Press Releases

SVF reveals the First Look & Trailer of Dhananjoy, the film on the case that shook the Nation in 2004 ~ Pivotal characters of the film presented at the event ~

Kolkata, 3rd July, 2017: The First Look poster & Official Trailer of SVF’s upcoming Bengali film – Dhananjoy – was released this afternoon in a court room set up at Taj Gateway Ballroom. The film was presented with the revelation of each character’s look for the first time ever, at a press conference called by the production house.

The film is based on one of the most important cases in the history of our nation – “The conviction of Dhananjoy Chatterjee”. On the basis of circumstantial evidence and the deceased victim’s mother’s statement, Dhananjoy Chatterjee – a security guard – was executed and hanged to death in the early hours of 15th August 2004, after serving imprisonment for 14 long years and after having appealed to all levels of court in the country, and finally, to the President of India. There was a lot of uproar in the political community as well as among citizens, regarding the judgment. The Film, Dhananjoy, is set in 2008, which is four years after the execution took place. The characters’ names in the film, except that of Dhananjoy, have been changed.

Capital punishment has been carried out in India on 4 instances since 1995. Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged to death in 2004 followed by names like Ajmal Kasab in 2012, Afzal Guru in 2013 and Yakub Memon in 2015.

Throughout his years in jail and till his last breath, Dhananjoy steadfastly maintained his innocence. He was exceptionally calm at the time of his execution. During his last few minutes, he asked a police officer to make sure that investigations would be done thoroughly in the future. He bid farewell to everyone present and asked them to stay well.

At the First Look launch event, Actor Anirban Bhattacharya was presented as Dhananjoy Chatterjee. He entered in handcuffs with policemen around him. Actor Mimi Chakraborty, who plays Kabya Sinha, a young advocate, entered dressed as her character and spoke about her workshops for the film & her character. Actor Sudipta Chakraborty plays Surbhi Parekh, the victim Hetal Parekh’s mother. Paran Bandhopadhay plays Sashi Chatterjee, the father of Dhananjoy Chatterjee and Kaushik Sen plays Shibraj Choudhury, Kabya’s senior advocate. Director Arindam Sil was quoted saying, “We re-analyzed the case, met various people and studied books on Dhananjoy Chatterjee case. It was found that the execution order of Dhananjoy was given based on inconclusive circumstantial evidence and there was a stark absence of any direct evidence.”

Mr. Mahendra Soni, Director & Co Founder, SVF said, “After the re-investigation of the case by our team, the findings that came in front of us were stunning and brutal. The so-called perfect case of trial by the Media & our Society had been laid bare and the facts were staring at our faces. In the film we show a re-appeal, through which the film explores the established facts of the case and re-presents what could have been the reality.”

The trailer of ‘Dhananjoy’ can be viewed at: bit.ly/Dhananjoy_OfficialTrailer
The film is scheduled to release on 11th August ‘17.

About SVF:

SVF is Eastern India’s largest native media and entertainment conglomerate, having business interests in Film Production, Television content Production, Film Distribution, Digital Cinema, Music, New Media, Cinemas and Equipment Rental. SVF has successfully produced over 110 films including national award winning ‘Chokher Bali’, ‘Raincoat’, ‘Memories in March’, ‘Apur Panchali’, ‘Chotoder Chobi’, and ‘Chander Pahar’. SVF’s next biggest venture is Hoichoi, a one-stop online destination for Bengali entertainment – an on-demand Video Streaming Website and App – with over 500 Movies, Songs and original series.

For further information, please contact: 

Ahana Kanjilal Dutta | SVF | +91 9836515074