AninditaRoyMusings

KABERI ANTARDHAN: Set in 1975 during the Naxal Movement and the Emergency, the movie has little historical references to the turbulent era in Bengal and Indian history. The movie is based in Hatimara in North Bengal where there is no TV but only radio and newspaper but the captivating flora and fauna of the Hatimara forest are not captured by the cinematographer. The screenplay is very slow and predictable-the audience can easily detect the culprit making the movie much less of a thriller. The background score is too weak and also the camerawork does not add to the intrigue. The story goes back and forth in a nonlinear fashion but adds little to the tension. The performances are superlative though. Prosenjit is paired opposite Srabanti-interestingly Srabanti started her career as Prosenjit’s daughter many moons back. Indraneil Sengupta looks smart and slick. Amabarish is cast in a non-comic role. Churni Ganguly scores high especially in the scene where she learns about her son’s demise. The movie falters because of its confounding storyline and ill-conceived implementation.

PATHAAN: Despite worldwide cries for boycotting PATHAAN, the movie has grossed close to 1000 crores and is the biggest blockbuser of 2023. It is the comeback movie of SRK after 4 long years and also has Salman Khan in a cameo. Thiis movie is the fourth installment of Aditya Chopra’s spy-universe. Touted as an action packed thriller, the action scenes are a copy-paste job from old Hollywood movies and other Hindi action movies such as WAR and DON3. The acting is quite mediocre, the direction is run-of-the-mill, the screenplay is terrible and the plot is threadbare. The VFX is horrible. There is sadly no ‘wow’ moment in the movie. SRK’s twelve-pack abs are fake and are CGI produced.The scantily clad Deepika lacks oomph and chutzpah and looks vulgar. John Abraham is too handsome to be a villain. Dimple Kapadia is laudable. The much hyped appearance of Salman Khan is hackneyed and forced and if I might say, somewhat stupid. Everyone totes a gun, engages in fisticuffs and high kicks and somersaults. The action scenes are pretty predictable. At two and a half hours, the movie tries your patience. If you are a celebrity worshipper and a diehard fan of SRK, watch this vanity vehicle of his for a dose of patriotism and a rush of feel-good hormones.

The initial part is long winding, tedious and suffocating. The CGI lions are “fika” and eats up the budget. War troops’ long shots are stock shots. Akshay Kumar does not ride the horses for real and is actually bouncing on a wooden horse. Movie warms up after 1 hour with the entry of former miss world Manushi Chillar. Manushi is a little stiff in the romantic scenes but shines with grace and dignity. But she is too skinny to be a hindi film heroine. Although she has a Deepiku hangover, she dances well and emotes adequately. I couldn’t understand why Sanjay Dutt had to pull a Dritarashtra act. Sakhshi Tanwar’s performance is powerful and impactful. But the movie is disjointed and doesnt engage with the audience like Tanhaji or even a Padmavat. Akki is adorable, fit and fetching. The supporting cast including Ashutosh Rana, Ali Fazal and Sonu Sood pack quite a punch. Music is average. The climax is more comic than tragic. Overall a movie that should appeal only to history buffs. 

TIRANDAJ SHABOR-interesting but not intriguing; script has some witty and humorous interludes; Sashwata’s effortless acting is something to watch out for ably supported by Subhrajit Dutta. Tough guy Nigel Akkara also stands out and its nice to see how well he has molded into Tollywood. But the scene where Shashwata slaps Nigel and he drops down immediately is hard to digest. Chandan Sen’s “Kaushik Sen” meets “Rituparno Ghosh” accent is funny and does not sound affected. There are some usual Bong movie trademark scenes like women smoking and scenes with sexual innuendo. Overall a nice effort by Arindam Sil. But parents be aware it is a whodunit meant for adults only.

ANEK: A movie with a great concept of national integration and about inclusion of marginalized minorities especially from the Northeast. One man army Ayushmann Khurrana shines with sheer brilliance and it is a delight to watch his frames. But a Hindi movie is lacklustre without a frontrunning female protagonist. It is a man vehicle and that might deter women moviebuffs or fellas into chick flicks. The climax is nice and uplifting. The movie has a Mary Kom hangover however it is not off-putting. Some parts of the movie are a drag but you can live with it. I will give it three stars.

TOP GUN: MAVERICK-Regular Hollywood masala. Lots of action and CGI loaded sequences-some comic relief and a technical sub plot of a plot-this is on aerodynamics(hee ho).And of course there is the ageless Tom Cruise in ship shape-fit as a fiddle and a continuing inspiration for all young and old. Good that he got over his Scientology bent. Do watch out for his unmissable and cute jaw twitching that only guys can do(sigh! sigh!) I particularly liked the intimate sequences-very muted, subtle and gradual and not the wham bam scenes with mile-long French kisses that is so old-school Hollywood. Maybe they watched Jodha Akbar and not Devika Rani. Its the old British style of courtship of manners that is oh so endearing. But I did not understand why one has to refer to your female colleague as “coyote”. You can be a bad-ass without being a woman-hater you know. A huge shoutout to my dear friend Lily Panisena for recommending this chic movie to me. Do watch it at your nearest IMAX theatre for the maxest audio-visual experience.Two thumbs up. 

Belashuru: Very frustating, low budget movie. Shoddy cinematography, inane screenplay. “Ini bini tapa tini” comes after 2.5 hours which is the only uplifting reel. Another scene with Soumitro and Rituparna is watchable. The major problem in the movie is that the focus is not on the thespian Soumitro Chatterjee and he is relegated to a gloried extra as part of the ensemble cast. Watch it if you want to lose your mojo!

APARAJITO (2022): Aparajito-The Undefeated is a biopic on Satyajit Ray and essays the trials and tribulations he faced while making ‘Pather Panchali’ in 1950’s Bengal. The movie is directed by Anik Dutta who created the sensational Bhooter Bhobishyot in 2012. Shot in black and white, the movie is poignant, riveting with all-encompassing simplicity and intensity. It explores the influence of neo-realism on Ray’s debut vehicle. The movie also depicts the cerebral Bengali bhadralok coterie in 1950’s Calcutta steeped in intellectualism, revolutionary thoughts and penchant for Adda over a cuppa. Mirchi Agni appears in a couple of scenes as a Member of the Film Society that Ray founded back then.Jeetu Kamal is superb in depiction of Ray with his mannerisms and stylized acting although his voice is dubbed. Sayoni Ghosh is adequate as Bijoya Ray and her relationship equation with Ray is maturely depicted. Ray is shown as a westernized Brahmo Samaj liberal who objects to the term ‘boi’ frequently used to refer to movies by the hoi-polloi in Bengal. Barun Chanda as Jawaharlal Nehru shines. Paran Bandopadhyay is perfect in the comic interludes. In fact, comedy plays a major part in this movie and is interlaced with the subtlety of old-world Bengali humor that was prevalent at those times. The dialogues reign supreme in this movie and are the heart and soul of the film. The cinematography and casting of the supporting characters are also immaculate. There are several ‘aha’ moments in the movie which portray the iconic scenes that Ray shot for ‘Pather Panchali’. But I did not like the dream sequence too much-it does not stir the powerful feelings that ‘Nayak’s dream sequence did as crafted by Ray. The climax is uplifting and it shows Ray’s acceptance as an impactful filmmaker in India and abroad. As the end credits roll, you are undoubtedly going to feel a lump in your throat. The movie is a passion project for Prithwiraj Choudhury (my classmate from South Point) who apart from being a dyed-in-the-wool internationally acclaimed academic, is an accomplished singer and a fine arts aficionado and I salute his contribution to this masterpiece. The movie stars one my favorite persons, Priscilla Anne Corner (Priscilla Corner) who shines with her dignified presence.

WAH PHUCHKA:Is there a Bengali who does not love Phuchka? Golgappas and Panipuris are equally popular in other parts of India. But the roadside phuchka vendors do not maintain hygiene protocols or any safety precautions. Earlier the only Phuchka shop in Kolkata worth its salt was Puchkalicious at City Centre 2 at Rajarhat which was just a stand and did not have any seating arrangements. Moreover it was too far away for South Kolkata residents. Fret no more-’cause Wah Phuchka has outlets in Kasba and Lake Gardens at present. Both the shops are hole-in-the-wall dingy outlets with no air-conditioner. The space is very small with 4-5 stools but this does not deter loyal patrons. There is a wide variety of phuchkas(both veg and non-veg) and the taste is mouth-watering and one of a kind. The culinary experience is so mind-blowing that people do not mind the dull and drab ambience. I have visited both the Lake Gardens and Kasba outlets and found the fare consistent in flavor and taste. I have had the Chicken Keema Phuchka, Rajasthani Phuchka, Kolkata Jhuri Phuchka and Dahi Chutney Phuchka.
I had the Mohe Mint Krush drink to wash them off. Despite the juicy fillings and the toppings the phuchkas were not soggy. There is only one staff member and she is very cordial, diligent and attentive to details. She also wears mask and gloves and uses sanitizer. If you are queasy about the tacky setting, you can order via Swiggy or Zomato as well. You can find more information at http://www.wahphuchka.com.Crunch in every munch, awesome aftertaste and great presentation styles would make love you this place.

THE PLIGHT OF A BOOK LOVER: Here are my ruminations on the Kolkata Book Fair 2022 that happened last month. A recently turned bibliophile thanks to my dear friend Sanjukta Sarkar, I could manage to visit the Fair towards the very end. It was extremely hot. At the entrance no one checked my temperature or asked for my Covid vaccination certificates. The entry was free and so there were people from all strata assembled there for the love of books. The first thing that struck me was the layout-it was not very well-planned. Instead of grouping stalls according to genres or language, the stalls were placed randomly and not in a linear fashion making it really difficult to navigate. Thanks to the media hype and word of mouth, there were humongous crowds at each stall lapping up the printed word. Sadly the number of English language stalls were way less and mostly the stalls selling Bengali languages were predominant. There were a lot of books on Satyajit Ray(this year being his birth centenary), Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen. I found a tome on the Mahanayak selling for 4000 bucks-it was unwieldy since it was too heavy. There were some Narayan Debnath books, a book on Sandhya Mukherjee(Gitasree) and another one on Lata Mangeshkar(Swarnalata). I found some miniature Khushwant Singh’s books with tales of love and lust but strangely no book from Shobha De. At the Rupa store I eyed many biographies of movie personalities and other celebrities. There were about 10 policemen in front of the Russia bookstore. There was a serpentine queue outside Ananda Publishers stall but inside I found nothing to shell out cash for. The Book Fair this year had a sale worth 23 crores and a total footfall of about 25 lakhs(rough estimate). Still the smaller shops were calling out to passersby and begging them to visit their stores. There were only one or two titles available on Covid 19. The collection at the Book Fair was mostly very hackneyed, old and very pedestrian. Most of the publishers played safe and displayed only popular titles. Nothing stimulating, intellectual or erudite. I spent almost 5 hours at the fairground trying to jostle through the crowds and in search of that unmissable perfect book but found very few. This fair turned out to be a great place to hang out for the teenagers and the young adults who were less concerned with books but more in the socializing opportunities. I wish that the book fair showcased more recent, thought-provoking titles that would satisfy readers with both eclectic and esoteric tastes. And also wish that the choice of refreshments and hygiene facilities were better. I had the good fortune of bumping into my dear friend Mohua Roy Dasgupta (along with her sister Madhumita) who has a way with words herself. Outside the Fair grounds there were a few make-shift stalls selling popular titles at a fraction of a price and made brisk business. Mostly my takeaways from the Fair were a pair of tired feet, dry throat and parched lips.

We Bengalis love fish. Everyday one or two fish mongers traverse the length and breadth of Kolkata parading their fishy fare. Most Bengali families eat fish almost every day. In Kolkata the fish items sell at a premium in restaurants. Bengali songs are composed on fish; plays and movies are mounted praising the eclectic taste of fish. For Bengalis fish is not a food item but it is a powerful emotion.

Have you ever thought about how human beings and fish are similar?

Fish move in schools and humans also go to schools in packs. Like fish, humans have school mates. Fish are aquatic creatures and for humans water is the elixir of life. To acquire a fish, you have to throw a bait and wait quietly by the pond or river. Similarly, human beings take a lot of time to get hooked and booked.

Take a fish out of water and it is dead. Without drinking water, human beings are dead too.

Fish stink and human beings have body odour and they buy expensive perfume to mask it.

The similarities are endless. So, should we eat our similar beings or let them thrive in Mother Nature?

Hope you appreciate my angle and give angling a break.