Echoes of Dust and Desire: Sonar Kellay Jawker Dhan Reimagines the Classic with a Soulful Twist on Ray’s Legacy

Date : June 16, 2025 | GK News India | Kolkata Desk

When the golden rays of Rajasthan’s desert light up the ramparts of Jaisalmer Fort, you’re transported back to 1971—when Satyajit Ray’s Sonar Kella etched itself into Bengali cinema lore. Fast-forward five decades, and the legacy returns in a thrilling new avatar: Sonar Kellay Jawker Dhan, the third installment in the “Jawker  Dhan” treasure-hunt series directed by Sayantan Ghosal. Released on May 30, 2025, the film reclaims that nostalgic magic while forging a bold new narrative around Bengal’s beloved adventure archetypes.

Picture Courtesy: Surinder Films

At its heart, the film explores the continuity of fate and memory, weaving the threads of past-life recollection into a high-stakes treasure hunt. In this, grown-up Mukul—played by Suprobhat Das, who accompanied the trio of treasure-seekers—remains the emotional anchor. Famously portrayed by a youthful actor in Ray’s original, Mukul is now thrust into maturity, piecing together who he was in a forgotten lifetime.

Accompanying him are the enduring duo of Bimal and Kumar, initially conceived by writer Hemendra Kumar Roy. Parambrata Chattopadhyay, returning as the cerebral Bimal, lends an introspective anchor. Gaurav Chakrabarty, stepping into Kumar’s shoes, brings warmth and comedic relief. Their on-screen chemistry—friendly banter and mutual trust—is the emotional glue of this adventure, as they pursue the legendary “Parashpathar” stone rumored to transmute base metals into gold.

Integral to the team is Dr. Ruby Chatterjee, portrayed with learned sensitivity by Koel Mallick. As a psychiatrist, her role is both narrative compass and moral centre. Koel, whose birthday marked the release of the first look-motion poster, used the opportunity to tease glimpses from the Jaisalmer shoot, revealing that she, Parambrata, and Gaurav spent 12 days filming at Jaisalmer Fort and its surrounds. Behind her composed exterior lies a character who must temper Mukul’s obsession, grounding the hunt with empathy.

Supporting the leads are established faces: Saheb Chatterjee, the veteran, adds local colour; Jammy (Jamie) Banerjee lends spark; Sankhadeep Banerjee and veteran Masood Akhtar contribute depth. Their collective presence layers the adventure with texture, humour, and generation-crossing connection.

At the helm sits Sayantan Ghosal, a Kolkata Film & Television Institute graduate who gained acclaim directing the first two “Jawker Dhan” films and Sagardwipey Jawker Dhan (2019)  . A director-editor at heart, Ghosal marries pacing with precision; his storytelling is adventurous yet anchored in psychological nuance. In interviews, he’s noted the influence of beloved adventure cinema and has said that this film is “a felicitous blend of Indiana Jones and Amar Chitra Katha”  .

Framing the visuals is cinematographer Ramyadip Saha, returning after the acclaimed second film. His Rajasthan visuals are sun-soaked but shadowed, sensuous but silent—the camera drifts languidly over mustard dunes, reflects ruby sunsets, and peers into ancient courtyards in ways that invoke nostalgia and mystery  . Editor Ghosal himself ensures the timing never sag, balancing puzzle-filled revelations with sudden bursts of tension. Meanwhile, Rathijit Bhattacharjee’s music sustains an aura of wonder, through both desert calm and stormy revelations.

Principal photography unfolded across Rajasthan, Jodhpur, Jaipur—anchored by 12 intensive days at the fort. The crew embraced minimalism, often shooting guerrilla-style amidst crowds, leveraging local energy. Koel sampled local delicacies like dal-baati-churma, while Parambrata jogged through narrow alleys during breaks. Hamlets, bazaars, and rock-carved gates served as organic backdrops, keeping the Rajasthan scenes raw and immersive. Kolkata scenes, including a Lakshmi Puja sequence, were filmed later to root the story in its urban Bengal identity.

The film interlaces ancient lore and emotional exploration. Mukul is plagued by half-remembered dreams of a past he identifies with another—possibly a foreign gem-keeper—and he senses that only by reclaiming the Parashpathar can he confront embedded secrets. Dr. Ruby becomes anchor and skeptic, pushing him to examine these memories clinically, while Bimal and Kumar seek objective proof. The central conflict crescendos in the fort’s underground tunnels, when treasure hunters and Mukul’s crew must weigh monetary temptation against spiritual inheritance.

Surinder Films spearheaded production, with Champion Movies co-producing. Marketing began in April 2025, with a cleverly timed motion poster on Koel’s birthday, followed by teasers aligned with Ray’s legacy. The full trailer dropped on May 16—just a day before Ray’s birth anniversary cementing emotional resonance.

Cultural echoes abound. For many Bengalis, Sonar Kella is childhood nostalgia, a symbol of daring exploration. Ghosal honors this with refrains from the original, like references to the “diamond thief Mandar Bose” and Jaisalmer’s mythic aura. Gaurav admitted that revisiting those memories during shooting was rewarding: “I read Bimal-Kumar when I was young… playing Kumar is fun; in many ways the character resembles me”. Koel didn’t miss her chance to participate in local rituals—one highlight was filming a Lakshmi Puja in Kolkata, which she expressed living emotionally despite her professional focus.

The film is being recognized for ambition. It’s the most expensive in this franchise, featuring action sequences, desert panoramas, and spiritual dialogue. Critics such as Shatakshi Ganguly (Anandalok) and Agnivo Niyogi (The Telegraph) have called it both “massy and meaningful” and “a felicitous blend of nostalgia and novelty,” commending its cultural heartbeat.

More than treasure, the film mines memory—exploring how our identities are shaped by stories we inherit. In a world focused on the material, Mukul’s quest centers the intangible; the film asks whether riches lie in synchronicity, legacy, and remembrance rather than gold and jewels.

This cinematic thread continued in Sagardwipey Jawker Dhan (2019), in which the team chased a mythical cure and eco-political difference in Thailand. The new installment adds layered psychological complexity, challenging characters to confront loss of self, past sins, and the tension between memory and myth.

Whether you arrive anticipating booby-trapped forts or muster nostalgia, Sonar Kellay Jawker Dhan rewards with desert grandeur, curiosity-driven plotting, and reflections on past-lives and identity. It reaffirms Bengali cinema’s potential to blend commercial scope with cultural texture—storytelling rooted in place, soul, and legacy.

From dusty sandstorms to candlelit fort corridors, the film guides us—Bimal’s sturdy pragmatism, Kumar’s whimsy, Ruby’s grounded morality, and Mukul’s haunted gaze—toward a final image bathed in Jaisalmer dusk: a man transcending lifetimes in pursuit of memory and meaning.

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