UK Bengali doctor couple’s film to debut at Chicago fest
Times of India | 13 September 2025
Kolkata: A UK-based Bengali doctor couple's maiden venture into film-making is set for an international premiere in Chicago.
A consultant in radiology in England's National Health Service (NHS), Debasish Banerjee has made his directorial debut with ‘The Unexpected', a Bengali feature film exploring complexities of human nature.
The movie has been produced by Eastern Thespians Wimbledon, a company jointly founded by him and his wife Chandrayee Sengupta, who is a pediatrician and has acted in the film as well.
Banerjee informed that his debut film has been officially selected for the in-competition category and will have its world premiere at the 16th Chicago South Asian Film Festival starting this Sunday. "As a director to have my debut feature film selected in the in-competition category of this festival is nothing short of a dream come true," Banerjee told TOI from the UK.
"This is our independent debut feature film made on a limited budget, and with a very small team but with a lot of passion and hard work. So, the news (of the film's selection in the Chicago film festival) is extremely encouraging and is a validation of all our efforts," he added.
The couple had done their MBBS from the Calcutta National Medical College. They visit the city at least twice a year and have their residential home in Gariahat.
During his growing up years in Kolkata, Banerjee's artistic mind was shaped by the city's unique and famed cultural tapestry. "I had been an actor in theatre, television and films and written screenplays for serials and teleplays for reputed Indian TV channels during those days," he now reminisced.