Experimental? Self-congratulatory? Pointless?

The film opens with a scene in the woods, with colleagues sitting around a bonfire, while Rana (Samrat Chakraborty) strums his guitar singing ‘Jeebon theke jodi palai chhute’. Sudipta (Ananya Chatterjee) sits like one in a painting, holding her drink looking into God-knows-where. The song ends, and the group disperses, setting off for different hotels – strange, since it’s an office trip. Sudipta is rather conveniently put up at the same hotel with Rana. And their never-ending walk to the hotel complete with clichéd lines, stilted English dialogues and claustrophobic camerawork make you wonder if this is what is expected from the critically acclaimed director.

Sudipta and Rana’s walk through the woods to the hotel sows the seeds for Sudipta’s dwando or conflict. Soon enough she will be torn between her lover, Rana, and her boring, mofussil-born killjoy of a husband, Aneek (a sadly wasted Kaushik Sen). Sudipta’s plan to escape a pointless marriage will be foiled by Aneek’s illness. Pointless also, is the dance sequence at a friend’s home, which could have been shorter.

The script is marred by weak moments resulting from the effort to generalise human reactions to emotional triggers. At times, they are so monotonously obvious and flawed. Aneek falls seriously ill right after his wife hints at having slept with another, Sudipta never goes to work despite being  on an office trip in the beginning, and takes the asthma route to the unwelcoming Dr. Mukherjee’s home.

Sudipta’s conflict remains underdeveloped as neither of her relationships are explored. You initially assume Rana to be a passing affair to escape a dull husband, until Sudipta starts talking divorce. The intricacies of a dwindling husband-wife relationship are forgotten. During the rather depressing song ‘Ashru bhora bedona’ director Suman Ghosh tries to recall fleeting memories of a once-happy marriage, but focuses more on making Ananya pose stiffly, as though  for a painting.

With a slew of wooden non-actors dominating the scene, Biplab Chatterjee seems a breath of fresh air in his blink-and-miss role. In fact, the only real saving grace is Soumitra Chatterjee as the eccentric neurosurgeon who loved watching goat sacrifices and generally steers clear of sentiment. As the brilliant Dr. Mukherjee, Soumitra brings a touch of subtle humour to an otherwise cheerless film.

The shakiness visible throughout seems the work of a hand-held camera, though why this was needed is anyone’s guess. Ace cinematographer Barun Mukherjee’s work in the first half is rather a disappointment. However, the final sequence shot in Dr. Mukherjee’s home is a gem. The warm glow adds to the poetry of the final portion, made to come alive by Soumitra’s Dr. Mukherjee and the lie he tells to save a life. Thankfully, the open ending is nicely worked out, making you wish similar sensitivity were employed earlier on.

Ananya, pegged by the director as “the right combination of intuition and intelligence”, disappoints with a lukewarm performance and in the early parts jars with her delivery of English dialogues. In fact, right until Soumitra enters the picture with a voice as smooth as his whisky, you wish the stilted English dialogue were dispensed with. If the aim of including English was to impart a global flavour, the film falters. Despite being armed with a good concept and a true actor like Soumitra Chatterjee, faulty treatment mars the film. After the acclaim for Podokkhep, the director seems to have gone into self-congratulatory mode. Dwando has been hyped as the film that can take Bengali cinema global. But if building overseas presence is the aim, a better vehicle could have been chosen.


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