Review of Bengali movie "Saheb Bibi Golaam"

#SahebBibiGolaam has set very high expectations since the release of its first teaser. It has grabbed eyeballs for its slick and stylish look and bold contents. After watching the film you will surely get what it has promised in trailers, an edgy stylish thriller and some really bold scenes but still you will feel something is missing and that is a strong script.

It is a story of three different characters who belongs from totally different backgrounds and religions. The first person is Jimmy Luke (Anjan Dutta) who is #Saheb. Jimmy is an ex-

police officer who is a contact killer now. He has an emotional past where he had lost his wife's life and his relationship with his son. He prefers to live a lonely life and has no regrets for being a killer as his logic is simple, if he won't kill then someone else will. But in spite of being a killer he has a sympathetic heart towards social injustice against women. The second character is Jaya (Swastika Mujherjee), she is Bibi. Jaya is a housewife who is an obedient daughter- in-law, a perfect mother and a good wife. She is obeying all her duties honestly but somewhere she has a void inside as she is not happy in her conjugal life. Her husband is not interested to have any physical relationship. One day she takes a bold decision to give her life a new turn by opting for being a part time prostitute for satisfying her physical desires. The third character is Javed (Ritwick Chakraborty) who is Golaam. Javed is a taxi driver who is in love with a rich girl Rumi (Parno Mitra) who is his regular passenger from late night parties in weekends.
Jimmy, Jaya and Javed were living their lives in the same city without crossing each other's

path, but one tragic coincidence brings them together. Here comes the weaker part of the script because the way all these three tracks has been interconnected that could have been written in a better way. It looks very much forced in the script.Apart from that there are few more weak points in the screenplay. Like the romantic track between taxi driver Javed and his passenger Rumi looks so hurried and superficial that when it ends in a tragic note, it fails to generate the required sympathy for the protagonist.
At one point Jaya discovers a secret about her husband just by a coincidence, that too looks like a forcefully inserted coincidence in the screenplay. There is a rape scene towards the climax but the prelude to that scene looks very immature. It could have been placed in a better way as part of the story.

In spite of these shortcomings one should really praise some strong points of the story. It raises a strong voice against violence against woman. It makes a strong point about freedom of woman for their sexual preference.
The climax will also be well received as it signifies victory against injustice, although it is too violent. Another good point about the film is that it never wastes time to spoon feed the audiences rather it believes on the intelligence of the viewers and says a lot with just giving a smart hint. 

As a director, it is Pratim D Gupta's second full length feature film. His directorial debut was good but mostly unnoticed. He has matured a lot from there not only in terms of directorial skills but also now he knows how to create right buzz for his film. His love for the city of Kolkata is very prominent in every scene as the city itself has become a character in the film. His direction is very stylish and his eye for every minute detailing is commendable. Only thing he could have been done better was to work more on the script to make it more convincing.

All the actors have been cast really well even the ones who have very less screen time. Anjan

Dutta looks and acts convincingly as cool headed contract killer Jimmy. His character has very less dialogues but with his mannerisms and body language he has managed to connect with the audiences. There is an emotional part too in his character and he has played that wonderfully. 
Swastika Mujherjee is just extraordinary as Bibi. She has to play two different roles one as the obidient housewife Jaya and another one as the free spirited prostitute Shuktara. As Jaya she has worked more with her expressions, as Shuktara she has used her body to make it sensuous. The way she has performed the bold scenes it needs courage and very few heroine has that guts to do that. She is one actress who is really brave and bold in real life and that has worked in her favor to portray her onscreen character.
Ritwick Chakraborty is a dynamite of talent and you can not overlook his brilliant acting. Anyone will fall in love for this innocent cabbie, Javed. Watch him in the scene where he is practising dancing skills to impress his girlfriend. Only one thing needs to be said whatever he has done here is good and honest but looks repetitive. We have seen him doing all this earlier too. Especially his character Javed has a strong hangover from the character he had played in Srijit Mujherjee's #Nirbaak.
Parno Mitra has very less to do as a rich young girl who is in love with a taxi driver. She has managed to look good and have given good support. In her last scene she had some scope to prove her acting capabilities but she could not utilize that chance fully. Vikram Chatterjee, a television heartthrob who has tried his luck in movies few times has been reintroduced here in a negative role. He is just okay as Zico, the arrogant rich spoilt son of a politician. In some scenes to make his villainous personality more strong he has done too much over acting. 

The technical team is in terrific form here. Cinematographer Gairik Sarkar has rediscovered the beauty of the city Kolkata with his lens. Editing by Sanjib Dutta is crisp enough to maintain the required pace. Background score is very heavy in few scenes otherwise it is okay. One must praise the team behind production design and costume design, they have given the film and the characters very authentic look.
The music has been composed by immensely popular Anupam Roy and he has not disappointed his fans. The song "Mon Bhalo Nei" will remain with you for long time. 

Overall #SahebBibiGolaam is a thriller with a different taste. The screenplay is weaker but it has originality. It is a brave attempt to protest injustice against women. Watch it for the earnest performance by the whole cast and crew.