The Academy of Fine Arts

The Academy of Fine Arts is a 2025 Indian Bengali-language independent black comedy heist film written, co-produced and directed by Jayabrata Das in his directorial debut. Produced by Prateek Chakravorty, Manab Saha, Sanket Mishra, Jayabrata Das & Soumya Sarkar under their respective banners of Pramod Films and Cinenic Studios, the film stars an ensemble cast of Rudranil Ghosh, Saurav Das, Paayel Sarkar, Rishav Basu, Rahul Banerjee, Amit Saha, Sudip Mukherjee and Anuradha Mukherjee. It follows a group of criminals whose heist of a rare liquor bottle unravels into betrayal and violence, pushing each of them into a deadly fight for survival. Das developed the script in May 2021 while studying in Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, conceiving the plot out of chronological order. Principal photography commenced in November 2021 and wrapped by in July 2023. Music of the film is composed by Soumyo Rit, while Arnab Laha and Ashik Sharkar handling its cinematography and editing respectively. The film is executive produced by Manab Saha and Sanket Mishra. Initially slated for release on 14 November 2025, AOFA was postponed and then released theatrically on 21 November 2025. It was featured at the 20th Jogja NETPAC Asian Film Festival, standing out as the only Bengali film selection. AOFA has been noted for its self-referential style, beginning with a title card providing two dictionary definitions of “pulp”. Critics have compared its blend of ironic humour and graphic violence to the works of Quentin Tarantino, especially Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994).