KUHELI (BENGALI FLIM REVIEW)

Kuheli Review

Kuheli 

Kuheli is publicized to be a vampire film, first of its kind in Bengali film industry. Vampire cult is mainly a western paradigm but in the land of Kali and tantric rituals, can vampires be left behind? Debarati Gupta, in a shoe string budget, tried to blend her art house tendencies with the subgenre of horror films and produced Kuheli with some fresh faces mainly targeted towards the younger audience who have by now completely immersed themselves into the in/famous twilight saga.

Kuheli happens in our beloved city, Kolkata where a young NRI couple comes to stay. Sayak, a travel blogger and Amrita (played by Indrasish and Pujarini Ghosh, and reasonably well) move to an apartment and along with their arrival, a series of gory killings start happening. Investigative officer ACP Mahapatra (Kaushik Sen) and his assistant Inspector Samanta (Anindya Pulak) after a tête-à-tête with retired police officer Nisith Roy (Barun Chanda) tried to crack the mystery surrounding the chain of massacres happening, with the NRI couple as suspect. Chandrayee Ghosh as Romila Debi is befitting as a tarot card reader, a friendly neighbour to this couple. 

The film somehow lacks action/twists and depends heavily on dialogues. Kuheli is actually a love story under the guise of a horror/murder mystery. Kaushik Sen had nothing much to do. His charisma is conspicuous by its absence. The three street savvy sex maniacs from the locality had nothing to contribute to the plot. They are an aberration in the film. 

Anindya Pulak acted smart. Barun Chanda is a revelation, he had the crispest dialogues in his kitty and he delivered them well. The music is not noteworthy. Joydeep Bose as a cinematographer did justice to his alma mater! Debarati has added her signature as a Director by converting the western vampire cult into a story of love, sacrifice and mutual protection which defines the very core of eastern philosophy. Even though the film is first of its kind in Bengali cinema, it fails to be timeless!

KIRITI ROY (BENGALI FLIM REVIEW)

KIRITI ROY REVIEW

KIRITI ROY 

Bengali film Industry, all of a sudden, is full of thrillers, vampire stories and sleuth sagas all over!! Sleuths never bore us, heroes do. 

Almost every other director has till date experimented with Bengali detectives. One brownie point behind this endeavour is: the Directors do not have to put much effort as these stories are based on cult literature; thereby there is not much risk involved. The newest in the brigade is Aniket Chattopadyay's "Kiriti Roy". 

Chiranjeet Chakraborty plays the famous private investigator in the film which is based on Dr. Niharanjan Roy's story "Setarer Sur" (symphony of Sitar). The story is multilayered and full of twists. Five friends, Sunil, Ranjan, Brajesh, Subrata and Suhash in late 50's, all prosperous young lads, who often go to clubs and almost all of them are besotted by the beautiful Basabi (Sayani Ghosh). Basabi lives with her uncle Biraj who has a mysterious past in Rangoon. He is handicapped but snooty and has an estranged wife named Jennifer (Swastika Mukherjee). 

The captivating part is the film has also tried to explore the period where the crime was happening. Though being a regional cinema, it does not have the budget to recreate near perfect set design of Dibakar Banerjee's Hindi take on Byomkesh, yet the recurring theme of Bengali cinema as a backdrop creates magic!! Basabi, the queen of hearts die young, she was murdered as Kiriti Roy appears in the scene. How he solves the two consecutive murders and unearth everybody's grey past and hidden present forms the crux of the film.

Most of the cast members acted considerably well. Especially Swastika Mukherjee is excelling in film after film. Ankita Chakraborty has a tremendous screen presence which is still to e used properly. Inspector Rathin played by another Director Kaushik Ganguly is hilarious. Kishnendu Dewanji as Suhash draws attention. With his strong theatre background, he did justice to his character. Sayani is ok. Nothing extraordinary. 

Who stands apart is Chiranjeet Chakraborty as Kiriti Roy. With his demeanour, he steals the show. Neel Mukhopadyay as his compatriot Subrata played low as required from him. Locket Chatterjee adds nothing.

Camera followed the characters well. Set design added to the theme. Background score by Joy Sarkar heightens the spirit of the film. Especially the background score, particularly the instrumental ones. Editing could have been sharper. 

In one word, the film is watchable, rather compared to other films happening in recent times in the Bengali Film Industry, this film seems to attract the ordinary people to bid farewell the year well.

Bengali Movie Jijibisha 2014(Bengali Flim Review)

Jijibisha

Cast: Soumitra Chatterjee, Joy Sengupta, Sreelekha Mitra, Sayani Datta.
Direction: Sumit Das.

Jijibisha tells a simple story of how love can overcome all societal pressures and transcend all stereotypes. Problem arises when the film, in itself, fails to do that — transcend stereotypes, we mean.

After the death of his mother, Nilay (Joy Sengupta) returns from New Jersey to take care of his old father (Soumitra Chatterjee). When his father pushes Niloy to get married, he enters into a contractual marriage with Priyanka (Sreelekha Mitra), who is actually a call girl. But what will Rachana (Sayani Datta), his NRI girlfriend from New Jersey, have to say about this sham marriage? Will she understand his predicament? Will Niloy be able to come clean about it to her and his father?

The film, in its second half, tries hard to untangle a mess of human relationships and emotions it creates in the first half. But, it takes the easy route out and thus, fails. Otherwise, it had all the right ingredients to make for a thought-provoking cathartic experience. In fact, when the film starts off with a unique collage of seemingly unrelated scenes and dialogues playing to Swarnali Sarkar's recitation in the background, it heightens our curiosity as well as expectations. Yes, it's a good-looking film. And the cinematography apart, it's Sreelekha Mitra who takes the credit for that. She nails her character of an escort, who, instead of knowing the consequences, can't help falling for her client, while looking like a million bucks in simple cotton sarees wrapped carelessly around her slightly plump frame.
Joy Sengupta and Soumitra Chatterjee, too, are good in their respective roles. However, Sayani Datta is no match when pitched against power-house actors such as the other three, though she tries really hard.

Stereotypes, like the crass call girl, who jumps onto her client's bed during their first encounter but turns into the ideal bouma in the next six months, the father who has a heart attack at the perfect crisis point, the woman who cries when her client mentions abortion, the girlfriend who refuses to listen to her man's mistress — 'especially a call girl', and the same girlfriend heroically sacrificing her love in the end... hits you like a blow out of nowhere towards the end of the movie. And therein lies its downfall.

The music, as a whole, is disappointing too. The song-sequences look out of sync with the script and featuring Pt Debojyoti Bose in one of the songs, just for the heck of it, also bewilders.
 
All in all, it's one of those movies that leaves you feeling betrayed. If you take up a daring subject, you should have the courage to treat it right, right?

Bengali Movie Amar Ami 2014 (Bengali Flim Review)

Aamar Aami

Cast: Indrasish, Arunima, Biswanath, Kamalika, Hindol, Jhilik

Direction: Orko Sinha.

You just need to see the first few frames, or even the opening credits, to know that a handful of photographically sound people have worked hard on this film. Emotionally stirring black-and-white shots, musically charged situations, smoke and alcohol blurred narration - the camera captures it all. Needless to say, cinematographer Souvik Basu is the reason Orko Sinha's film doesn't fall apart, despite having numerous discrepancies.

There's nothing unique about the story (or should we say, the interconnected stories!). It's almost as if the film deliberately keeps losing track of the subplots to reinstatethe fact that nothing can be perfect. Despite the generously sprinkled point-of-view shots, the essential point or message of the film is lost in the disjointed screenplay. Blatantly premeditated punchlines such as "Bhari tar face ar buk, tate abar facebook" and "Erom takiyo na ami kyabla hoye jai" in the name of dialogues too fail to impress.
Performers such as Kamalika Banerjee and Biswanath Basu and Indrasish Roy have been underutilized - their gifts hardly exploited. Especially Kamalika, who only comes on screen to worry over a daughter who doesn't exchange more than three lines with her - Kamalika's "aami"ness or individuality is never established! Arunima Ghosh follows the script to the T and delivers her dialogues, but without the intended effect.

In spite of their few and calculated screen appearances, three actors - Upal Sengupta, Hindol Bhattacharya and little Ayush Das - make an impression. While Upal is his usual charming self (it's almost easy to understand why people from all age bands adore him!), "ulto jangiya pora" Hindol amazes with his crisp comic timing. As for Batul the Great-reading Tutul, aka Ayush, he is thoroughly endearing in the scene where he practises winking.
Music by Kabir and Shiba is another reason why the film doesn't fall flat. Almost all the songs - Aamar aami, Chena chena mukh and Onno keu thakbe - are melodious and have been woven seamlessly into the narrative. So, in a way, they tend to hold together the otherwise jumbled storyline.

Digs at paribartan, society, the film industry, generation gap, class distinction and corporate culture later, one tends to lose the "aami" the film tries to speak about. But then, perhaps that was the message all along!

Bengali Movie Jara Roddure Bhijechilo 2014 (Bengali Flim Review)

Jara Roddure Bhijechilo

Cast: Soumitra Chatterjee, June Maliah, Arjun Chakraborty,

          Subhasish Mukhopadhya

Direction: Bhargonath Bhattacharya.

Jara Roddure Bhijechilo is a movie that touches on a pertinent subject in a very straightforward way. In fact, it goes around the very idea of entertaining storytelling to suck the viewer into a world that revolves around the Bard and his creations. And in doing so, it turns itself into a monotonous musical — bereft of the essence of good storytelling, and at times, even logic.

True, all actors, including the various child artistes are worth a watch, but the storyline is too Tagore-heavy to leave room for anything else. While the male actors have been successful in adding that little bit of colour to their characters under the omnipresent shadow of the great Bard, June Maliah is really good as the mother torn between the love for her child and the vagaries of life.

But it's the storyline that fails miserably. None of the characters, except that of orphan-turned-Daroka's alter ego, Arjun, is done justice. The story of the son and his Boston-returned family falters and shakes, never making any sense throughout the movie. In fact, one fails to understand why do they want to return to the US if their apartment is getting repossessed, the husband is unemployed and the wife runs the family selling flowers on the streets of Boston, when they can live in relative comfort in India?

The songs hold true to the storyline and so does the background score. The camerawork is excellent and one gets to witness some great shots throughout the movie. But overall, Jara Roddure Bhijechilo seems like a movie made with great intentions which fails to venture much beyond the boredom that's inherent to every form of art that gets overdone. Somewhere, the director forgot that the best way to deliver a message is to bring smiles on people's faces...to actually make them enjoy the means, and the end. He seems to have forgotten that the time-tested way to do that is to entertain, not make you shift in your seat waiting for the ordeal to end.

Watch it if you are a hardcore Tagore fan. But if you prefer your movies to carry you away from the hardships of life into a world that's entertaining, this film is not for you.

Bengali Movie Britto 2014 (Bengali Flim Review)

Britto

Cast: Vikram Chatterjee, Ena Saha, Joy Sengupta, Soumitra Chatterjee,  

          Alakananda Ray, Biswajit Chakrabarty, Shantilal Mukherjee

          and others

Direction: Surajit Dhar

There are movies with thought-provoking insights into human nature, sudden twists of fate or epic narratives. Then there are movies that tell a simple story. Britto falls into the second category. It's an honest and realistic — if tepid — portrayal of two people searching for love.

Ronnie (Vikram) and Mrittika (Ena) are a lower middle-class couple. When Ronnie, the average Joe with no specialized skills or ambition in life, fails to find a regular source of income, Mrittika, his beautiful wife, takes up the job of an escort. The audience gets an overview of the profession that is very much a taboo and is considered a euphemism for prostitution. No wonder she is referred to as a kulin beshya. Mrittika's earnings pull the couple out of penury, at the same time giving Mrittika the taste of unlimited riches. But, at the end of the day, she is just a 20-something girl, who yearns for love and recognition. So, when an opportunity presents itself to make her name as a singer, she readily falls in love with the harbinger of good tidings, Debdatta (Joy). But, is her past ready to let go of her? Does finding love come that easy? Is life that fair?

Vikram makes for a convincing Ronnie. From the guilt of a man, who, to put it crudely, pawns off his wife in exchange for money to the angst of a possessive lover who is ready to let go off all the luxury to keep his woman safe, from the innocence of a husband who does not have it in him to doubt his wife's loyalty to the shock of a cuckolded husband, Vikram establishes the growth of his character well. However, there are scenes when he seems to be going overboard a bit. Joy brings the music composer Debdutta to life. Soumitra Chatterjee and Alokananda Roy do not have much screen time.

But it's Ena, who delivers a laudable performance as Mrittika. Even in a deglam avatar, with a faded swatch of colour on her lips and the slightest hint of kohl, she lights up the screen effortlessly. She brings alive the pain and frustration of a woman torn between conflicting priorities. Her performance is so smooth, it's almost brutal. The scene where she is blackmailed into sex by a wealthy businessman is nerve-racking.

Director Surajit Dhar has a restrained style of storytelling, while cinematographer Amlan Datta deserves much applause for his subtle camera work. However, the film does test your patience at times with the excessive use of hesitation. The 'aahs' and the 'ummm's can be very jarring. Lastly, a few overlapping sequences might make you question the narrative licence.

As a good film, Britto almost comes full circle, but for these occasional glitches.

Bengali Movie Durbin 2014 (Bengali Flim Review)

Durbin

 Cast: Soumitra Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty,

          Anjana Basu, Aparajita Adya, Rajat Ganguly,

          Nitya Ganguly, Rongeet, Deeptodeep, Ahona,

          Aritra Dutta.

Direction: Swagato Chowdhury.

Pupul (Rongeet) is twelve years old. But, instead of studying and playing like other twelve year olds, the only thing that interests him is solving cases. His two friends, Tatai ( Deeptodeep) and Bhebli ( Ahona), are equally enthusiastic on being sleuths and assisting Pupul. Pupul calls himself Captain Spark (remember Joy Baba Felunath?), roams around with a toy pistol and dreams of possessing a durbin (binocular), which, according to him, will make him a real detective. So when his uncle presents him one on his birthday, disaster strikes. Looking through the durbin, Pupul witnesses a murder and decides to catch the culprit. Now, here comes the twist in the tale. The movie, in the time of promotions, boasted that it brought two legendary Bengali sleuths — Feluda and Byomkesh — together on screen, for the first time. Turns out that the director ( Swagato Chowdhury) has taken a lot of creative liberties and brought the two sleuths, not only in the same frame, but also as neighbours! Of course he has tweaked the names and the circumstances. Prodosh Mishra (not Mittir) aka Feluda lives with his cousin Topshey and teaches Math to little kids. His neighbour Byomkesh Basu (not Bakshi) lives with his writer friend, Ajit. Their landlord, Lalmohan Babu is a 'rohosyo-romancho ouponyashik'. Here, both Feluda and Byomkesh are famous detectives, who are past their prime. The para also has another sleuth, Bhanu Goenda (remember Bhanu Goenda and Jahar Assistant?), who has a catering business as nobody asks him to solve cases anymore.

Initially these connections make you feel like you are taking a trip down memory lane and you appreciate this unique way of paying tributes to the detectives with whom we have grown up. But, after a certain point of time, it becomes less and less amusing. When somebody is dealing with these characters and taking the risk of showing them in a new light, the balance between comedy and parody becomes precarious. Unfortunately, the director, riding high on the excitement of doing something mind-blowing, messes up that balance quite a few times. So when an aging Byomkesh accuses Feluda "Tui amar client bhangiye nicchis" or becomes over-eager to share the remuneration, you feel somebody is trivializing the whole thing by violating a precious childhood memory. Trust this reviewer, it is not a good feeling. The weak and predictable plot also doesn't help things much.

But the film has some really good actors like Soumitra Chatterjee as Byomkesh and Sabyasachi Chakrabarty as Feluda. Their performances, obviously, make it worthwhile. The child artistes, considering it's their first film, are appreciable. Anjana Basu as Pupul's mother is good, so is Aparajita Adya as Madhabi Dutta.

So, if you are not sentimental about Feluda roaming with an empty pistol because he can't afford to buy bullets or Byomkesh confessing that his revolver has gone rusty because of lack of use, you can watch this film.