Aladin's magic lamp turns up in the heart of Calcutta - the owner in this case being Anilda (note the anagram of Aladin), the so familiar Bengali office goer barely supporting his family of three and sometimes trying to live off the income of his wife. A regular buyer of lottery ticket, never in his dreams had he hoped for fortunes that is promised by the genie. So in his enthusiasm when he gets all that the genie suggests he is yet to learn a hard truth that leaves him the same miserable fellow as he was before the lamp came to his life. Though the finale is a bit predictable with the style followed in works of master story tellers like O. Henry, Satyajit Ray, Roald Dahl, but Anik Dutta once more pulls of a fine adult comedy based on Shirshendu's short story, whose best part is the crisp script. The style being repeatitive of what had been followed in Bhooter Bhabisyat, the charm is monotonous but no less appealing. But the major problem in this Arghya Kamal Dey edited elegant presentation may be categorized in two parts. One being the last song in the movie which have been apt if sung in background and not in Saswata's lips. The second is the use of too many side plots that have been given prominence, notably the auction house sequence and the Haridas Pal sequence, which being the finest comic episodes too, but remains so detached from the main storyline that it seemed forced only. As to the acting Saswata is just magnificent closely followed by Srilekha and Rajatava. The sets are well designed with an eye to detail and Anik Dutta's acknowledgemen to the great Ray is also spelled out again. But use of some common jokes and 'do you know it' could have been done away with for a crisper narrative.
Showing posts with label saswata chatterjee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saswata chatterjee. Show all posts
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Monday, May 06, 2013
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Byomkesh Bakshi
Based on Saradindu Bandyopadhyay's 'Adim Ripu', Anjan Dutta presents the dhoti clad crime buster to the mystery lovers in his premiere endeavour of 'Byomkesh Bakshi'. The mystery interspersed with the racial riots in the Calcutta of the 60's and the viewers glimpsed the atrocities bordering savagery in the name of religion. Though the period is shifted some decades forward than that in the actual story but the mood remains the same. Without going into the details of the story which the Byomkesh fans might know by heart, let me analyse the presentation.
First of all, the casting was excellent though Saswata Chatterjee as Ajit outshone Abir Chatterjee as the sleuth but the latter was also a superb selection. Abir's demeanor was crisp and intelligent though a bit more maturity was due in the character. Swagata Mukherjee's portraiture of Nanibala Das was though different from that in the novel but she superbly played the character in an entirely new dimension. Biswajit Chakraborty as the obstinate and arrogant Anadi Babu maintained the pace of the character with excellence and Kalyan Chatterjee contrasted him well with his characterization of the alcoholic in Keshtababu. Pradip Chakrabarty was fascinatingly perfect in his character of the Hotel owner but the major setback seems to come from Rudraneel, whose meek portrayal of Prabhat was way off his normal self. But surely the best part of the show comes from Chandan Sen as B(n)atul whose appearance itself was a relief though his clever acting never compromised on the importance of the character.
Anjan Dutta's sentiments for Bengal and Calcutta was touching but constant repetition of the synonymous phrases and a more than necessary visual of the riots did not do justice to the emotions. Also each time the protagonists were inside a rioting area, they were curiously unharmed by the insane rioters.
One of the revelations of the film was the composed way music was presented by Neel under the direction of Anjan Dutta that was just appropriately used that went well with the temper that was due to a suspense movie. This restraint, considering that both the father and son are noted for their passion for melody, deserves all the more praise as in today's commercial endeavours, songs are seen to be given priority without caring for its effect in diluting the actual plot.
Now coming to another disappointment in the script of the character Ajit as he more than once proclaims his authorship on the adventures that was never necessary.
The pace of the movie was just correct with the pace set by Arghya Kamal Mitra's editing and the superb art direction of Gautam Basu went hand-in-hand in with Indraneel Mukherjee's excellent cinematography but the ending was rather drab when compared with the rest of this thrilling two hour.
Another very important point that stares hard at the face is the dialect and certain mannerisms that did not do justice to the period that this movie is projected into - Ajit asking Satyabati to 'hold' the telephone line is one such example. Also, Byomkesh and Ajit sharing a cigarette that too produced from pack rather than tin, seems way off the sentiments of the time as well as their respective age.
Barring this the movie is a entertainer and is a must watch for lovers of whodunit with one of the mystery remaining unanswered as to the rational for the crowd of Chatterjees in the production, - is Dutta superstitious about surnames!! just kidding folks.
First of all, the casting was excellent though Saswata Chatterjee as Ajit outshone Abir Chatterjee as the sleuth but the latter was also a superb selection. Abir's demeanor was crisp and intelligent though a bit more maturity was due in the character. Swagata Mukherjee's portraiture of Nanibala Das was though different from that in the novel but she superbly played the character in an entirely new dimension. Biswajit Chakraborty as the obstinate and arrogant Anadi Babu maintained the pace of the character with excellence and Kalyan Chatterjee contrasted him well with his characterization of the alcoholic in Keshtababu. Pradip Chakrabarty was fascinatingly perfect in his character of the Hotel owner but the major setback seems to come from Rudraneel, whose meek portrayal of Prabhat was way off his normal self. But surely the best part of the show comes from Chandan Sen as B(n)atul whose appearance itself was a relief though his clever acting never compromised on the importance of the character.
Anjan Dutta's sentiments for Bengal and Calcutta was touching but constant repetition of the synonymous phrases and a more than necessary visual of the riots did not do justice to the emotions. Also each time the protagonists were inside a rioting area, they were curiously unharmed by the insane rioters.
One of the revelations of the film was the composed way music was presented by Neel under the direction of Anjan Dutta that was just appropriately used that went well with the temper that was due to a suspense movie. This restraint, considering that both the father and son are noted for their passion for melody, deserves all the more praise as in today's commercial endeavours, songs are seen to be given priority without caring for its effect in diluting the actual plot.
Now coming to another disappointment in the script of the character Ajit as he more than once proclaims his authorship on the adventures that was never necessary.
The pace of the movie was just correct with the pace set by Arghya Kamal Mitra's editing and the superb art direction of Gautam Basu went hand-in-hand in with Indraneel Mukherjee's excellent cinematography but the ending was rather drab when compared with the rest of this thrilling two hour.
Another very important point that stares hard at the face is the dialect and certain mannerisms that did not do justice to the period that this movie is projected into - Ajit asking Satyabati to 'hold' the telephone line is one such example. Also, Byomkesh and Ajit sharing a cigarette that too produced from pack rather than tin, seems way off the sentiments of the time as well as their respective age.
Barring this the movie is a entertainer and is a must watch for lovers of whodunit with one of the mystery remaining unanswered as to the rational for the crowd of Chatterjees in the production, - is Dutta superstitious about surnames!! just kidding folks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
