#ChanderPahad

#ChanderPahad - I strongly recommend it to everybody, even for those who don't understand Bengali because 40% of the dialogue is in English and the entire movie is subtitled in English. If you have a kid at home,definitely take him . It is for them and instead of showing them crass mindlesss commercials like Dhoom 3, Chennai Express or Dabanng. Give them something which will open up their mind.

I myself felt like a kid spoilt with choice between Sholay 3D , Wolf of the Wall street and Chander Pahad . Then chose the last one only because I missed it last weekend and this story is associated with my childhood. And I don't regret my choice . Rather the movie betters my expectation in a grand manner . It is a brave attempt and a big gamble that has turned to be the perfect jackpot.

#ChanderPahad is supposed to be the costliest Bengali movie with a budget of Rs 15 Crs. Paltry by Bollywood standards. But the movie is far,far ahead of the top Bollywood grossers in content. And mind it its not a social or family drama with lot of intellectual subtleties which we associate with Bengali movies. It is a pure adventure story with the location set in Africa. Where the movie scores is in its truly international appeal . One should first applaud the producers for backing this project . Had they not supported the efforts , we would miss out on the visual treat and the celluloid translation of one of the most widely read adventure story in Bengali.

Chander Pahad is written by the late Bibhuti Bhushan Bandyopadhyay , who is more associated with Pather Panchali and Apur Sansar. People outside Bengali culture would remember him as the author of Ray's Apu trilogy. He wrote this novel for teenagers in the year 1937 and the settings of the novel was in Africa at the turn of the twentieth century. The anecdotal fact is that Bibhutibhushan never visited a foreign land but the way he has described the African adventure through the eyes of his imaginative creation is truly unparalleled. I first read the novel “Chander Pahad” when I was about 11-12 years old . And later many times. The last time I read the book was about 20 years back as a mature adult. But the thrill and joy which I felt reading the novel was always eternal. 

It is a very simple adventure story and linear in structure. But the beauty of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhayay lies in his terrific sense of fiction which always makes the reader imagine about the scene depicted by him , thus making it a very interactive experience , all within the mind. Simplicity has been the hallmark of this great author . In this era of Nat Geo and BBC channels, no adventure story would look real. But to think of the setting of this story at the beginning of the previous century in the wilds of Africa, one will realize the romance of adventure and why Bengali teenagers have been a fan of this novel since the last 8 decades or so.

Coming to the movie itself, the movie has been well made , overall and does justice to the narrative, and the period portrayal is comparable with the Indiana Jones movies. It is much better than the average Bollywood adventure stories and leads them miles ahead . The photography is of high quality and it should have been so else the whole movie would look a cheap venture. The editing is slick and fast. the shots don't linger and the story moves ahead in a straight path without any convoluted distortions. The number of actors are very small and the total cast barring the main protagonist all are unknown to the Indian audience and are mostly foreign . 

Dev as the hero has tried his best to shed the baggage of his mainstream capers . He fits the role to a large extent and does justice to the role. It must have been physically a very challenging experience for him to essay the role and his deep commitment stands out.Full marks to the director, Kamaleshwar Mukhopadhyay for his venture and able support given to him by the camera crew and post production staff. To attempt a non pretentious adventure story without heroine, item numbers, murders, suspense and a large number of actors , by itself is a difficult proposition in this commercially minded cinema world. To finally make the product commercially viable is nothing short of a masterpiece by itself.

Mirror

The mirror retains nothing;
 it just shows up everything
that is placed before it.
The fine lines of time that
slowly digs deep
into furrows on the face .
All the signs of age catching up;
they are not the mirror's concern.
The mirror remains crystal clear
even if the faces change.

The way out.....

The way out was always there,
somehow, I never had the option .
So that step was not taken
and boundaries confined me in them.
Many a times when I watched
the birds flying away in the sky;
I  wondered , how it would really feel
to be free; at least once in life.
Its not as if I don't like this restraint
a large part of it is self afflicted.
But why should I bother
about all those vistas never travelled.
They were there,waiting to be walked
while the choice was always mine .

Lonely evening

The rain stopped
after slowing down in a drizzle.
Leaving the sad afternoon
to cope with its own loneliness.
The humid  weather sat still
like the burden of expectation .
A few birds flew away
leaving the lonely afternoon
to fade slowly into a dark evening.
A rainy day thus ended by itself
with its own story, untold .

Egyptian Delight

#Mishawr Rahasya 

Mishawr Rahasya was an eagerly awaited movie to me for many reasons . Firstly it was a Bengali movie shot in Egypt . Secondly it was based on Sunil Gangopadhyay's Kakababu character. Thirdly #Prosenjit plays the role of Kakababu. Fourthly #Srijit Mukherjee is the director and I have liked his direction in the previous movies. So it was with that eager anticipation of a teenager that I reached the theatre, along with my better half.

The movie has many positives to its credit and has been mounted on a big canvas of Egypt , more particularly the Saharan desert. It has awesome visuals by Indian standards be it Bollywood or Tollywood and the camerawork has captured the moods of the sand dunes perfectly. Prosenjit has put up a very commendable performance as Kakababu, the intrepid adventurer who inspite of his physical disability , is always ready to face the challenges of varied nature along with his nephew Shontu.

The international feel of the movie will make the big budget Bollywood directors envious.Sometomes you may feel like watching a Hollywood thriller. Srijit has really created a very dynamic movie. Barring a few places where he has gone overboard with his experiments with jerky camera work and editing by montages, the end product is a movie which holds you onto the story with the suspense but never has a boring moment. The story itself is simple advrnture but the treatment by Srijit has turned the narrative into a wonderful thriller.

The storyline has been slightly modified and the characters made more uptodate with the times .The recent events in Egypt has been blended very well into the narrative. Shontu even has his girlfriend tagging along with him on the journey to decipher and find the meaning of a hieroglyph message . But the theme of the story has been kept intact. Kakababu and his adventure would have been liked by the creator Sunil Gangopadhayay.

Srijit is very strong on getting good music for his movies and his song picturisations have been brilliant in the previous movies. Here also he scores but I could not wonder , if so many songs were really necessary in this movie. The action is not of Allan Amin variety as most of the conflict is shown to take place in the mindspace. But action fans will not be disappointed . The camera moves very fast and the scenes too.

The packaging of the movie hs been done in an international format with very good editing and an interactive dialogue . The subtitles are really meaningful and retains the flavour of the dialogues with an universal appeal.

In acting everybody hs done well. Prosenjit as Kakababu Raja Roychoudhury has obviously got the central role and has done justice to it. But if onr has to single out good acting then #Indraneil Sengupta would be my choice. #Rajit Kapur has also proved himself once again.

I have come out of the cinema with the feeling of watching a good movie and would recommend the movie even to people who do not understand Bengali. It has its few weak points but no one will regret watching the film .

Those times spent in loving you

Those times spent in loving you
the bygone days now forgotten
How keen I was in my passion
to bind you in my arms.
Then how easily we reached
the point of no return .
I let you walk away because
I read somewhere and believed
that love demands sacrifice .
Read it somewhere in a tale.
never thought it had to happen with me
in this vast world , no one else.
I spend now my days with the world
laughing, crying and breathing
like a most normal human being.
Then as I wait into the deepness
of the silent dark nights,
waiting for oblivion in slumber;
I look up the sky and count the stars.
As memories rewind in my dreams
playing hide and seek.
Then even as they break
suddenly in the dead of the night,
leaving me with  a deadly thirst .
I find you , walking away from me.
I try hard to mumble goodbye
but find my throat has gone so dry.

I love you because I have to
what else could I have done ?
And once I have loved you
why shouldn't I say that to you ?
Let the whole world know it
now or never , that I love you.
Without you, life won't be same
so I can only keep on loving you.
All my prayers will  be answered
on the day you say - I love you.