Wednesday, April 30, 2025
War of Lanka
Friday, February 28, 2025
Chaalchitro: Canvas of Cruels
Based on a police thriller, the movie grippingly starts on a high note but falters as the thrill peaks. Written and directed by Pratim Das Gupta, the story might have been better crafted and less tersely edited (Antara Lahiri), as the pace of the movie is inherently quite fast.
A serial killing spree grips the city when women are found killed and the bodies pinned up in the manner, reminiscent of a series of murders that happened long ago! With the earlier killer already serving his sentence, DCP Kanisha Chatterjee (Tota Roy Chowdhury) and his investigating squad are baffled as the killer strikes again. With the only common factor being that all the victims had broken off their marriages prior to getting killed, the police starts keeping vigil at probable targets. But as collateral wrenches the heart and the body count grows, the police must act fast as the murderer gets desperate!
A narrative like this was meant to top the charts, while picturised, but was marred by sequences that were fast, unnatural and unreal.
However, this movie should be watched at least once for three reasons.
The acting of the supporting actors who just overshadowed the main cast. Anirban Chakrabarti was precise and sober, Ziaul Faruq Apurba dominated with grandeur in his curt presence and Tanika Basu was simply outstanding. No word will suffice to describe what she achieved in a role that I feel, will be most difficult to play at any time by anyone!
The next best thing to be noted was costume design by Sabarni Das. The dresses were plain and simple mostly, and fitting and realistic for the occasions captured.
But the best of everything will be the music by Debojyoti Mishra that soothes the senses and gives the movie a much needed grace in the midst of too much gore.
With content fit only for the matured, the movie will be a mostly enjoyable watch!
Monday, October 21, 2024
Tekka
Saturday, October 05, 2024
Darogar Daptar
Monday, September 30, 2024
প্রশ্নটা (অ)সভ্যতার!
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Nayan Rahasya
Identifying the paranormal trait in his son, his needy father takes him to a budding magician, Sunil Tarafdar, who immediately assures to include Nayan in his stage shows against a monthly allowance to the father and providing upkeep for the boy. With his position becoming regular in the magic shows, Nayan instantly attracts attention of many with varied interests. There are some who would like him to assure their gambling wins while others would want to showcase his abilities worldwide. Again there were others who would want Nayan to reveal their forgotten passkeys while there would be obsessive collectors lurking, ready to stoop low enough to snatch Nayan away from his free life and place him among their prized collections. Everything happens as Tarafdar gears up for his South India tour, backed by his mysterious sponsor, who wishes to remain anonymous.
Soon a kidnapping attempt on the boy right from the residence of Tarafdar follows. The worried wizard seeks the help of Feluda and Co who offers to help by accompanying the boy and the magic party through their upcoming tour. But the task of protecting the boy becomes difficult as, thanks to Tarafdar, media is briefed of the tour well in advance who publicizes the event much before the tour begins. Also, Feluda is forced to take another case of a businessman, allegedly fearing for his life. Thus the stage is set for a showdown as threats pile up while protecting both his clients.
The original novel had never been my favourite as fantasy prevailed over mystery but it seemed on afterthought, that the novel had the ingredients for a commercial movie with magic, action, paranormal, theft, murder and the climactic twist. Curiously however, all these being shown, but the actual essence of suspense and tension is missed somehow. The entire presentation thus becomes bland and only fit for the less matured. The background score was insufficient and the direction was not up to the mark. Infact, pondering over whatever the film offered, the editing will also be held responsible for the less crisp finale. Thus, Sandip Ray gives us something that the entire family may watch together but the refreshing Ray touch is disregarded entirely.
As to the acting, two persons stand out among the flock. They are Abhinav Barua as Nayan putting up a splendid show, perfect and naive, just what the character required and Supriyo Dutta as the crazy collector, T N T. Indeed, Dutta steals the limelight in most of the scenes he features and breathes the much needed energy and relief in the otherwise impassive settings with his animatedly menacing gestures and spontaneous playacting. Frankly speaking, I have liked Indranil Sengupta with his natural smartness and humility as Feluda and if he could manage to improve his dialect, he will indeed be a better Feluda, given his characteristic inclination of not copying the style of any of his predecessors. Ayush Das complements well as Topshe and devoid of any street smartness, might shine as a better successor if he matures in the line that the character demands, the subtle apprentice and the primary admirer of the sleuth. Abhijeet Guha is another person who understands Jatayu better than many and thus we get a happily comical Jatayu, in a more responsible role this time, instead of a jester that many had previously and of course, mistakenly, characterized.
In summary, similar to what Feluda advised to Tarafdar about the missing splendour and grandeur that his neat magic show demanded, we can reiterate only similarly the need of a bit of intellectual sparkle in future Feluda movies to augment the appeal of the uncomplainingly compact version of the silver screen release.
Monday, April 29, 2024
What is Mathematics?
Sunday, October 08, 2023
মনের মতো লেখা, মনের মতো খেলা, আমার ছোটোবেলা
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
The Eken: Ruddhashwas Rajasthan
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Natya Gaaner Parampara
The Poila Baisakh, this year, couldn't have been better spent than what we enjoyed at Academy during the noon. Ambarish Bhattacharya and Sohini Sengupta presented one of the unique demonstrations of songs on stage titled, Natya Gaaner Parampara, a tribute to the composers and their musical creations for the Bengali theatres over the years. The programme was simply marvellous.
Mesmerising the audience with numbers, primarily designed for various plays, the performance celebrated the musical diversity that enriched the Bengali theatres through the ages. Melody, traditionally played as conventional Rabindrasangeet, was rendered by
Ambarish with his brilliantly supporting musical ensemble in a way, designed reportedly, by the great laureate himself, for drama! Sohini gave her voice to a Swatilekha Sengupta composition, yet to be included in a play and perhaps displayed the latest upto which Bengali music for the stage has evolved. Spanning, literally, over centuries, from the early nineteenth to the twenty-first, the depth of the musical contribution in Bengali theatres seemed never to be better explored! Songs were selected from plays of Shishir Bhaduri, Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay and presented to give us a taste of the yonder years of which we only might have heard! The Marjina Abdullah duet by Bhattacharya and Senguptafrom the play, Alibaba, displayed the perfection of comic timings in harmony. Rarest of the rare numbers, a song with music composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay belonged to the category of serious lyrics, while a parody composed by Jyotirindranath Tagore reflected the sobriety in satire, the golden art of forgotten old! The children in the audience also had something for them too, as besides the other hilarious pieces, a charmingly addictive cuddly rhythm, from Astronauter Thikana, displaying a novel and diverse manifestation of vocal skill, not only refreshed the younger batch, but this seemingly effortless singing, being far from a childish attempt, promised moments of innocent mirth and smiles on all the faces that listened.Thus, the programme truly displayed the spectrum of theatrical ballads, composed for all the human sentiments and spanning over more than a century, a tradition of tunes, distinctly Bengali and one, which is evolving continuously in all the varied musical shades.
Harmonising majestically with their instrumental adroitness, Rajeeb Chatterjee on octapad, Dipankar Chattopadhyay on keyboard, Abhijit Basu on tabla and conducted by Subir Sanyal on harmonium, the accompaniment was both superb and absolute. The lighting arrangement by Sadhan Parui and the decor by Ayan Ghosh transformed the stage to the gorgeous gramophone period while the sound arrangement of Santu Das and Soumitra Das (Das & Co) preserved the acoustic elegance with modern appendages. Supervised by Arghya Dey Sarkar, this Nandikar production will remain memorable to music lovers for days to come if not years!
The magnetism of music was apparent in the way the audience synched gradually and actually played the main cast in the culminating Dhana Dhanye Pushpe Bhora when the real artists suggested the leads while the majority of the audience sang the entire song, standing, in a unique display of passion and musical harmony, a gesture so theatrical but so earnest - tradition is indeed so alluring!
Caveat: A soothing gesture of offering ORS to each and every audience in the waiting area of Academy by staffs of Nandikar was not only welcome in the scorching heat but won the heart even before a single note had started quenching the musical thirst.
pictures: Amrita De
Saturday, April 15, 2023
পয়লার বার্তা
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Ek Theke Baro
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
An Ode to Rhymes
When the decider is art,
Take a peek into your heart!
For there you might find rhyme
Though that be a bit sublime,
But time is sure to say,
That their appeal will forever stay,
As when each modern turns quite old,
Still the ancients shine always in gold!
Justifying a personal bias with creativity!!