Review of Bengali movie "Nirbashito"

We all know Churni Ganguly as a very talented actress but when she chose to wear director's hat for the first time she shows that she equally talented in direction too. She has chosen a truly different subject about the controversial author Taslima Nasrin's banishment for her controversial writing. This movie has already bagged National award even before its theatrical release. This film never mentioned the name of the author but you can make it from the references, that from whose life it has been inspired.

This film is not a conventional biopic about the author, it never focus on her journey from a

poor girl from Bangladesh to an world famous author.Rather it tries to trace her pain her loneliness once she got banished from her own motherland, from her own people, from her own language, from her creative world of writing. The movie starts with the riots in Kolkata by some fundamentalist parties against the controversial author(Churni Ganguly). To make the situation under control Govt has to shift her to Sweden. But she has to left her pet cat Baghini, whom she use to treat like her daughter, with one of her friend Pritam(Saswata Chatterjee). From here starts two different tracks, the author's struggle to cope up with her loneliness at Sweden, her longing for coming back to her own people to her motherland; another track revolves around Pritam's struggle to send the cat Baghini to her mother at Sweden taking approval from local police to state Govt to Sweden Embassy.

The screenplay has been written very well which creates some moments that will live with you even after the movie ends. While it is about the pain of the banished author, it has some funny moments too using some satire on Govt official revolving around the process to send Baghini to abroad. This film never tries to justify what is right or wrong but it protest against ban on anyone's freedom which is one's birth right. It talks about women liberalization , it talks about ones right of freedom of speech and no one have the right to ban that.

As a director Churni ganguly is excellent in her debut film. She has chosen a truly different subject and has handled it quite well giving it a realistic touch. From choosing locations to

choosing actors from different parts of the world everything looks authentic. She knows how to connect with the audiences while telling the story.

Not only as director, Churny Ganguly is in terrific form as the leading actress too. She has portrayed the emotional journey of Taslima Nasrin superbly. The pain, the anger, the frustration , the loneliness looks real on her face. She is an actress who can convey her emotions even without saying a single line. 

Among the others Saswata Chatterjee is very impressive to provide a comic relief. He has played the author's friend Pritam who is struggling to balance his life between his friend and wife. His acting is very natural as usual. Raima Sen has her moments in her short appearance.

The rest of the cast from Tollywood and Sweden, everyone has done a good job. The casting has been done very wisely.

Special mention should be given for Soni , the cat who has played the character of Baghini. Her expressions are really priceless. No wonder you will feel attached with the cat.

The cinematography by Shirsha Ray is wonderful, the locations of Sweden has been captured really well. The editing done by Bodhadity Banerjee is sharp , the story never looks stretched. The background score is very effective. 

Overall it is a film about the pain of an author who has been banished not only from her motherland rather she has been banished from her birth right to express her own feelings. It is about her suffering , her undying hope of returning home one day, which will touch your heart. Watch it for the wonderful effort by the extremely talented lady Churni Ganguly, both as director and as an actor.

Review of Brothers

“Brothers”, the official remake of Hollywood movie “Warrior” has been promoted as a high voltage action oriented film based on Mixed martial arts and it is true to some extent. But it is not only an action entertainer rather it is an emotional drama too about the conflicts between the members of a family, between a father and his two sons, between two brothers separated following a tragic incident in their family.

It is a story about two brothers David (Akshay Kumar) and Monty (Siddhatharth Malhotra)

both were separated in their younger age when a tragic incident had happened in their family which had lead their father Garry (Jacky Shroff) to imprisonment. By the time Garry comes out of Jail things have changed a lot. David has cut off all his relationship with Garry and Monty and has chosen to be a Physics teacher and a dedicated family man with a loving wife Jenny (Jacquline Fernandes) and a daughter. On the other hand Monty is an unsuccessful, alcoholic street fighter. Both Monty and David have chosen different lives but there is one common thing in between them, they both hate each other. Another common thing between these two brothers is that they both love street fighting , as their father Garry was a famous fighter at his young age, although after becoming a teacher David has chosen to refrain him from street fighting.

In such a situation world famous controversial game show R2F (Right To Fight) is introduced in India which is a knock out fight series based on MMA between heavy weight world famous fighters with Indian fighters. Both David and Monty take part in this competition for different reasons. David needs the prize money for his daughter’s treatment where Monty wants to prove to his father that he is a better fighter than David. As expected these two brothers face off each other in the finals. Who wins and who loses that you have to see in the theaters but their brotherhood wins. Love wins over hate, forgiveness wins over revenge.

The screenplay has been adapted quite well from the original adding some Bollywood masala, like a bit too much melodrama, a forcefully placed item song. Although the first half

is too lengthy, unnecessary time has been spend on showing the flashback of David and Jenny’s love story which is not required at all. Rather more time could have been spend on showing the bonding of the two brothers in their childhood which could have given more emotional high to the climax. The item song featuring Kareena Kapoor Khan is also not required; it just adds more running time to the first half. In the second half the story revolves more around the MMA fights, but the scenes showing the emotional dilemma of the family members in between the fight sequences helps to break the monotony of the fight sequences and it also gives more strength to the emotional climax.

After making his directorial debut with “Agneepath” few years back, Karan malhotra has made it clear once again that he can blend emotion and action quite well. His direction is good. Only he could have work on to shorten the length of the film by some 10 minutes.

Akshay Kumar has played his character wonderfully. When it comes to martial arts there is no one better than him in his league of actors. It is always a delight to see Akshay Kumar performing those martial arts but here he has shined not only in fight sequences rather he is brilliant in emotional moments too. He is very impressive as the David suffering from a dilemma whether to forgive his family or not for his loss.

Siddharth malhotra is an young actor who is continuously improving himself with every

film. It is really tough to fight opposite Akshay Kumar that too in Martial arts form but Siddharth has managed it quite well. He has played his character extremely well. The anger and aggression in his expression looks convincing as per his on screen character. Even in his fight sequences he is impressive. His effort for building a perfect body is also appreciable. Only he needs to improve in the emotional scenes. 

We have seen Jacky Shroff various type of supporting roles in recent past but the character he has played in this movie is probably one the best among them. Here he has got a chance to play a significant character with enough scope to show his talent and he has utilized this opportunity quite well. He is good as the old father who is trying hard to bring back his broken family together. Only he is not that effective in the sequences where he plays the younger version of his character as an alcoholic and abusive husband.

Jacquline Fernandes has got a different kind of character to play as an wife and a mother but unfortunately she has nothing much to do specially in the second half. Shefali Shah is wonderful in a cameo as Monty and David’s mother. Watch out her in the scene where she first time meets Monty.It is nice to see Ashutosh Rana on screen after a long time. He has managed to impress even in his lesser screen time.

Among the technical team the first credit should be given to the action directors Justin Yu and Eric Brown. They have set a really high standard for the action sequences in Hindi cinema. Hemant Chaturvedi’s camerawork is remarkable. The background music by Ajay-Atul suits with the drama going on screen. Their background score is very much effective during the fight sequences which gives it a thrilling feel. The music is not the strongest point of the film because there is not enough scope for songs , whatever song is there are only works as a speed breaker. Even the item song featuring Kareena does not work as it has been forcefully placed in the story.

Overall it is an enjoyable film which has its own loop holes but after coming out of theater it will give you satisfied feeling. Watch it for the wonderful acting by the brothers duo and also for the superbly choreographed fight sequences.

Review of Bengali Movie "Anubrato Bhalo Achho?"

This movie is already talk of the town even before its release because of the recognition it has already received  in some international film festivals. It is journey of two souls who are alone and destiny bring them together for some time. The acting by the lead cast is the main USP of the film.

The story begins with Anubrato (Ritwick Chakraborty), his wife Neeta(Deboleena Dutta) is a

cancer patient and she is in a hospital going under chemo therapy. Both Anubrato and Neeta are hopeless about their future and have almost surrendered to fight the battle against death. In such a time Anubrato meets Jaya (Swastika Mukherjee) , her husband is also admitted in the same hospital where Neeta is admitted. Destiny brings Anubrato and Jaya closer, soon they identify that both of them are struggling with common problem of loneliness.
They becomes friendly with each other to fulfill their emotional as well as physical needs. But how long the relation will survive? Both of them have their own family and priorities , in such situation what happens to their relationship that has been answered in the climax.

The story is very linear , there is no subplot. It just focuses on the demotivated lonely life of

the two protagonist. It hardly tries to give any past of the characters. The pace is very slow and after some point the same life of Anubrato starts looking repetitive, until he meets Jaya. The climax may not appeal to everyone but probably it is the perfect possible ending.

As a director Partha Sen has tried to choose a different subject and credit should be given for that. He has tried to tell the story of two lonely souls without making it just a typical extra marital affair story. The story never tries to question on the morality of extra marital affairs. Only he could have added more layers to the story and characters.

Ritwick Chakraborty has already received international film festival award for Best actor for this role and he deserves that. He is so natural that at any point you can feel you are really watching Anubrato not Ritwick. His body language and look is also perfect for character in his late 40s which is more than his real age. He has once again proved he is the best actor of current generation. Even his silence expresses louder than words.

Swastika Mukherjee has also done a fantastic job as Jaya, a middle aged housewife and mother, who also has her own desires to enjoy life. She has also played an onscreen character older than her real age and she has done that effortlessly.
Deboleena Dutta is wonderful in the role of Neeta, a cancer patient. The pain and frustration is clearly visible on her face. She has opted for a complete de-glamorous look, the way we normally don't get to see her and she looks convincing in this look as a cancer patient.

Rest of the cast has nothing much to do, Kharaj Mukherjee is okay in the cameo.

Among the technical team , full credit should be given to the make up artist for creating the aged look of the main three leads. Rest of the technical team has done a fair job.

Overall it is a film which is very slow in pace and has nothing much to tell but still you can watch it for the superb acting by the leading cast. 

Review of Bengali Film "Shesher Kobita"

"Shesher Kobita" is an adaptation of the very famous Bengali novel by same name written by Rabindranath Tagore. It is a huge task to tell a novel in just 2 hrs movie , it is tough to decide how to cut some unwanted elements or shorten them in cinematic language. Director Suman Mukhopadhyay have tried well to portray this story like poetry in motion on screen.

The story starts with Amit Ray (Rahul Bose) and Ketaki (Swastika Mukherjee) who are in

love and decides live life together. But  after  a certain period Amit realizes he is longing for something else in life. He decides to go for a trip to Shilong alone leaving his known circle of friends and family members in Kolkata. In Shilong he meets an young  independent educated lady Labanya (Konkona Sensharma). Soon they became friends and start feeling love for each other. Though Labanya is too ambitious in life to get married but she too agrees to marry Amit after a point. But Labanya had a past too, she had a silent admirer, at her younger age, Shovanlal(Debdut Ghosh). What happens when both Amit and Labanya's past come back in their life. Does their love survives or not that is the end of the story.

Those who have already read the story their is nothing new for them. In such a case the screenplay matters more but unfortunately the screenplay, especially in the first half is

too slow. The screenplay picks up in the second half only. the first half is too much poetic and is less appealing towards the current day generation. The climax is too hurried , it could have taken little more time to justify the decisions taken by the two lead.

As a director Suman Mukhopadhyay has done a fair job. Specially the recreation of pre-independent India is picture perfect.

Rahul Bose is good as Amit Ray and helps to make the character intellectual but the immaturity is missing in his face and body language which is required for Amit Ray in the first half. Rahul Bose is definitely not the best choice for the character.

Konkona Sensharma has portrayed the complex character of Labanya perfectly. She gives life to Labanya. Her expressions are just perfect for the character.

In a short role Swastika Mukherjee has done a good job as Ketaki. Watch out her in the  scene when she sees Amit and labanya together for the first time , the way she tries to control her tears is too good.

Among the others Debdut Ghosh and Tulika Basu are good.

The technical team has done a fine job to recreate the period. Special mention for the costumes designed by Dev r Nil, the research work can be seen in the detailing. Same can be said about the set design. Shirhsa ray has shot the film very nicely , the mountains and the waterfalls of Shilong provides an eye shoothing experience.

Some Rabindra sangeet has been used here and there but does not add much value.

Overall it is a poetic representation of the story of platonic love, with some good acting and authentic representation of pre-independent period. If you love to see your favorite characters alive on screen then go for it. Otherwise you can avoid it for a home watch.

Review of Drishyam

"Drishyam" is one of the rarest Bollywood film which is a film about family bonding yet it is a crime thriller too. It is the remake of 2013 hit Malayali film by the same name. It is the kind of thriller where you don't have to play the guessing game to uncover the mystery till the end rather you know everything from beginning still you will enjoy watching the mind game between the Police and the culprit.

The story begins introducing Vijay (Ajay Devgan), a fourth standard fail who runs a local

cable business in a village in Goa. He lives with his family; his wife Nandini (Shriya Saran)and two daughters. Apart from his family his only love is movies. Their happy family was doing all good until something unwanted happened to them when they got involved in the case of a missing guy , who is also the only son of the Inspector General Meera Deshmukh (Tabu). Now its all the responsibility of Vijay to save his family from this disaster and how he does that is the rest of the film.

The screenplay is a scene by scene adaptation of the original Malayali film so this is

also unnecessarily lengthier , specially the first half has very unimportant portions, trying to portray the happy life of the family taking more than the required time. But the story picks up from the second half and from this point the screenplay is gripping. The mind game between Vijay and Meera is very much interesting. Although it seems a bit too much to believe at some points but still as it has been said in one of the  dialogue of the movie in cinema we believe, what we see, no matter how much unconvincing it is.

As a director Nishikant Kamat has done a good job in choosing good actors and good locations otherwise about the story telling he has to do nothing much as it is a very loyal remake so there is not any modification in the style of storytelling.

Ajay Devgan is remarkably good in the role of the head of the family with a mission to save his loved ones. After a long time we have seen him doing a character with more emotional content unlike his recent mindless remakes. He has wonderfully portrayed his character.

After "Haider" last year Tabu has played yet another mother to a young kid and she is

brilliant. She enters in the story after long one hour but from the point she appears she lefts her impression. Her character has multiple shades varying from a tough Cop to a sympathetic mother and she has balanced these emotional variation very well. Watch out her in the climax where she has no dialogue but still her silence says much.

Shriya Saran is just good as Ajay's wife. Rajat Kapoor as Tabu's husband is superb.  Ishita Dutaa as Vijay's elder daughter and Mrunal Jadhav as the younger daughter is very good. Kamlesh Sawant has made his presence felt among the big actors in the character of Inspector Gaitonde.

Among the technical team , cinematography is appropriate by Avinash Arun. The production designs by Sukant Panigrahy is very authentic. The editing by Aarif Sheikh is wonderful in the second half but it could have been better in the first half. There is no scope for any song so even the much loved combination of Vishal Bharadwaj and Gulzar is not effective here.

Overall "Drishyam" is a good movie made with a good intention, there are some loopholes but that can be overlooked for an engaging second half and some wonderful acting.
Give it a chance and you wont be disappointed.

Review of Bajrangi Bhaijaan

In last few years we are almost habituated to see a Salman Khan blockbuster on the occasion of Eid and this year is also not an exception. This time we have "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" as Salman Bhaijaan's gift to his fans on this Eid. But if you are expecting yet another commercial entertainer from the superstar then you are wrong , this time it is quite different from all recent Salman hits. Here you wont find any forced action sequences where hero will rip off his shirt and flex his muscles. Here you wont find any Item number. Here you wont find any one liners for ceetis and taalis from front benchers. But still you will enjoy the film as you will get a heart touching story that will connect with your emotions, you will get some brilliant performances, you will get a message to help human being beyond of any religion or borders.

The story begins with little Shahida(Harshali Malhotra), a 6 years old Pakistani mute girl ,

who gets lost from her mother in India while returning to her country from Nizamuddin Dargah in India. Her destiny brings her to Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi (Salman Khan) , a die hard Bajrangabali Bhakt from Delhi. Pawan is a very kind hearted person, who never lies or takes any wrong way. When he comes to know about Shahida's helpless condition he decides to bring her to her parents even without knowing her original name, religion and residence. Pawan has his own problems as he is struggling to make a future to settle down with his school teacher girlfriend Rasika (Kareena Kapoor Khan) , but after meeting with the baby whom Pawan named as Munni, their first priority becomes Munni. It took some time for Pawan and Rasika to know the truth of Munni, that

she is from Pakistan. Once Pawan comes to know that, he decides to send Munni to Pakistan first using some official and unofficial way but once he fails he decides to take Munni to Pakistan on his own. From here starts his journey in Pakistan where he meets lots of people some good, some bad , and ultimately he succeeds to in his mission. On his mission he meets Chand Nawaz (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) a struggling journalist from Pakistan , who helps him in his mission and also helps him to come back to India.

From the very first reel we are pretty much clear where the story is heading but still the

screenplay penned by Kabir Khan, Parveez Shaikh and V. Vijayendra Prasad , makes it an engaging watch. Though the first half is a bit slow specially because of the irrelevant romantic track of Pawan and Rasika, but still it has some really funny moments; the way Pawan and Rasika finds Munni's interest about Chicken over vegetarian food or her interest for Mosque over temple. This sensitive issues has been handled quite well in a light hearted manner. The main story picks up in the second half when Pawan lands in Pakistan and Chand joins him. From this point their journey is really worth watching the way these three persons bonds with each other will make you laugh and cry with them. Towards the climax it turns out to too much melodramatic but by that time you  are already in love with Pawan , Munni and Chand so it will bring tears to your eyes. The climax scene delivers  a wonderful message of brotherhood between two countries very well.

As a director Kabir Khan has done a wonderful job. He has delivered a wonderful message without compromising the entertainment values. His direction shows how well he can blend commercial masala with realism. It is no doubt his best work as a director.

It is definitely one of the best film from Salman Khan as an actor. He has played a different

role after a long time. He has executed  the character of innocent , Hanuman bhakt Pawan, quite well. Every time he tells the story of how he came to Pakistan will surely make you laugh. Also during the climax he will make you teary eyed. After a long time he has been presented not as a star rather as an actor.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui who comes in the movie around after 100 minutes will win your heart from the very first scene where he tries to recreate a famous YouTube video about a Pakistani  reporter who is trying to present a news at a railway platform but getting interrupted every time from the passerby's. Once again he has proved that he is a complete natural actor who can make you laugh and cry without doing any kind of over acting. Watch out him in the sequence where he is narrating the story of Bajrangi Bhaijaan on Youtube , it will surely bring lumps in your throat.

Kareena Kapoor Khan now a days appears in just small roles and item songs in big budget movies. She is doing the same in this movie too. She has a very small role as Rasika , Pawan's love interest. But still in her small screen time she has impressed with her expressive eyes and proved that she is still capable of handling better roles.

But in spite of the presence of all senior heavy weight actors little Harshali Malhotra is the  show steal-er as the cute Munni aka Shahida. She has a charming innocent face which makes you fall in love with her from the first scene itself but as the story progresses you will realize what a good performer she is. As per her character she has no dialogues  throughout the whole movie and she has to enact her part only through her expressions which is very challenging for even grown ups but this little wonder has done that so easily.

Among the rest of the cast it can be said all has done a good supporting jobs including some good cameos from Rajesh Sharma and Om Puri in the second half. Special mention should be given for Meher Vij who has made her presence felt in just two three scenes as Shahida's mother.

Among the technical team it can be said the cinematography by Aseem Mishra is very eye catchy , he has shot the valleys of Kashmir superbly. The editing could have been done a bit better and the length could have been reduced by some 10-15 minutes especially in the first half. The production design by Acropolis is very good. 

After a long time Pritam has made a comeback as a composer. His songs are good and the  "Selfi" song and "Bhar De Jholi" are already popular. The rest of the songs has been used quite well in the background and goes well with the story on screen.

Overall "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" is a movie which worth a watch by whole family. It gives you entertainment as well as good message about human bonding. There are loop holes but that can be overlooked.Watch it else you will miss one of the best films of recent times.

A quick update of Bengali movies in the second quarter of 2015

For Bengali movies the second quarter of 2015 was not so good , it has very few successful films in comparison to the large number of flops. Mostly the hardcore commercial films failed to attract audiences. Only the month of may was quite good in this quarter.

Lets have a month-wise recap of the second quarter.

April

The month of April began with Abhijit Guha and Sudeshna Roy directed comedy "Bitnoon".

It was a comedy about extra marital affairs ,featuring very dependable actors like Rittwick

Chakraborty and Gargi Roychoudhury. But the story and screenplay were not so funny to create any magic at the ticket windows. 

The next big release of this month was from Venkatesh films , "Amanush 2". This Soham and Payel starer was released on the auspicious occasion of Poila Boishakh. The film was obviously a South Indian remake but its treatment was quite different from regular commercial mainstream films as a result it could not match the expectation from the audiences. Although people appreciated Soham Chakraborty's performance but finally it was a flop.

Overall this month was not a good one for the Bengali Film industry.


MAY

The month of May started with two Big releases Srijit Mukherjee's "Nirbaak" and Shiboprasad-Nadita's "Belasheshe". Both the movies had created good pre-release buzz mostly because of the successful past record of the directors.

"Nirbaak" , directed by Srijit Mukherjee was the most experimental film from the director so far. It was about four love stories connected together with a common theme of silence. The film got a good opening because of the expectations but after watching it, audience had mixed reaction. Some people liked the experimental step taken by the director while others were disappointed from this. On the final run though film got good response from critics but at the box office it did not performed well specially comparing to the previous success record of the director. The performances by Anjan Dutta, Ritwick Chakraborty , Jishu Sengupta and Susmita Sen were appreciated very much.



"Belasheshe" was yet another gem from the director duo Shiboprasad Mukherjee and

Nandita Roy. Just like their previous films there was no big stars rather the story was the main hero of the film. The story was an unconventional tale about the bonding of post marital relationship. It was a mix of humor and emotion that touched the heart of critics and audiences. In the lead role Soumitra Chatterjee and Swatilekha Sengupta did a wonderful job. In the supporting cast Kharaj Mukherjee and Rituparna Sengupta were quite impressive.

Overall the positive feedback worked really well for the film and it became a winner at the box office. It is still running in theaters completing successful 75 days.

The third release of this month was yet another winner, it was Suman Ghosh directed "Kadambori" featuring very talented Konkona Sensharma in the Title role. This movie was a period piece based on the controversial relationship between Rabindranath Tagore and his sister-in-law Kadambori Devi. The movie was quite authentic in its presentation and the performance by Konkona was too good. All these worked for this film and it became successful at the box office.

There was a commercial entertainer from venkatesh films "Jamai 420". It was a multi starer comedy which was released during the occasion of Jamai Shahsthi. It did quite an average business  at the box office.

The last release of this month was Mainak Bhaumick's "Family Album" featuring Swastika Mukherjee and Paoli dam in the lead roles. It was dealing with the bold subject of lesbian relationship but neither the content nor the bold presentation did any wonder for the movie and it failed to impress the audiences.


June

The month of June was very bad for the industry. Not a single movie did fare business

at the box office.
Considering the commercial point of view only big release was "Roga Hoar Sahaj Upay"featuring Parambrato Chatterjee and Sen sisters Riya and Raima. But this movie failed badly at the box office.

Only film that got good response at least from the critics and festivals that was "Asha Jaoar Majhe" featuring very talented Ritwick Chakraborty and Basabdutta Chatterjee. This film won several awards in different categories at different International film festivals. 
But unfortunately this film did not got a proper commercial release and could not became a box office winner.


Best Films of Q2 2015

• Kadambori
• Nirbaak
• Belasheshe
• Asha Jaoar Majhe

Best Directors of Q2 2015

• Suman Ghosh - Kadambori
• Srijit Mukherjee - Nirbaak
• Shiboprasad Mukherjee , Nandita Roy - Belasheshe
• Aditya Vikram Sengupta - Asha Jaoar Majhe

Top Performers of Q2 2015:

Actors:

• Soumitra Chatterjee - Belasheshe
• Ritwick Chakraborty -Asha Jaoar Majhe
• Ritwick Chakraborty - Nirbaak
• Anjan Dutta - Nirbaak
• Kharaj Mukherjee - Belasheshe

Actresses:

• Susmita Sen - Nirbaak
• Konkona Sensharma - Kadambari
• Swatilekha Sengupta - Belasheshe
• Basabdutta Chatterjee - Asha Jaoar Majhe
• Rituparna Sengupta - Belasheshe