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Reviews
Apur Panchali (2013)
Story of the man destined to be Apu all his life
ApurPanchali is 97 minutes of pure cinematic delight. A simple, heart-wrenching movie devoid of violence, unnecessary songs,unnecessary titillation. Amidst mostly trash movies being churned out all around, Apur Panchali is like a breath of fresh air which will leave you with happy moments as well as a lump in your throat. Its a collage of moments dipped in nostalgia, a look back to the age and simplicity we have left behind and the tale of an ordinary man told in an extraordinary way. Kudos to director Kaushik Ganguly for writing such a brilliant screenplay. The way he creates a parallel between the real life of a man and the resemblance with the trilogy scene by scene is commendable. A splendid narration of the tale of a man destined to be Apu all his life; not just an attachment to the name, but the life of the character itself. When else can truth be stranger than fiction when your reel life stint uncannily directs your real life and you inexorably live with it. The most celebrated child actor in world cinema who has led years of oblivion,miles away from the arc lights, cannot forget how as if the Apu Trilogy was written for him to act. The sad part being he had to act it painfully in his real life. And how beautifully that dilemma,pain,frustation has been portrayed by Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Ardhendu Banerjjee. Ardhendu Banerjee is a revelation. The way he stares marks him as a lonely man battered by the vicissitudes of life. The making and breaking with the romanticism around Apu will make you realize that their are things in life beyond mobile phones and popcorn tubs in the hall. Parno Mittra will steal you heart away with her innocence,sweetness and naivety.She will make you smile and make you cry within hardly 5 minutes of screen timing alloted to her. The sweet and subtle romance between Parambrata and Parno in those short moments will make you want to fall in love. Lovely cinematography by Shirsha Ray and fantastic direction by Kaushik Ganguly proves that he is one of the best filmmakers we are fortunate to have now. Indraadip Das Gupta 's music will just haunt you. He has taken the iconic musical piece of Pather Panchali by Pandit Ravishankar to a different level and what an auditory treat it is! A balm for the soul hurt in cacophony all around. The film starts with that music, plays all throughout and ends with it and yet you never feel bored. You just want it to go on and on. Seldom seen just a beautiful interval and ending. Truly portrayed brilliantly by the actors and Indraadip Dasgupta's lilting music accentuates the poignancy. Tears well up and flow unknowingly at many a moments. Ardhendu Banerjee moists your eyes when he sadly keeps staring at the curtains made by his long deceased wife. His bonding with Gaurav Chakraborty is endearing and he too is another revelation in this film. Parambrata simply wrenches out your heart in the end when he tears off the armlet tied around his hand in anger and pain. The scene can move even a rock to tears. The look he gave while his wife was lovingly tying it fills your heart with romance and at the next moment when he realizes how uncannily he lost her like Apu in Apur Sansar, he breaks down in tears and you cannot help a drop or two roll down our eyes. These moments create Apur Panchali .The winding road which Apu or Subir takes at the end reaffirms that you don't need a huge budget or foreign locales to make a beautiful film. There are places closer home and emotions close to the heart. Even today a tiny room on the terrace is way more romantic than a posh high rise and Apur Panchali proves it. Was haunted by its aura , still is and will be for days.
P.S. People who go to movies just for sheer entertainment, or are not emotional and do not like to slow down, prefer receiving calls in the hall please avoid and spare the others.
Hawa Bodol (2013)
Roller-coaster ride
We all somewhere envy whatever we see in the lives of others. We all at one point of time must have felt I wish I would have been him or her . What if that really happens one day like the ghostly blessings in Ray's "Goopi Gayen Bagha Bayen"(familiar to bengalis as "bhooter raja dilo bor")? It may sound a bit absurd but what if you suddenly wake up and see you have become what you wanted to ? It can be called as letting all the inner wishes come true . What follows next is a roller-coaster ride where you scream for the two leads , laugh out loud , feel sorry for them and yet hold on to your seats till the end .
The lead roles have been played by two of the finest actors present in Bengali film industry, Parambrata Chatterjee (as Satrajit), who is the director of the film too , and Rudranil Ghosh(as Rajarshi). And they deliver a performance which is to be remembered by one and all for long . They prove their true potentials and how! Even Raima Sen (who play Satrajit's wife Tanuka) and Neha Panda do pretty well in their small roles . Director Parambrata knows very well how to bring out the best out of his cast and its very evident in the film. The child actor Kabir too gets a special mention for his charming and innocent presence and expressions . Hats off Mr.Director for absolutely wonderful casting including yourself. They go out on a joyride and when they end up exchanging their lives they find themselves in deep trouble. The actors mimic each other's role so well and get themselves into such situations that the audience go through a fantastic comedy where there isn't a trace of forced laughter. Performance wise its one of the best recent Bengali comedies. Director Parambrata take a bow !
But is it only laughter ?Well the answer is no . Through the journey both discover what is missing in their lives and how much is the grass on the other side green and is it actually green or the same . Rajarshi and Satrajit stagger in their exchanged lives because of the new shoes they have got their feet into making up a mess . But they soon add the charm badly needed in each other's life and both seem to realize what they had been missing out on . Satrajit learns to open up the windows in his life and Rajarshi learns to plan things in his life. The scene by the river at dusk and in the boat where they reflect upon the changes in their life is one of the best scenes. The cinematography is brilliant . That reminds me of two other beautifully touching scenes , the ones where Parambrata visits the hospital and Rajarshi's parents in Chandannagar . There isn't much dialog in his part but he delivers so poignantly , that its heart-wrenching. Add to that Mohan's voice with Indradeep Dasgupta's soothing tunes and its just perfect. "Mor bhabonare" is really one of the best picturised songs in recent times connecting Tagore to even smallest of happiness in our life .
One may complain of too many slangs in the dialogues but come on isn't that how friends usually men talk to each other ? so lets be realistic. Superb dialogues make it a really enjoyable comedy. Only I felt it could have been ten minutes at least shorter .
To sum up I would say it is a delightful gush of breeze .