convey the more heart-warming emotion of humankind."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/bioscopewala-review-danny-denzongpa-starrer-should-be-widely-seen-and-discussed-1760547.html |title=Bioscopewala Review: Danny Denzongpa Starrer Should be Widely Seen and Discussed |publisher=[[News18]]}}{{Rating|4|5}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links==
* {{IMDb title|tt8223250}}

{{Kabuliwala}}

[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:2010s Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:Fox Star Studios films]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Rabindranath Tagore]]
[[Category:Films set in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Films set in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Indian drama films]]
[[Category:2017 drama films]]
[[Category:Hindi-language drama films]]

Bioscopewala - Revision history

>Citation bot at 01:18, 24 December 2020