Shukno Lanka: A review

Shukno Lanka is the story of Chinu Nandy (Mithun Chakraborty), a middle-aged junior artiste at the studio para of Tollygunge. Life comes in bits and pieces to this man, like his brief appearances in films, through an excruciating battle to get some role or some extra money. But he is queerly content with his mundane life; he neither believes in nor waits for miracles.

But miracles do happen and to the one who least expects it. One fine day, internationally acclaimed Bengali filmmaker Joy Sundar Sen (Sabyasachi Chakraborty) offers Chinu the lead role in his next project.

Shukno Lanka is also a story of Joy Sundar Sen, a man ensconced in the world of filmmaking. His dedication to work distances him from his wife Jhilik (Debashree Roy) and draws him to Australian actress Isabella (Emma Brown). Together, they start a film based on Ritwik Ghatak's short story "Parashpathor" (The Philosopher's Stone) – the story of a man who thinks he has found the magic formula to bring the dead back to life.

This offer itself is a magic formula to Chinu, one that is bound to change his life. But Chinu is scared to dream big. The plot traces how sheer determination helps Chinu live the miracle and not become a victim of it, and how he manages to imbue life in Joy Sundar Sen and make him more humane.

Mithun, Sabyasachi, Debashree and Emma – all perform wonderfully, but Mithun steals the show. His physical acting is brilliant and never once does he betray his superstar image. But it's director Gaurav Pandey who deserves all the credit for creating characters that are credible and persuasive, a rare attribute in Bengali cinema now.

Sabyasachi Chakraborty does a splendid job as Joy Sundar and it's in Joy Sundar that Gaurav proves his mastery over characterisation. Joy Sundar's character borders on the negative, but the director reins him tight, never allowing him to trip over. Here's the explanation: One can hardly expect a man so engrossed in his art to get involved in the trifles of day-to-day life. But the director never lets him become a cold, inhuman beast. What we get is a man of restrained emotions who's aware of his wife's emotional needs, but one who has outgrown the silly fripperies of romance.

The movie that follows the journey of a junior artiste gives due importance to its own. From the tram conductor to the tea-vendor to the unemployed carrom-playing youths – each character is given sufficient space and leaves a mark on the screen.

"To be international, you have to be intensely local", says Joy Sundar in the film, and Gaurav's approach to filmmaking manifests his own faith in Joy Sundar's conviction. He animates Kolkata through his characters, locations and clever use of stereotypes. A true glimpse of the studio para is also on offer, replete with south Indian dance directors, hideous costumes, melodramatic dialogues, self-obsessed heroes and untrained, double-faced producers.

One thing that could have been taken better care of is the use of lighting. Towards the end, a night-long carriage-ride of Chinu and his wife seems to have been shot in identical light conditions. As a result, the dawn breaks abruptly. However, these are shortcomings that can be conveniently ignored.


ilovekolkata