Since time immemorial, storytelling has kept people entertained from dusk to dawn. From children to elderly people alike, a powerful storyteller enraptures them all alike. Since the dawn of cinema, there has been a great debate about who is the real storyteller: the director or the actor. However, there is one other person—the financier of the cinema—who claims to be the one controlling the entire art. The reason we are talking about this never-ending story is because of Amazon Prime’s latest series, “Jubilee.” Set on the timeline of Indian independence, the series highlights every aspect that plagued India during the period. From introducing the film industry’s hypocrisy to the newly established malevolent government, the series is a genius of its own. The series has called for an interval before releasing the second part in mid-April. However, the first five episodes have painted a clear picture of a few of the important characters. Without further delay, let us get to know them one by one. Needless to say, the cast has impressed us beyond our imagination.
Spoilers Ahead
Prasenjit Chatterjee As Srikant Roy
There are people who don’t age; Prasenjit Chatterjee is surely one of them. If you watch him in director Srijit Mukherjee’s debut film “Autograph” (2010) and watch him in “Jubilee,” you might wonder if they were shot at the same time. The reference to the film “Autograph” is strong here. In the film, he was the most famous actor and was believed to own the industry. Here, in the series “Jubilee,” he is the director and actor who owns “Roy Productions,” one of the best production houses. He is a man of power who surely knows how to produce stars out of ordinary men. However, he is vile. He bluffs with confidence and trusts no one else except Binod Das, his most trusted servant. But his desire to be at the top of the film industry is unparalleled. He sure knows to keep secrets and use them as weapons in any forthcoming war. He has a nose for nuances and surely knows how to put them aside. Although Srikant Roy seemed to be a very linear character in the first half, we are sure to see his shady side as the series comes back from its “interval.”
Aditi Roy Hydari As Sumitra Kumari
Not just the face of the then-film industry, Sumitra Kumari was also the Head of Business for Roy Productions. Also, she was the wife of Srikant Roy. Sumitra was undoubtedly a beautiful woman who was unfortunately married to a money-minded, cold man named Srikrant. Sumitra was seen to be having an affair with a promising actor and an expert theater artist from Karachi. Sumitra was ready to leave her golden empire and go away with the young artist, for she felt caged. However, after her intriguing introduction, we do not see much of her in the series. But from what we see of her, we know that some other mind-boggling conspiracy is on the way. Also, we are sure that, if you know about Indian cinema’s history, Sumitra Kumari will give you the vibe of Devika Rani and Himanshu Rai.
Aparshakti Khurana As Binod Das
Let us all take a moment to bow down to Aparshakti Khurana for his brilliant performance. Binod Das, who had been earlier introduced as Srikant’s most trusted servant, had a knack for acting. Binod knows and wants to act, but his loyalty toward his employer is so great that he cannot summon up the courage to ask for a chance directly. Rather, he waited for the chance to come to him. So, when opportunity knocked, he used it to correctly become the most promising actor—Madan Kumar. Binod is a man of various shades: he is dark as a night and bright as day; loyal as a dog; sneaky like a fox; and a man who loves to be celebrated. When an intelligent man pretends to be a dunce and succeeds, you know he is a great actor. Binod Das is that character. A tantalizing fact about this character is that, considering Srikant Roy’s character to be inspired by Himanshu Rai, Binod Das, aka Madan Kumar’s character is inspired by Ashok Kumar. If you ask why, you must know that Ashok Kumar was the lab assistant of Himanshu Rai in the initial days of his career.
Sidhant Gupta As Jay Khanna
Have you watched Steven Spielberg’s recent film, “The Fablemans”? If you have, you might find similarities between Sammy Fabelman and Jay Khanna. Jay is a man who loves storytelling. His father owns the most reputed theater in Karachi, and he, too, loves writing and directing plays. He writes scripts and lives the carefree life of a poet and writer. However, all his innocence and carefreeness were shattered as the riot broke out between the two communities to establish two separate nations, India and Pakistan. His house and theater were set on fire, and he, along with his family, was forced to come to Bombay’s refugee camp. Jay is a simple man who is still unaware of the viciousness that runs in the big cities, especially Bombay. But he is a determined and honest soul.
These are the main characters who have impacted the plot of “Jubilee” in the first five episodes. There are, however, a few other characters whose importance is sure to rise in the second half of the season. We would lie if we said we didn’t secretly hope for the days to pass soon and see how the characters transform and make the twists in the plot interesting.