Probably this is the least promoted and marketed film of Srijit Mukherjee at the same time this is best written story and screenplay by Srijit Mukherjee.
This is truly a musical film where music plays almost a character and connects the stories of two different generations. Its about two non Bengali men who are from different time and culture but still they are connected as they both learn the Bengali language, loved the Bengali language and music and finally gave their own contribution to the Bengali music world. One is Heynsman Antony aka Antony Firingee (Prosenjeet Chatterjee), a Portuguese man born in colonial Bengal who had written Bengali songs another is Rohit Mehta (Jishu Sengupta) a Gujrati boy who is trying hard to learn Bengali and compose a Bengali song to woo his lady love Mahamaya (Swastika Mukherjee).
There is another person who is the connection between Antony and Rohit and he is Kushal Hazra (Prosenjeet Chatterjee) , who is a librarian in Chandan Nagar. Kushal is a reincarnate who was Antony in his past life and he narrates the story of Antony to Rohit to help him complete his dissertation on Antony Firingee. Kushal is person who is trapped in the memories of his past and present life.
The story goes back and forward in past and present and the well written screenplay brilliantly shows the similarity between the journey of Antony and Rohit. For both of them it was not easy to make their own music in Bengali but both of them overcomes these difficulties for their love for the language and music. The story is very much unique, its not just about Antony Firingee rather it takes reference from the very less information present about him and develops an interesting fictional story around it giving a fresh twist to the theme of reincarnation.
The screenplay is also very well written it never looks too much dragged and always keeps the interest of the audiences. Its mainly an emotional journey but the comic relief provied by the supporting cast is just appropriate. the songs have been used very well in the story and it never looks forced in the screenplay. The revelation at the end of the movie will surely come as a surprise and have an impact on the mind of the audiences for sometime even after coming out of the theater. It will provide some of the answers of the questions too which comes in the mind of the audiences while watching the movie.
As a director Srijit has matured a lot , he has told urban stories which deals around the city of Kolkata earlier too but this time the way he has depicted the rural Bengal the Kabi ladai (Fight between the poets with their poetry) is very nice. He has chosen his cast and technical team smartly.
Jishu Sengupta has done a good job. His accented Bengali dialogues sounds good and goes very well with his character. Swastika Mukherjee shines in her role though she has not much to do on screen.
A lot of well known faces have been seen doing cameos or extended cameos. Among them Abir Chatterjee , Rahul and Riya Sen has done fair job. But the actors who steal the show in their extended cameos are Mamata Shankar as Mahamaya's mother, a bindaas widow as she has been defined in the movie and Srijit Mukherjee(the directpor himself) as the boss of Mahamaya at the radio station. Every time he appears on screen you will surely laugh with his funny dialogues.
Then there are some actors who have just appeared in song sequences as the opponent poet to Antony in the Kabi Ladai. Among them you will surely like Ananya Chatterjee, Bishwajit Chatterjee and Kharaj Mukherjee.
The technical team of the film has done very well job. The cinematography by Soumik halder is wonderful. the dialouges written by Srijit Mukherjee shows the wider variety as the characters belongs to different time and social status. Same goes with the costumes and sets 0f the film which goes well with the mood of the film. Special mention is deserved for Vikram Gaikwad for doing the fabulous make up of Prosenjit Chatterjee for both of his roles. He has made the two characters look totally poles apart.
The film is incomplete without its music, unlike other films here music is like a character of the film. All credit goes to Kabir Suman for giving life to the songs. The kabigaan lyrics written by him are very authentic, it is tough to believe that he has completed the lyrics for the songs from the one or two lines poems available for reference. the movie starts with his song , ends with his song and in the middle of this the songs remains the soul of the film.
Overall it is very much engaging film with good story and convincing acting by a list of well known actors. if you are looking for a Bengali musical and you like Kabir Suman's music then it is a must watch for you.
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