Avatar: Special 3D

Avatar - the incarnation of movie and its viewers in the same dimension! When technology defines entertainment, then what we get is Avatar, the ultimate thrill that sweeps past the confines of the screen and takes the viewers to a joy ride through a visual recitation. The 3D viewing from the very start mesmerizes the senses and when excitement runs high, we forget the fictitious projections and it was not once that found me shaking head lest the stones and water and leaves rustle my face.
The actual story is not so high ended concept but the clash of civilizations with one aiming to protect existence and the other to advance technology, seems a paradox to the entire presentation but the win of good over evil satisfies all.
It is the year 2154AD, RDA corporation is mining a valuable mineral unobtainium on Pandora, inhabited by 10ft tall Na'vi, sapient humanoids who harmonizes with nature and worships the Mother Goddess Eywa. To explore the civilization and its ambience scientists develops Na'vi-human hybrid avatars that are operated by mental links of geneticaly matched humans. Thus Jake Sully, a paraplegic former Marine, to replace his murdered brother who had been a scientist turned avatar operator, was introduced to this programme. He was considered no better than a bodyguard by the head, Dr. Grace Augustine. But Col. Miles Quatrich, head of the Sec-Ops, private security force of RDA had other ideas. He tried using Sully to learn about the Na'vi resources and habitats so that it would be easier to secure them when time comes. But as Jake comes closer to the Na'vi population it becomes increasingly difficult for him not to sympathize with them. He becomes intimate to Neytiri, daughter of Eytukan, leader of the clan that he is introduced into. There, her mother and the clan's spiritual leader Mo'at, orders Neytiri to teach Sully the ways of the tribe. As he grew more and more acuinted with her, Sully fell in love with her and was tortured beyond agony as he understood that his intel will just destroy the natural habitat and almost the whole tribe of the Na'vi that had so tenderly adopted him.
Thus began the new chapter of Sully where he confessed of his attempted betrayal to Eytukan and was condemned for the purpose. But then, to regain the trust that the tribe had earlier possessed of him, he tamed the flying predator Toruk and earned the title of Toruk Maktu (tamer of Toruk), a distinction held by only five of the Na've previous to him. This also earned him trust from the tribe and his future actions agains the evil Earthmen got him his desired brotherhood to Na'vi. Thus began the revolution that united the entire Pandoran Na'vi that rose against the technologically advanced humans.
The rest is a fierce yet detailed battle between the two cultures and the audience will be spellbound at the display of high paced action.
This James Cameron directed classic with its 9 min of extra graphical excitement in the special edition is a celebration of technology and of colours that unfolds its brilliant shades in a classic manner. Sam Worthington as Jack Sully was a wonderful choice as the new face matched well with the new genre of film making. Stephen Lang as Miles Quatrich also carried on the cruel character just correctly. Sigourney Weaver (Dr. Grace Augustine) carried on her part of the curt yet humane scientist to perfection. Zoe Saldana as Neyitiri played her part of the coarse yet sympathetic Na'vi with zeal. Wes Study as Eytukan was also a wonderful choice whose stature was just right for the leader of the tribe. But C.C.H Pounder was the best as Mo'at whose composed expressions derived a revered personality from her wild form.
Mauro Fiore's cinematogrpahy is another treasure that complemented the graphics both in detail and in excellence.

Putul Nacher Itikatha

http://calcuttatube.com/putulnacher-itikatha-bengali-drama-review/119783/

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.

Bisarjan

http://calcuttatube.com/bisarjan-bengali-drama-review/117884/

Tintorettor Jishu

The style that Satyajit started in Hatyapuri is repeated here with the preamble shoving the readers to a new perspective than from which Feluda views the case. Infact Feluda stumbled across the case on his way to an astrologer accompanying Jatayu for his latest book release. On the way they met Nabakumar Neogi with his car broken down midway on his way to Baimunthapur. As Jatayu asked Haripadababu to help, the travellers began to get acquainted with each other. It was then that Feluda queried Nabakumar about a famous painting in possession of the Neogi family. Though the painting had been referred to in one of the recent articles in a magazine but the full identity of the painting was never revealed there. So it was Feluda's interest and a curious murder of the pet dog Thumri at Neogi residence that attracted him to the painting that was actually a masterpiece of a famous Italian Renaissance painter Tintorretto. There he found, among the others, one Rudrasekhar, claiming to be son of Chandrasekhar Neogi, the real owner of the painting and another person, Robin Choudhury who was interested in writing Chandrasekhar's biography. Feluda also met Soumyasekhar, Nabakumar's father and learnt about his other son Nandakumar who was out of family ties for a pretty long time. He further learnt that another person in the name of Hiralal Somani, a corrupt art dealer, was also interested in selling the painting to a foreign collector Krikorian. As Feluda started on the trail of the rightful owner of the painting a series of events takes place. It starts with a murder in the Neogi house, then Rudrasekhar goes missing and finally Feluda discovers that the valuable painting is replaced by a fake one. This forced his principled soul to rescue the painting and thus started an adventure that took them to Hong Kong, fulfilling Jatayu's age old hope of touring a foreign country and utilizing the passport that had been left useless ling enough. To know what happened and who was the criminal mastermind behind the murder and the theft you have to surely go throuth the narrative that promises an enjoyable read throughout.

The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency

From the last year's Calcutta Bookfair when I had seen this book, I seemed to recollect the name appearing in one of the Daily's declaring this to be a best seller. Maybe this was wishful thinking on my part but I was generally attracted to the title. A little web surfing told me that this book is indeed popular and so I decided to give it a try some other time, not only due to its popularity but the word detective attracted me like anything. Well, a year or so had passed and from time to time I had gathered some information about it. That it was related to mystery was ok but it seemed it was also related to society in general and the African culture was also another aspect for which the book had gained popularity. Though I had never been very keen on literatures drooling on social and cultural issues but my recent acquaintance with K.R. Narayan's Malgudi had changed my views considerably. So when I finally acquired the book, I immediately tried to gobble up the content. But here there was the first hitch that I came across! This book is not meant to be read hurriedly. Rather it has a steady meandering pace of its own that should be respected to be fully enjoyed.
The book starts with Mma. Precious Ramotswe and describes her simple headquarter set in a scenic surrounding at Botswana. During one of the idle moments during her office hours she was seen contemplating, under the shades of a acacia tree, on her past and to the day when her father died leaving her with the farm that he had set up from scratch. It was her father's wish that the little Precious would sell the farm and start a business of her own. That whether he would have agreed to his daughter' wish to set up a detective agency was not certain but when Mma. Ramotswe had started with her job, she was, within days very popular and there was a great demand of her services. Infact, she was convinced that had her father been alive, she would be very proud of his dear Precious.
She recollects one of her earlier cases when the identity of a lady's long lost father was to be validated when the old man returned after a very long time. The way she reveals the truth seemed to be childishly simple but her intuition and above all her sincerity will win many hearts, not only of her clients but also of her fans.
The next few chapters dwells chiefly on her father about how he raised a living and a family, doing hard toils in the mines. Precious lost her mother at a very early age but the void was soon filled by her aunt, who came to live with them, after her husband deserted her. It was she who gave the early educations to Precious and thus before joining school, she could read, count numbers, recite verses and a tendency to be inquisitive was naturally imbibed in her. Then came her first job and her first case hand in hand when she pointed out some corruptions in her uncle's business. But her youth had not been all too smooth sailing due to her horrible and nightmare experience in love followed by an even horrible conjugal state. Fortunately she survived that and as soon as the torturing husband deserted her, she took shelter at her father's and served him till his death did them part. Then, in essence, began her career as the only lady detective in Botswana. Yes, she was critical about her status as a lady detective as the Botswana that she lived was more adept to find men in important jobs and thus as a woman, she made it clear to the high brows that she meant no nonsense doing her business.
Her courage to set up a new type of agency in a place without proper knowledge of running a detective business seemed to be awarded right on the 1st day with her secretary Mma. Makutsi being the harbinger of the case. But sadly the case never promised a happy ending but the way it was solved prompts the reader to applaud on the instinct of the sleuth. But sometimes the subjects she was dealing with were too much for an amateur and instances were there where they humoured her in novel ways. Sometimes a peculiar case would come as of Alice Busang who wanted to get proof of her husband's disloyalty and was left just furious when Mma. Rammotswe actually produced the proof. Infact it was very obvious that there was a high chance of misunderstanding in the solution to the case.
She also specialized in fraud cases and the most interesting point in the narratives are they just follow the thinking of an ordinary woman whose clear insights ultimately solves the mysteries. But one thing that may disappoint the avid readers of suspense is that in most, the perpetrators of crime are hinted by the clients themselves and Mma. Ramotswe only gathered proofs with her ingenious methods. But sometimes, as was the case of Dr. Komoti, with the client being his boss Dr. Maketsi, the solution or rather the diplomacy in punishment seemed not at par with the naivety of Mma. Ramotswe.
For some cases a bit of a prologue has been aptly briefed. Also cases where the words of the mechanic J.L.B. Matekoni, the wise man came in handy, particularly while investigating a car theft. Matekoni was more than a friend to Mma. Ramotswe as apparent from several chapters and the sentiments that they each cherished for the other have very subtly but definitely expressed throughout.
J.L.B. Matekoni also helped Mma. Ramotswe once by inadvertently stumbling across a clue that set the detective in the trail of some serious villain. But the trail seem to lead to one of the most powerful persons in the country and though he tried to dissuade her, but Mma. Precious felt it her resposibility to bring a social evil and a cruel practice to end. So she set up an elaborate plan to trap the evil brain and Rra. Matekoni, much against his wish, collaborated in introducing the detective with the murderous criminal. But disappointingly for adventure lovers, the climax is quite bland than what seemed to be expected.
The best thing about the stories are that these are narrated from the perspective of the sleuth and thus nothing is hidden from the readers and the making of a detective is appreciated well by the stylish way of story telling by the author. Also the making of the detective in Mma Ramotswe is drawn very clearly as with the evolution of each of the chapters, evolved the character of the detective. Thus the naive woman in her younger days became a lady smart enough to rattle the most powerful man in the place and the courage in her heart could earn the respect and reverence from the acquaintances. Though in the process, the ambience sometimes swings to a sombre mood but quickly changes right when the solution is approached.
The narrative is filled with African cultures, their customs and it surprises me when I found the ululation, that is so common at our marriage ceremonies, also is a part of African culture. Also the basic philosophy of life is sometimes being subtly hinted upon that always reminds the readers about the necessities of life that drives the human force. These actually occurs mainly where Mma. Ramotswe reminisces about the land, the barren grasslands and hearing the roaring lions at Kalahari and Africa in general. Also the African flora and fauna finds their place, sometimes dangerously, on the course of a case. Romance, too, had found its place in the story and in this too the author had been sincere yet emotional and the readers will thoroughly enjoy the novel. Everything in the narrative is nice but for certain printing errors in the final chapter that though are small but seems very much disproportionate with the clarity of the rest.

Feluda One Feluda Two

Another of the double adventure packed Feluda stories with quite contrasting backdrops.
When the priceless Napoleoner Chithi gets stolen right under the nose of Feluda along with a murder at Barasat it is just obvious that he gets involved in the case. But he had not visited the aged collector's house for looking into his private museam but on the request of one of his little fans who had pleaded him to seek the wherabouts of his pet chandana. Feluda, found this irregular, and after the murder occurred, he was more than determined to go the depth of the problem. His suspect list seemed to grow like anything including another collector who also wanted desperately to have the letter in his possession, the revengeful secretary who seemed to vanish after the theft, two sons who didn't have a strong alibi. Finally, Feluda did solve the case but the adventures prior to it is as gripping as ever with Ray's masterful description of events that keep the readers glued to the pages. The next story Ebar Kando Kedarnathe takes place, as the name already tells, at Kedarnath and here too Feluda is somewhat coincidentally present at the place where a theft and something more heinous seemed to happen. The eternal lust for money and valuables seemed to drive the villains to raid the unsuspecting monk on whose possession was a prize, priceless to him, but a source of extreme wealth to many. Curiously, the villain is a kind of reflection of the earlier story and though it happens chronologically at a later period of the adventures of Feluda, later than Tintorettor Jishu, but seems the choice of including this along with the other one on the same pack was somewhat dependent on this point.
Apart from the mystery, another important part of the story is it covers Jatayu's ancestry. The description of the Himalayas, among other things, are another attraction where Ray's succint description is again revealed that never misses a single detail without being monotonous at the least.

Jato Kando Kathmandute

Curious as how Ray links his stories with the previous originating at Nepal and this one is right at Kathmandu! "Jato Kando Kathmandute" is the trio's first adventure in foreign soils. Feluda is requested by a Mr. Batra, a Nepal based businessman to offer him advice for dealing against a person who seemed to fake his identity at all sorts of places. Infact Feluda, with Topshe and Jatayu, saw the other person from close quarters, moments after meeting Mr. Batra for the first time.
Though Feluda advised Mr. Batra to consult with the police for better results but he could not keep mum following a murder of Mr. Anikendra Shome, hailing from Kathmandu, with the same Kookri that was bought by the fake Batra. Thus Feluda had dual problems to solve, one the murder of Mr. Shome and the other to save Mr. Batra from false accusations. So Jatayu's ambition of foreign trip seemed to mature as the three musketeers set off in unravelling the mysteries at Kathmandu. There coincidences seem to flood them as on the first day they met persons related to Mr. Shome and Feluda sensed foul play with illegal trade of fake medicines that seemed to result in Mr. Shome's death. Also the chain of murder seemed to start even before with the curious death of Himadri, friend to Anikendrababu, who had earlier unmasked some smuggling racket. As Feluda starts to bring the loose ends in one place another startling discovery presents itself intensifying the suspense even further. This was with their meeting with Maganlal Meghraj, Prof. Moriarty of Feluda series, who materialized himself at that fateful place introducing the fake Batra as Jagadish who appeared to be his right hand man.
Thus the stage was all set for an exciting climax and this story is again adventure packed but for one thing - too much coincidences that seem to mar real detection at places. Another dissapointment, rather spoiler is, in the context of Maganlal's entry, several of villains in previous Feluda stories have been named. But inspite of all these, this continues to be one of the most exciting Feluda stories with twists even at the final few pages.

Hatyapuri

"Hatyapuri", that translated in Bengali means the murderous mansion has also another meaning from the context of the story where murder occurs near the Puri beach, another Bengali favourite. As Feluda and his company starts their holiday at the seaside, murder seems to trail them from the very start. Along with comes theft, an astrologist who can read future in the strangest of ways, a photographer who proclaims to be a victim of attempted murder, a collector of scriptures, a jovial secretary who seems to know a secret. So it is just only natural that the reader will find more than the fair share of drama that detective stories promise. Along with this is a gripping prologue, a new style that Ray introduced in his stories, that reflects his masterful command of the pen and maybe this innovation was a spin-off of his movie making ideas.
As I turned over the pages of this so early read novel, the appeal seems to have increased only further. When a body of a murder victim is discovered on the beaches, a photographer tells about a mysterious mishap and the secretary of the aged collector vanishes with some valuable scriptures, the adventure had already begun that promises an exciting showdown on the sands.

Tritiyo Onko Otoeb

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Aaro Baro

This classic collection contains another dozen of Satyajit's memorable short anecdotes and runs as

• Loadshedding
• Sahadevbabur Portrait
• Bishful
• Asamanjababur Kukur
• Mr. Sasmaler Shesh Ratri
• Class Friend
  
• Pintur Dadu
• Bhuto
• Chilekotha
• Atithi
• Brihacchanchu
  
• Golokdham Rahasya

The stories takes you through a smooth ride of the human mind and make you think how the strangest of events can take place in the most regular surroundings. Also the psychology of human mind has been the subject of several of these pieces and will keep the readers glued to the pages till the very end. The collection starts with a humorous piece in the backdrop of Calcutta's power cut that sparks off a series of events that will surely bring more than a smile to the reader's faces. The next few deals with confidence tricks - used as a means of sweet revenge or as a practical joke, both coming hard on the victims! A nice message is depicted by the story of the strange dog who could laugh like humans and a horror story reflects once again another message 'crime doesn't pay'. The value of friendship is weighed in the scale of time and a child's contrasting view of a grim world is sketched as we glide through the next few pages. Horror seems to flow freely yet accurately from the hands of the author as he collages magic with the unknown and his compilation is perfect as the story follows up with a narration that chiefly deals with a curious urge of apology for a sin committed years back! Mutual faith is tested when a maternal uncle returns decades after he left home and the next story takes us to a strange land so convincingly portrayed in this country itself from where a pre-historic animal emerges to start a reign of terror that being foiled by the human intelligence. The final piece is as usual the most awaited for, where Feluda and Topshe (no Jatayu here) investigates theft and murder and here too like the 1st story of the lot, load shedding plays a very important part.

Aami Weds Aami

http://calcuttatube.com/aami-weds-aami-bengali-drama-review/109590/

Musalmanir Galpo

http://calcuttatube.com/musalmanir-galpo-2010-bengali-movie-review/108318/