mysonamartya Reviews

Nirbaak (2015)

an interesting experimental film ...

[8/10 · 16 December 2023]

Having watched 'Nirbaak' (Speechless) recently, a 2015 Bengali film directed by Srijit Mukherjee, I am in a bit of dilemma. Should I rate it as a good film, or a bad one? The initial thought that crossed my mind after the viewing of the film, which the director has dedicated to the master of surrealism- Salvador Dali, was that the film didn't make much sense to me. All the beautiful imagery and novel techniques employed in the depiction of Kolkata hitherto unseen could not force me to develop a liking for the film. Maybe the question you would pour forth is "why?". Well, for the kind of implausibility of the storyline - a women courted by three men, and hold your breath, a tree!!! Well, you can't really blame the tree for developing those amorous feelings when the lady is Susmita Sen, eh?

I have always had a soft corner for experimental films that break the conventional style, and Srijit masterfully breaks all cinematic idioms in this work and came up with a film that stretches your power of imagination and takes you on a journey rather unfamiliar on the Indian cinemascape. The film deserves a watch for the bold attempt to tell a different kind of romantic story using some brilliant cinematic moments. Anjan Dutt, Jishu Sengupta, and Ritwik Chakrabarty are the three male leads in the film, in which a dog too features in a prominent role.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Antardhaan (2021)

Interesting thriller with a twist at the end

[8/10 · 11 November 2023]

It's heartening that Bengali filmmakers have shown a zeal towards making celebral detective films / thrillers and this has always remained as a strong current in that industry in contrast to Bollywood that only occasionally comes up with a fine film on that genre. The reason can be adduced to the fact that most of the renowned writers of Bengal, be it Samaresh Basu, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Premandra Mitra, Suchitra Bhattacharyya, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Sasthipada Chattopadhyay or Niharranjan Gupta, besides the ever enduring Shardendu Bandopadhyay and Satyajit Ray and many others have regularly penned detective works that tease your intelligence and keep you glued to the pages to unravel the mystery. No wonder the filmmakers are inspired by such writers and their creation.

The 2020 made 'Antardhan' directed by Arindam Bhattacharyya is a reasonably engaging thriller that keeps you engaged till the end of the storyline of a missing girl from a hill station, Kasauli, in North India. The film has an interesting twist at the end, something that the viewer would be unable to detect until the mystery gets unraveled even though the clues are infused at intermittent intervals during the progression of the story. Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Tanusree Chakraborty, Rajatava Dutta, Mamata Shankar, Harsh Chaya, Neel Mukherjee are the principal cast.

Rating: 3.9 out of 5.

An Enemy of the People (1989)

So relevant in the Indian context

[8/10 · 10 April 2021]

Poor health dogged Satyajit Ray during his last days. Critics have opined that his last works do not measure up to his earlier films. GANASHATRU, based on a play 'Enemy of the people' by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, is among the final works of the most famous Indian filmmaker ever. The film may be weaker in comparison to some of his best works, but this drama has a Contemporaneity in the Indian context, and in this respect, the film has a greater relevance than his well-appreciated works. The film which showcases the story of an upright doctor (Soumitro Chattopadhyay) facing a hostile municipal chairman his own brother (Dhritiman Chattopadhyay) and a hostile society for suspecting contaminated water from a temple to cause a lethal strain of Hepatitis killing several people in a mofussil town, is in essence a thought-provoking 'science versus religion' essay. Ray is possibly the only reputed Indian filmmaker who has questioned blind religious beliefs in his works (Devi, Mahapurush, Ganashatru).

Alor Pipasa (1965)

a tale of struggle at reformation

[6/10 · 18 April 2020]

ALOR PIPASA was based on a story by Banophool. The film was directed by Tarun Mazumdar, music by Hemant Kumarand featured Sandhya Roy, Basant Choudhury, Anup Kumar, Pahari Sanyal, Anuva Gupta , Bhanu Bandopadhyay and others. It is a tale of struggle at reformation for a courtesan (Sandhya Roy), Roshan Bai, when she gets enchanted with a scholarly Brahmin man (Basant Choudhury). The film outlines a new dimension of the courtesan with a golden heart (in contrast to Chandramukhi in Sarat Chaterji's Devdas). While 'All is fair in Love and Air' may have been the guiding proinciple for cupid to bloom, that an inevitable fued would result when skeletons tumble out of closet, is a foregone conclusion. The two main actors, Sandhya Roy and Basant Choudhury, perform wonderfully in their roles. Anup Kumar is chilling in a negative character. The rest of the supporting cast, Pahari Sanyal and Bhanau Bandopadhyay perform remarkably well, especially Bhanu for some of the lighter moments of the film. The songs have a classical strain and a Rabindrasangeet 'alok er jhorna dharey duliye dao...' have been featured in the film. Watching the film four decades later, one feels that the grip of prevalent orthodoxy in those times in society hindred the chances of a fallen woman to gain acceptance in a so called respectable league. While directors like V. Shantaram were making films on reforming criminals (Do Ankhen Barah Haath) , such exercises on disreputable woman was being ignored. Rating: 3 out of 5

Party (1984)

Stylistically orchestrated, socially conscious film making of the highest standard

[9/10 · 27 March 2020]

Gobind Nihalani established himself as a distinguished filmmaker early in his career with films like 'Akrosh' and 'Ardh Satya.' But speaking personally, I find his third film PARTY to be more stylistically orchestrated, brimming with social commentaryand successful in exposing the dubiousness of the rich and the famous from the Cultural fraternity. Under the guise of celebrating a recent honor bestowed on one Dr. Barve (Manohar Singh) a party is thrown by one of the female friends (Vijaya Mehta) of the feted writer. Several people arrive in this party and gradually their personal lives get unfolded before the viewer. Wannabe writers, actors from the theatre, social climbers and social activists & gate crashers mingle freely in the midst of free-flowing snacks and drinks. The discussions ranges from whether Political commitment contribute towards a writer's greatness or the atrocities committed by the State on tribals in the name of development, and the fate that befalls those who speak as voice for the marginalized. In this respect one does find similarity of Gobind Nihalani with filmmakers like Mrinal Sen and Gautam Ghose who seek to address such topical issues in their works. Fine ensemble acting by Amrish Puri, Om Puri, Shafi Inamdar, K. K. Raina, Rohini Hattangady, Deepa Sahi, Pearl Padamsee, Mohan Bhandari, Soni Radzan & Jayant Kripalani add to the strength of the film. Rating: 4.3 out of 5

The Coward (1965)

similarity with debut film of Jahnu Barua

[6/10 · 26 November 2018]

There is a striking similarity in Ray's KAPURUSH (a 1965 film) with the debut film APOROOPA (1982) directed by the renowned Assamese filmmaker Jahnu Barua. The Ray film featured Soumitro Chattopadhyay and Madhabi Mukherjee, while the Barua film had Biju Phukan and Suhasini Mulay in the lead roles. In both the films the lead player plays ex-lovers where the female lead is married to a tea estate manager. The ex-lovers meet after a long hiatus via the tea estate manager who initially befriends the male lead. The similarity ends here. While the Barua film had a courageous lover, the one in the Ray film was a Kapurush (weakling). The Ray film was based on a story by Premendra Mitra.

Mayurakshi (2017)

a father-son relationship movie ...

[8/10 · 27 August 2018]

Movies on father-son relationship bring out facets of life in various hues. Some notable works like Wender's Paris Texas, Ray's Apur Sansar or Anjan Dutt's Dutta vs. Dutta comes to mind that had this relationship at the centrality in the narrative. Atanu Ghosh's National award-winning film Mayurrakshi (2017) is a welcome addition to the list ...

In this film the father (Soumitro Chattopadhyay) plays a widower and a retired Professor of History (an erudite person possessing knowledge in music and many subjects) suffering from old age problems and dimentia. A caretaker (Sudipta Chakraborty) looks after him. The son (Prasenjit Chattopadhyay) arrives from Chicago to see his ailing dad ... dad has suffered memory loss and longs to meet Mayurrakshi, his student and the girl/woman the son had spurned in marriage when the alliance was suggested by the father ... the film explores dimensions of love and loneliness, the plight of the ambitious younger generation living in a separate country having ailing parents back home and the connect/disconnect that exist between them... the sombre mood of the film incorporates exquisite imagery and fine story-telling to make this film a memorable work.

The acting of the two lead performers is top notch. Indrani Halder does a cameo ...the film is directed by Atanu Ghosh (Angsumaner Chobi, Abby Sen). The film was adjudged the Best Bengali film at the National awards this year.

Rating: 4.2 out of 5

Badshahi Angti (2014)

engaging thriller

[7/10 · 12 March 2018]

BADSAHIE ANGTI is a fairly engaging thriller directed by Sandip Ray. A mystery thriller in the Feluda series created by Satyajit Ray, this story is based on a plot involving a 'royalty ring' weaving in historical fiction, murder, pilferage and threats against the backdrop of royal Lucknow. It is interesting to observe how several competent actors have donned the mantle of the detective through the years - Soumitro Chattopadhyay, Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Abir Chattopadhyay (who plays Feluda in this film). This is an early Feluda story and so 'Jatayu' aka Lal Mohan Ganguly is yet to arrive on the scene. The rest of the cast contributes to making the film a watchable fare - Dipankar De, Biswajit Chakraborty, Paran Bandopadhyay, Bharat Kaul, Rajatava Dutta and others. An observation I made from the Feluda films I have watched is that women hardly figures in the scheme of things whereas in the other films of Satyajit Ray they have strong roles. Rating: 3.8 out of 5

Je Jon Thake Majhkhane (2006)

interesting storyline ...

[7/10 · 11 February 2018]

This film explores interesting issues like royalty in relationships, dedication towards duty vs. family, the differences of outlook in class divide (rich-poor), pangs of loneliness and its consequences, the complexities of choices one has to make in life. One could detect shades of Ajay Kar's SAAT PAKE BADHA but the originality of the film is certainly unmistakable. I liked the way the film ended when one was expecting that all would be settled towards the end. The main cast includes Sabyasachi Chakraborty as the protagonist doctor, Debasree Roy as an ex-painter cum housewife, Chitra Sen and others. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Maacher Jhol (2017)

Not too bad, but ...

[7/10 · 28 January 2018]

It seems Bengali cinema is poised for good times with a number of filmmakers exploring fresh subjects and themes. MACHER JHOL directed by Pratim D Gupta falls in this category.

The film tries an attempt -to- return- to-roots of a successful chef (Ritwik Chakraborty) in France to Kolkata when his mother is seriously ill and hospitalized. The film has sufficient human drama and relationship subtext (father-son differences, left behind wife in Kolkata) to engage the viewer's interests. Some aspects seem cliché though (the birth of a son kept as a secret)... the protagonist is flawed too. He accuses his father of being selfish, while he himself deserted his wife and went abroad and never bothered to ask about her during his telephonic talk back home with his mother.

I particularly think that the ending was unconventional where the chef returns to his French girlfriend when the viewers were probably developing a sense that the protagonist would stay back with his wife and son ...besides Ritwik, the film features Mamata Shankar as the mother, Sumanta Mukherjee as the father, Paoli Dam as the wife in Kolkata and others...

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Sabuj Dwiper Raja (1979)

adventure in andaman ...

[6/10 · 29 December 2017]

Among the top Bengali directors Tapan Sinha is an exception when it came to making films on travel and discovery, adventure and suspense. We have seen TS handling the genre again and again in films like ATITHI, NIRJAN SAIKATE, SAFED HAATHI, BAIDURJER RAHASYA, ANTARDHAAN, ATANKA and this one among others ... SABUJ DEEPER RAJA was a film based on the famous sleuth 'Kakababu' penned by Sunil Gangopadhyay. The central role of Kakababu was played by Samit Bhanja quite convincingly. The beauty of the Andaman and Nicobar islands was wonderfully captured by the lens of the Cameraman in this film. The storyline I felt was a big letdown with fantastical elements of a miraculous optical power source among the tribal, crooks in pursuit of it, disappearing foreigners and a forgotten freedom fighter Talukdar resembling Aurobindo Ghosh. The supporting cast includes Biplab Chaterjee, Ramen Rai Chaudhuri, Kalyan Chaterjee and others. Rating: 2.8 out of 5

Swapner Din (2004)

very personal cinema...

[6/10 · 29 December 2017]

I read a criticism of an eminent film critic about Buddhadeb Dasgupta becoming 'very personal' in his later films which lack the social commitment and depth he showed in his early films (Dooratwa, Grihajuddha, Bagh Bahadur and others). SWAPNER DIN would fall in the second phase of his films and no different from the personal kind of films (LAL DARJA & others) he has been making in recent times ... I was trying to dissect SWAPNER DIN and its inner message. The film is basically about a Govt. employee (Prasenjit) and his driver friend (Rajesh Sharma) who tours the villages to promote Govt. schemes (like educating the rural folks about the use of condoms). In carrying out the mission, the Projector and even the Govt. Car gets stolen. A number of characters make brief appearances to fuse themselves into the abstract storyline of the director... While trying to unravel the hidden message, I think that BD is telling us that in spite of the fact that all dreams are crumbling (the uneasy relationship the protagonist Prasenjit has with his father and his mother living with another man, the quibbling land-lady where Prasenjit lived as a tenant for seven years, thieves robbers terrorists and exploiters abound everywhere...) we must never stop dreaming ...this is validated in the concluding sequence of the film wherein the beautiful village belle (Raima Sen) leads our protagonist towards dreamland... The supporting cast includes Reema Sen, Haradhan Bannerjee and others ... Rating: 2.8 out of 5

Sanabi (1994)

Impressive work ...

[8/10 · 19 November 2017]

The film SANABI (The Pony) draws us into the lives of ordinary people in a remote village in Manipur. The village is at some distance from the capital city of Imphal. The main characters are a petty cattle thief (Mangi), a divorcée woman Sakhi who works in the State Dance academy whom Mangi loves, and the family of Sakhi including her father who owns 'Sanabi', a pure-bred Meitei pony – a rarity nowadays in Manipur which has a rich tradition of playing polo since time immemorial, and in one sequence, Sakhi's father claims that 'Polo' is Manipur's gift to the world … Sanabi gets stolen and this makes Sakhi's father heart-broken – he used to love and care for the pony like his own child. Will Sanabi return to her master? Watch this beautiful film from North-East India to find out. Love, Jealously, Loyalty, Kindness, Misunderstandings intermingle in the storyline and succeed in etching the characters in grey especially of Mangi, rather than in black and white. The camera-work and editing is of International class. The film is directed by Aribam Syam Sharma, and based on a story by Binodini Devi. Rating: 4 out of 5

Ananda Ashram (1977)

quite watchable ...

[7/10 · 10 November 2017]

There are certain films that you enjoy watching because of its rootedness, fine performances, social commentary, lovely songs and a light-hearted treatment while addressing issues of national concern. Inter-community marriages, the urgency of providing medical care in the villages, the need to adapt to changing social values have been woven into the storyline of ANAND ASHRAM. The brilliance of Ashok Kumar as the patriarch, the chemistry of Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore, the able support by the supporting cast like Utpal Dutt, Moushumi Chatterjee, Rakesh Roshan and a memorable role for Asit Sen as a caretaker instrumental in raising the children of the orthodox family of Ashok Kumar are the highlights of this watchable film. The film was directed by Shakti Samanta. Rating: 3.7 out of 5

Abbajan (1994)

resemblance to Tagore's KABULIWALLAH

[7/10 · 4 November 2017]

ABBAJAN is credited to be written and directed by Anjan Choudhury (Shatru). The story seems influenced in portions by Tagore's KABULIWALLAH. In this film, like in the Tagore novel, the lady of the house (Sabitri Chaterjee) harbors suspicion about her daughter's closeness with a stranger, the difference being that in this film the girl is much older compared to Minnie of KABULIWALLAH.

While Kabuliwallahs from Afghanistan were viewed with suspicion in the Tagore piece, Muslim neighbors replace Kabuliwallahs as victims of suspicion in the eyes of the lady of the house, an orthodox Hindu resenting Muslims. The titular character of ABBAJAN (Ranjit Mullick), a wealthy Muslim neighbor (with a tragic past) of a Hindu family (Dilip Roy, Sabitri Chaterjee and their son & daughter) resembles in some respects to that of KABULIWALLAH, the situation of a close bond developing with the girl with the affectionate and understanding father seem so similar. In both these works, the titular protagonists were missing their daughter and the void accounted for the bond that develops.

Overall, a significant film that emphasizes on the need to build trust between Hindus and Muslims. The supporting cast includes Subhendu Chatterjee, Sumitra Mukherjee, Abhishek Chaterjee, Pallavi Chaterjee, Chumki Choudhury and others.

A Wednesday (2008)

A couple of questions related to A Wednesday

[7/10 · 27 October 2017]

In recent years the film A Wednesday has been much talked about. The subject is contemporary, and overall the director manages to weave an engaging fare. While watching the film I found it quite riveting embellished by great performances by Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah.

However, when the film ended and I pondered over it, some thoughts/question came to my mind for which I didn't find a convincing answer. If the character of Naseeruddin Shah is representative of the common man, how come he got hold of so much explosives – RDX – which he kept inside a 'J & K' marked bag in a police station (as shown in the initial portion of the film). The greyness of the character of Naseeruddin ought to have been hinted at – this I felt a weakness of the film – the lack of character development of its main character. Moreover, the hacker engaged to trace the calls of the mastermind concedes towards the end that Naseer is the best (and so by implication he is unable to trace his whereabouts), then how come Anupam Kher lands up in the same building which Naseer used for his operations as shown in the end?

Abhimaan (1973)

one of the best from Hrishikesh Mukherjee ...

[8/10 · 21 October 2017]

The inspiration behind the film ABHIMAN could have been any of the following (i) The singer-actor duo Kishore Kumar & Ruma Guha Thakurta and their lives (ii) The actors Amitabh Bachchan & Jaya Bhaduri (many opined that Jaya was a superior actor than Amitabh in those days) and their lives (iii) The Hollywood film A STAR IS BORN Whatever may have been the inspiration, this is a beautiful film laden with wonderful songs unfolding a tale of a singer couple (Amitabh & Jaya) , their quick romance and marriage and thereafter making music together. When the wife starts getting more recognition, male ego gets hurt and husband starts sulking endlessly taking recourse to booze and ex- flame (Bindu). Kudos to Hrishikesh Mukherjee for offering the role to Bindu as a sensitive friend, as it shows her in a different light and a far cry from her usual vampish roles. The directorial style is muted; to convey the deep agony of Usha (Jaya) upon losing her son at childbirth, the director uses a long shot, and the distance between Usha and her father (A. K. Hangal) in the same frame highlights the gulf that exists between them (signifying the loneliness of Usha) , even though Usha respected and cared for her father immensely. The acting is first- rate; Jaya and Amitabh are outstanding. David, Asrani, Durga Khote and A.K.Hangal are also memorable in the portrayal of their respective characters. The unspoiled village with its purity and keeper of the classical music tradition alive is contrasted with a materialistic music driven industry in its urban setting. Rating : 4.1 out of 5

80 te Asio Na (1967)

hilarious ...

[8/10 · 6 August 2017]

A neglected octogenarian (Bhanu Bandopadhyay) stumbles upon a miraculous discovery…Fed up with the ill-treatment meted out to him and his wife (Ruma Guha Thakurta) by his children, he longs for an escape from his dreary existence. Accidentally, he even finds a solution to all of his woes. He discovers a pond where on taking a dip one regains his youth. When he transforms into a handsome young man, many were forced to accept the miracle as real. Quite predictably, all hell breaks loose … From a chemist keen to investigate the composition of the water in the pond, senior officers in the Govt. keen to cash on its benefits, the change in the behavior of the children and their wives towards the man, sundry characters trying to make the most of the situation – everything adds up to make this an absolutely laugh riot. Bhanu Bandopadhyay and Robi Ghosh deliver sterling performances. The supporting cast which includes Ruma Guha Thakurta, Kamal Mitra, Renuka, Asit Baran, Tarun Kumar, Shyam Laha and others perform creditably. Does Bhanu forever remain young? Could such a miracle really have taken place? Watch the film to know the answers …one of the most hilarious Bengali films ever IMHO.

Shahar Theke Dooray (1981)

watchable fare ...

[7/10 · 6 July 2017]

There is a distinguishing feature in Tarun Mazumdar films. Most of his films revolve around village life. However, his films eschew the harshness depicted in the films of Mrinal Sen, Satyajit Ray, Gautam Ghose and Ritwik Ghatak when they make films that has the village as the setting.

The TM film SHAHER THEKE DUREY bears resemblance to his film PHULESHWARI. In PHULESHWARI a young man (Samit Bhanja) joins the Railway and gets a posting in the village. SHAHER THEKE DURE has a young doctor (Samit Bhanja) who comes to work in a village. In both the films, the young man falls in love with a village belle (Sandhya Roy in both films). There are many supporting characters in these films, high voltage drama interspersed with melodious songs. Actors like Bhanu Bandopadhyay, Anup Kumar & Robi Ghosh lend able support to make the film entertaining. Rating: 3.6 out of 5

Joi Baba Felunath: The Elephant God (1979)

absorbing fare ...

[8/10 · 2 May 2017]

I read some Feluda stories in my childhood. Since then I haven't ventured towards the book of the ace sleuth written by Ray that have endeared him to millions across the globe. I have seen several films of the detective though, two directed by Satyajit Ray himself, and quite a few directed by his son Sandip Ray. Among the multiplicity of themes that Ray explored in his films and in his writings, one often finds a thematic recurrence interspersed among his works. The core theme in JOYBABA FELUNATH - about a thriving business involving smuggling of heritage art objects from India to the West was also seen in his book KAILASHE KELENKARI, which has been made into a film by Sandip Ray. The penchant of Ray to showcase rare skills such as jugglery (Phatikchand) is again seen in this film in the spine-chilling act of a skilled marksman aiming at humans - it was filmed on 'Jatayu.' JOYBABA .. is an engaging, suspenseful film from the master filmmaker. The film has the Hindu holy city of Benaras as the backdrop. Apart from a fine performance by Soumitro Chatterjee in the role of Feluda, the film was elevated several notches by the terrific performance of Utpal Dutta as Maganlal Meghraj - rarely has Utpal Dutta looked so menacing as a villain, his act in Bollywood films playing the evil man was mostly comical. The pivotal child character in the film, endearing called Captain Spark, brought out the child that used to reside in Ray who was enchanted by magic, mysterious occurrences & other aspects of the supernatural, besides his love of adventure. Rating; 4 out of 5

Phoring (2013)

sweet, slice of life film ...

[8/10 · 24 March 2017]

Bengali cinema surprises us with gems once in a while. PHORING is one such film. PHORING (which is Bengali for Grasshopper) is an imaginative boy who lives in a village in North Bengal near Maynaguri. He flunks his exams and incurs the wrath of his alcoholic father who beats him mercilessly.

A pretty young female teacher (Sohini Sarkar) joins the school of the boy, and starts taking an interest in the boy and his studies. The bond between the boy and the teacher grows stronger. She calls the boy to her residence, celebrates his birthday and gifts him a smart-phone. This leads to suspicion and questioning of her code of conduct.

The present situation of unrest in North Bengal have been effectively captured on screen. The film touches issues of education, childhood obsession, involvement of promising youths in terrorism, and ruthless parenting.

The filming qualities are superlative, and the natural beauty of North Bengal have been lovingly captured by the cameraman Indranil Mukherjee. The film is directed by Indranil RoyChoudhury. The supporting actors are Ritwik Chakraborty and others.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Eagoler Chokh (2016)

watchable suspenseful fare ...

[7/10 · 10 March 2017]

A successful middle aged businessman is endowed with a special charm that is irresistible to women. Obviously, they're a dime a dozen in this intriguing tale of detective Shabor Dasgupta (Saswata Chattopadhyay in the role of the private eye) penned by Shirsendu Mukhopadhyay. There's the wife Shivangi (Maya Ahson), her friend Nandita (Payel Sarkar) who gets murdered, the wife's sister who lands down from Singapore and her servant Janvi...

There is suspense, consequences of child abuse, conflict of good and evil, of the duality arising from the distinction between the conscious and the sub-conscious ...

The unfolding of the narrative is gripping. The actors perform superbly. June Mallya acts as a psychiatrist in a supporting role. The film is directed by Arindam Sil.

Rating: 3.8 out of 5

The Kaleidoscope (1981)

The versatile Geeta Sen passes away ...

[8/10 · 4 February 2017]

Recently the versatile actress Geeta Sen passed away. Besides acting in the films of her husband Mrinal Sen, she has also acted in Ghatak's NAGARIK and Shyam Benegal's AROHAN. Kolkata DD showed her film CHAALCHITRO recently as a mark of respect.

The Mrinal Sen directed CHALCHITRO (Kaleidoscope, 1981) is a film that has not been screened in India previously as far as I know. It is a film that only a Mrinal Sen would have the courage to make. There is hardly any story so to speak, no attractive heroine features in it to make it pleasing to a viewer. But Mrinal Sen being Mrinal Sen, he has the rare ability to make the mundane the stuff of great cinematic material. Like Jean Luc Godard, MS captures life in everyday Kolkata with its vicissitudes, idiosyncrasies, humaneness and pettiness under the pretext of a storyline - the hunt of a print journalist (Anjan Dutt) for a story/scoop that is saleable. The editor of the newspaper (Utpal Dutt) likens modern life to a stock market - every aspect of it involve a kind of buying and selling. "How many ovens are there in Kolkata?" - runs a question/newsreel footage across the screen. The director also highlights environmental concern with rapid urbanization and use of unclean energy used for cooking during the late seventies. Gita Sen acts as the mother of the protagonist struggling to make ends meet for the family. The lives of several independent families all living under a common roof quibbling and sharing joys and miseries have been depicted aptly.

The film was screened at London and Venice Film festivals. Watching CHALCHITRO recently one felt sad for the demise of THE ACTRESS who brilliantly brought to life the quotidian characters in the films of Mrinal Sen, be it in CHORUS, EK DIN PRATIDIN or KHANDAHAR.

Atithi (1966)

The joys of childhood...

[8/10 · 1 December 2016]

Tapan Sinha's ATITHI bears a striking resemblance to Jatrik-directed PALATAK. In both the films the protagonist is a wanderer intermittently escaping the bindings of family life and setting off to discover new people and places. The only difference is that the protagonist Tara in ATITHI is a small boy (played by actor Partha) whereas in PALATAK it was a grown up man (Anoop Kumar).

Watching a film six decades after it was made in poor print quality reinforces the need to restore such classic films for posterity. ATITHI has a few lilting flute tunes of Tagore composition.

ATITHI takes us back to a world where a sense of the wonder lurked in the child about the unknown. They found joy and happiness in the simple charms that life offered – taking a dip in the village pond or gaping at the antics of the performer of a circus or Jatra (a kind of theater in Bengal). This is one of the biggest losses mankind has suffered in the wake of the onslaught of 24×7 TV Channels and the Internet. That child in us with curiosity about the most mundane of things is now truly dead.

Ajitesh Bandopadhyay and Smriti Sinha act in supporting roles.

Rating: 3.8 out of 5

Hirer Angti (1992)

similarity with AGUNTUK...

[7/10 · 14 October 2016]

Interestingly, late Rituparno Ghosh's first film HIRER ANGTI (1992) bears a striking resemblance to Satyajit Ray's last film AGUNTUK (1991). HIRER ANGTI was based on a story by Shirsendu Mukhopadhyay, while AGUNTUK was based on a story by the director himself.

In both the films a stranger arrives in the midst of a family causing disquiet turning their lives upside down. There is a booty to be recovered by the stranger who is a widely traveled soul endowed with a flair for the language. While the Ray film expounded on world issues and tribal heritage, RG's film is intrigue driven complete with dacoit and fake actors.

The question begging to be asked: "Was HIRER ANGTI a tribute to Ray?"... I didn't catch the segment when the credits rolled and am not sure about HIRER ANGTI actually being an ode to Ray & his AGUNTUK..If it isn't, as it could be because the writers are different, the similarities are not all that easy to ignore...

Rating: 3.7 out of 5