After the success of Cakewalk, the author turned director Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s second feature A Tribute to Rituparno Ghosh: Season’s Greetings will have a worldwide premiere on Zee 5, India’s leading digital platform.
The 47 minute Hindi feature marks the comeback of Bollywood star Celina Jaitly Haag post marriage and motherhood.
The film also stars theatre thespian Lillette Dubey and debutant Azhar Khan in the lead. This film also marks the debut of Bollywood’s first transgender actor Shree Ghatak in a pivotal role.
The film has become India’s first-ever feature to collaborate with United Nations Free and Equal. The film deals with Article 377 and the LGBTQIA community.
“Since Rituda was very vocal about the cause, this comes up as a vital issue in the movie. It’s weaved in subtly and that’s probably the beauty of the tale,” says director Ram Kamal.
The film has two songs in Maithili language composed by Rabindranath Tagore and has been shot in beautiful locales in Kolkata by cinematographer Pravatendu Mondal.
Aparna Archarekar, Programming Head of Zee 5 Originals says:
“We are extremely happy to have author turned filmmaker Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s Hindi feature film A Tribute to Rituparno Ghosh: Season’s Greetings exclusively on Zee 5.
We have always believed in strong content, and this film is surely one of such content that speaks about contemporary India.
Ram Kamal is an extremely sensitive filmmaker and he has produced critically acclaimed content like Cakewalk in the past.
Our film Season’s Greetings deals with human emotions, interwoven with many contemporary social aspects which one needs to address.
With powerful performances from Celina Jaitly Haag and Lillette Dubey, it has everything in an entertaining format and never gets preachy.
We are happy to announce the first look on the birth anniversary of Rituparno Ghosh and hope every cine lover will appreciate the film.”
Produced by Aritra Das and Shailendra Kumar, the film also marks the debut of Jaan Kumar Sanu, son of Bollywood playback singer Kumar Sanu:
“I am extremely delighted that our film will be premiered on Zee 5, and I would like to thank Tarun Katiyal and Jay Pandya who saw the potential in our content.
I feel that while it’s very important to make good content, it’s equally important to get an equally good platform to showcase your work,” says director Ram Kamal Mukherjee.
Celina Jaitly Haag, the lead actor from the film says:
“It is marvellous to associate with a massive platform like Zee 5 which now is reaching more than 61 million monthly active users within a year of its launch.
Our film is in complete coherence with Zee 5 groundbreaking philosophy for original content that is based on 3R’s– Real, Relevant, and Resonant.
Even reaching massive untapped audiences along with its impressive reach across 190 plus countries around the world.
Also advantageous for our film is the fact that there is an affinity for Zee 5 content even beyond the Indian diaspora in several markets given their pre-existing linear network of 39 channels in over 170 countries.
I am thankful to my director Ram Kamal and honoured to have Seasons Greetings released on such a revolutionary platform.”
The film is produced by Aritra Das and Shailendra Kumar under the banner of Assorted Motion Pictures and SS1 Entertainment respectively.
Das from Assorted Motion Pictures feels honoured to be associated with one of India’s leading digital platform.
“We couldn’t have asked for anything better than Zee 5. This film was an ambitious project for all of us and we waited for the best platform. I think it’s all about the right content,” says Aritra Das.
The film has music by Shailendra Sayanti.
Set in Kolkata, the film revolves around a mother and daughter relationship.
The first look of the movie was revealed by Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan on 56th birth anniversary of late Rituparno Ghosh on August 31st.
 In a special video message to director Ram Kamal Mukherjee, he expressed:
“Ram Kamal worked as a journalist for more than 20 years and have written five books which fetched him many accolades.
Now Season’s Greetings is his second Hindi film and I wish him and the entire team all the best for this wonderful tribute to Rituparno Ghosh, one of Bengal’s most celebrated filmmaker.”
