Jato Kando Kolkatatei

Topshe turns Feluda in this hunt for a mysterious treasure that traverses Kolkata, traces a few steps back in Bangladesh and touches Darjeeling and Kurseong as well.

Saba from Bangladesh arrives at the Roychowdhurys in Kolkata with the story of a lost lineage - the story of her maternal grandfather. Queerly enough, a letter, very important but lost accidentally from the Roychowdhurys, traced its way back to the mansion, roughly simultaneously. The letter embeds a message via a deceptive riddle that hints at a mysterious treasure, hidden in a secret recess.

The adventurer in Saba is immediately aroused. But she needed a guide. So enter Tapasmitra aka Topshe, a seeker of old history by passion. Thereafter, starts their quest that attempts to solve the strange case of a disappearing couple, recover a secret treasure and in the process, stumble upon yet another mystery of a murder from the past, which was never really solved. Bonding over their common admiration of the great Ray and advised by Bodhida (their very own wise old Sidhujetha), a retired cop, erudite but sadly crippled, Topshe and Saba dives deeper through the past while averting threats to their present! With a motive to crack dormant mysteries, the journey puts forth unforeseen twists.

Anik Dutta weaves a tale with tribute to Satyajit embedded. Touching several Feluda novels and references, the screenplay (Dutta and Utsav Mukherjee) is fast and pleasant. The theme is further augmented by the opening score of Debojyoti Mishra that blends Mozart with Ray and sets the mood readily from the initial moments. But, somehow the grip is lost midway, maybe due to certain forced dialogues and events that appear to be less rational but only being nicely coincidental. However, Abir Chatterjee is brilliantly refreshing and imbibes correct enthusiasm almost throughout the movie as the theme demands with his spirited act. Ably supporting are Mithu Mukherjee and Dulal Lahiri with their performances, characteristic of seasoned veterans. But the sweet composed role of Aparajita Ghosh Das deserves a special appreciation for her emotionally correct composure in a role that she played with the perfect poise and balanced dignity.

The movie is thus a good choice to watch but falls short of being remembered and though suitable for the young adults but parental guidance will be advised for the audience comprised of the mildly matured batch.

picture: Arghya De

Aabar Byomkesh

http://calcuttatube.com/aabar-byomkesh-2012-bengali-movie-by-anjan-dutta-user-review/169891/

Kahaani

http://calcuttatube.com/kahaani-2012-hindi-movie-starring-vidya-balan-mesmerize-audience-user-review/160727/

Ranjana Aami Aar Aashbona

http://calcuttatube.com/ranjana-aami-aar-aashbona-2011-bengali-movie-user-review/152513/

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.