Hemlock Society

Saw the movie #Hemlock Society today at Fame Raghuleela, Vashi. It was worth all the eager anticipation with which I awaited with , particularly from a director like #Srijit Mukherjee. As a movie it was very good, falling just short of excellent. But the director deserves all the praise for handling a morbid subject like suicide , packaged in layers of light comedy. The probing into the modern problems of relationships in the urban upper middle class has been done in a smart way without being too emotional and a very mature manner.The film itself celebrates the positive nature of life and the reasons of staying alive in spite of different setbacks that people experience.

Nowadays films are not made. They are designed as packages. On this point Srijit scores very well as he is a brilliant designer of shots and has composed the movie in a smart format with witty dialogues, intelligent camera angles and mixing of shots in a pleasing format. The camera work is brilliant and some scenes really stand out. The narrative maintains its tempo throughout the main story but the last ten minutes of the movie could have been written in a better way. This is a weakness of the movie but then Srijit seems to have stuck to his formula of epilogues as seen in Baishey Shrabon previously. Would like him to dump this style in his next movie as he should remember the old adage – all's well that ends well.

#Koel is simply too good in the movie and has now matured into a very good actress . This movie will be a milestone for her. She has justified her selection in the lead role with a brilliant performance and brought out the shades and nuances of the character perfectly. But #Parambroto surprises me with each of his movies. He is probably having his best run as an actor and like a good batsman enjoying his form. It is not a coincidence that I have seen him in four movies in the last one year. This young man is really proved himself to be an actor of very high calibre. I will watch him in future with great interest. He will surely reach greater heights in his career.

Music is a strong point of the movie and Srijit is known for beautiful picturisation and use of songs in his films. The music and lyrics of Anupam Roy is outstanding and the songs are great audiovisual experiences. The song sung by #Rupam Islam stands out in the movie due to the sheer force of life in it , beating the one sung by Shilajit. The songs have already proved to be greater hits than the movie and the young generation will definitely lap them up.

#Hemlock Society is a movie not made for the masses but will offer them a peep into the dark sides of the urban life which everyone aspires to have. As a commentary on the modern relationships, the movie succeeds. It will make people think . It will not make you weep but moisten your eyes. It is not sentimental but highly emotional. And to borrow a dialogue from the movie – You need to have a certain level of IQ and also EQ to appreciate the movie.