Talaash- A Review

When I was a child my mother would invent stories just like that. She would invent characters, make them do things, and since her intention was not to be a great story teller but to ensure that my share of food is off my plate, she would get lost in the meandering maze of the story. Even today she recalls, that although she would lose track of what she said, I would, aged three/four, stop her and question the erratic shuffle of the storyline.

When I go to watch a movie today, I still carry the same level of concentration and question the legitimacy of every small incident that takes place, every character that gets introduced to us within the scope of the narrative.

The dilemma that I am faced with Reema Kagti's debut directorial venture 'Talaash' is, do I question the story itself? Or, should I question the story-telling? Because, for me,the script is of prime importance. If it is a very strong script, and then you have actors of Aamir Khan, Nawaazuddin Siddiqui, and Rani Mukherji's calibre, there is hardly anything that can fall through.

Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti have scripted a ghost story. But, till the end the audience treats it as a suspense-thriller, a mystery tale. It is an intricate plot and till the last leg of the film the director and her actors have lend complete credence to the story. However, the moment the supernatural or ghost element is weaved in, the film strikes a discordant note.

The main plot revolves around a car accident in which an upcoming hindi film hero Armaan Kapoor (Vivek Madan) had plunged into the Arabian Sea at the wee hours of night with his car, and is dead. Inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat (Aamir Khan) is the investigating officer, trying to resolve the mystery of the five Ws and 1 H ( Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How).

The sub-plot is that of a husband and wife (Aamir and Rani), who have lost their 8-year old son Karan and are trying to cope very hard with the loss. An overtly curious and helpful neighbour has convinced the bereaved mother that the late son wants to speak to the parents, and even though the mother has given in to the penchant of planchet, the logical, non-believer father rubbishes any such possibility. He continues to fail miserably to 'manage' the loss.

Kareena Kapoor acts as a call-girl and during the course of the investigation provides many valuable input to the investigating officer. Aamir, by the way, as many trailers of the movie might have suggested, is not sharing a lusty allegiance to her. It takes a lot for a normal man to practice celibacy with Kareena hovering around in her tell-tale attire! We will come to that later.

What unfolds is that 3 years ago Kareena was picked up by three well-to-do youths for a night of pleasure and on their way to a hotel, one of them, along with the call girl fell of the car, on the road. While, the boy's friends took him to the hospital, Kareena was left to die in the footpath, unattended, to avoid any trouble the three youth could have facde. The errant boys later on stashed her body under a tree in a sea beach of Mumbai. Kareena's unsatisfied soul, since then is doing the rounds in the alleys of Mumbai's flesh-trade ring, trying to equate the 2 with the other 2 and bring about justice, to reach her own 4. So yes, Kareena is a ghost, donning the outfit of a call girl who causes damages to the three boys, who denied her a chance to even get a treatment in a hospital.

Now let us question a few things.

Kareena and one of those three guys whose screen name is Nikhil Deshpande, fall off the speeding car. However, the injury Kareena sustains can be easily passed on as one that looks like she has hit the wall of her bedroom in the darkness! The director and the make-up artists does not lend credibility to the ghastly accident victim with a proper make-up. In real life, chances are that you may not even recognize the face if such a thing happens to someone. But no, Kareena looks the same gorgeous girl after she meets with the accident with a very minor head injury.

During the course of the investigation, Inspector Surjan Singh gets to know the name of Nikhil Deshpande and when he goes to meet the guy, the latter is seen on a bed, having lost any ability to talk, move, and is merely counting his days. But, the incongruity is somewhere else. Can you imagine a man in khaki being welcomed by your parents at your place without even being questioned as to what he wants? Here, Aamir Khan knocks at Nikhil's door and the parents let him in, undeterred? Doesn't happen in real life!

Nikhil'other friend, whose screen name is Sanjay Kejriwal, has been trying hard to keep at bay the middle man Sashi, who introduced them on that eventful night to Kareena. Sashi blackmails him for money. Sashi has an aide, Taimur (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), who runs errands for the call girls. The night Armaan Kapoor dies in the car accident, Sashi had met the hero in person to collect the money and in return stop blackmailing Armaan and Sanjay. Therefore, the unexpected death of the upcoming hero has the chances of Sashi being linked to the incident. Sashi's female partner knows about the meeting and inadvertently speaks about it infront of Taimur. Taimur smells foul and is trying to grab some quick buck from the ransom that Sashi managed from Armaan Kapoor. Sashi decides to go on a hiding after extracting the last bit of money from Sanjay, and the former gets killed by a .315 caliber shot at him by an unidentified goon. Hence, it is only Taimur and the female partner of Sashi who know about the meeting of Armaan Kapoor, his dark deeds, now. Taimur gets hold of the DVD in which, the three youth are seen with Kareena entering a hotel lobby, and starts blackmailing Sanjay to tell it all, unless shut up by more money. Sanjay gives in to his demand. They meet at a Mumbai train compartment. Immediately after Taimur collects the money and runs he is chased by Sanjay's contracted goons and they take him to a rooftop to put an end to this. Three bullets get shot at Taimur and guess what! Taimur has the time to look at himself, the blood that is oozing out, a hallucination of Kareena Kapoor accusing him of his misdeeds, get up in fear, fall off the roof, and then finally die! Where on earth does a person with three close-shot bullets in his chest gets this much of time to travel to the other world? Also, how was Taimur responsible for Kareena's death is not disclosed to the audience. Who appointed Sashi's killer is also not clearly understood.

Lets move on....

Sanjay Kejriwal smells trouble all around him and finds his father to confide in. A father who we see only two times and not sure why was he required in the narrative at all. He does not take Sanjay out of the soup, does nothing that would have needed him to be in the narrative, but is still there. Is he a money-pumping agent in the film that Rima Kagti had to give him a role? Not sure.

Anyway, Kareena happens to give appearance only to Aamir Khan ( and why not!) and guide him to unravel the mystery so that her soul is satisfied.
Aamir meets her in a hotel room and says, he want to talk, only. Ahem! Alright. I will accept that. But my question is, all that he says to Kareena is that he is very sad at his son's death and is very tired of trying to cope with the loss, and then Kareena's soothing hands......wait.......puts him to sleep! Well, I will take that too. The only question is, what stopped him from sharing this to her dear wife, who is willing to share his burden as well! I mean, he has a loving, good-looking wife at home. Why deny her a chance?
 In the course of the events Kareena manages to do a little philantrophy by asking Aamir to release Sashi's erstwhile girlfriend from the tormentuous 'Madam' of the call girls.

So, now let us take a quick look at the headcount and match the scores.

Three spoiled brats- Nikhil, Armaan, Sanjay. Nikhil is living a vegetable life, Armaan has died in the accident, Sanjay is alive but caught red-handed by the police to cover the dark deeds.

Two con men- Sashi and Taimur. Both dead.

Sashi's girlfriend freed. Taimur's girlfriend, who was taken into confidence by Taimur to elope with the money till the latter meets him, is richer by close to 20 lakhs since Taimur could never meet her after the heist.

Scores about to get settled by Kareena. Sanjay is only left to be finished.

Let us now look at the sub-plot. A grieving mother Rani Mukherji is undergoing psychiatric treatment and her neighbour, Billimoria's sister Shernaz Patel convinces Rani to speak to the soul of her son Karan. They both meet and talk to the soul through planchet. Planchets, to the best of my knowledge are done in pitch dark rooms with only candle lights. But, here, the room in which they talk to the spirit is so full of light which two candles could have never brought in.  And I suspect if the brightness would have allured the spirits either! Lack of ATD (Attention-to-Detail).

The message that there are 'talking spirits' who tread this earth is conveyed to the audience towards the end of the movie. All this while Aamir denied any such thing can exist. Sanjay Kejriwal tells him that Kareena had died three years back. Aamir does not know who to believe because he meets Kareena every day! On his way to the police station to take Sanjay in his custody, Aamir drives down the same road that Armaan Kapoor took the day he died. From the rear-view mirror Aamir sees Kareena sitting at the back seat, and out of sheer horror loses control. Sanjay tries to bring the car back in control and they find that in the middle of the road Kareena is standing! The car loses its way, swerves itself into the Arabian sea exactly the same way Armaan Kapoor's did and both Aamir and Sanjay go down the sea. This particular scene has very strong resemblance to Gothika. But, the point is, in the same car, there were two people. Sanjay and Aamir and Aamir was at the steering wheel. When the car goes down the sea upside down, we find Sanjay is dead, but like a typical hindi film cliche, where a hero can never die, we find Kareena approaching the sunken car much like the manner of a mermaid, opening the locked door of the car and saving Aamir Khan. The hero does not sustain any injury, and with a little help from Kareena, actually manages to swim his way up! Phew!!

Result, Aamir realizes there is life, after life.

What could have been a splendid tale of mystery, a fantastic suspense thriller, is completely wasted in this very loosely-stricken narrative towards the end.

Hats off to Nawazuddin Siddiqui. He is not handsome. Rather looks dirty. The make-up artists and the costume designers have superbly exploited his looks to fit him in the role of a con man. He looks like he was born to be in that trade.

Aamir Khan. We understand he is in 'Talaash' of something, but, with a 2000 volt worth glamorous call girl going out of her way to help him, giving cameo appearances only to him, his look does not change. Even in his weakest moments he wears the same look and therefore is a little average on that front.

Rani Mukherji does complete justice to her role. She looks like a bereaved mother and a neglected wife.

Rosy, Kareena Kapoor, does very well within her space. She looks, talks like a call girl. Entices like one of her kind would do, and does not use too much of body-language (you know what I mean?) to convince the audience of her profession. I have never found her good-looking, in fact nowhere in the vicinity of what 'a good look' is all about, but I will give her the due credits. She does really well as a ghostly call girl..whatever that means.

The music and the lyrics are both great! Javed Akhtar has penned his songs in such a manner that even the songs tell a tale and Ram Sampath as a music director has re-lived the bygone era of Madhubala, Zeenat Aman. Good scores to say the least.

The art-director and costume designers have certainly stolen the show with a stellar performance. Every character wear and look they are supposed to. The only failure is the minor injury allowed to Kareena to retain her glam look.

But Aamir. You make one film in two years and we expect a lot more from you! You have set your own benchmark and the slightest digression from that standard, be it the selection of script, your acting, we, the die-hard fans get disappointed.

I would wait for your Dhoom 3.....now.

তিনশো টাকা, তিন কন্যা, এবং একটি saridon এর আখ্যান

বুঝলেন!

আমার বোন আর আমার সিনেমা দেখার luck তা কিছুতেই click করছে না । প্রতিবার কলকাতা আসি, ভাবি দুজনে একটা ভালো বাংলা সিনেমা দেখব। এই আশায় গতবার বেডরুম দেখেছিলাম, আর সেই একই আশায় এবারেও আমরা তিন কন্যা দেখতে গেলাম। ফল কিন্তু এক! কড়কড়ে তিনশটি টাকা প্রিয়ার ডাস্টবিনে ফেলে দিলেও আমার এত খারপ লাগত না, যা সিনেমাটা দেখে আমার লাগলো। সিনেমা শেষ হওয়ার পরে দেখলাম এক ভদ্রলোক মাথাটা দুহাত দিয়ে চেপে ধরে বসে আছেন। দোষ দিতে পারি না, আমিও তো বাইরে এসে saridon খুঁজেছি!

সিনেমার নাম তিন কন্যা। আমার ডাক্তারদিদি সিনেমা না দেখেই তার স্বভাবসিদ্ধ diagonosis করার ক্ষমতায় আমাকে সাবধান করেছিল যেন আমি রাবীন্দ্রিক তিন কন্যা জাতীয় কিছু আশা না করি। আমি করিনি। কিন্তু সমস্ত সিনেমাটা চলাকালীন আমি আশা করে গেলাম যে বুঝি এবার, বুঝি এবার কোথাও একটা মানে দাড়াবে! যে সিনেমা শুরু হয় মার্চ ২০১২ এর পার্ক স্ট্রিট এ মহিলা ধর্ষন এর পটভূমিকায়, খানিকপর তা পরিনত হয় একটি সন্দেহবাতিকগ্রস্থ মহিলা আর তার রগচটা স্বামীর মধ্যরাত্রের ঝগড়ার গল্পে। আপনি ভাবতে বসলেন এ ছবি বোধয় দাম্পত্য কলহের। খানিক পরে দেখা গেল এ ছবি একটি মারাত্মক glamorous আইপিএস অফিসার এর Halle Berryর catwoman স্টাইল নকলকরা এক মহিলাকে নিয়েও কথা বলতে চাইছে। আপনি ভাবলেন আচ্ছা তাই সই! কিন্তু না, সিনেমাটা কিন্তু সেটা নিয়েও না। তাহলে কি নিয়ে? আরে মশাই বুঝলে তো বলব!

ছবির কোনো গল্প নেই, আচ্ছা না হয় নাইবা থাকলো। অমন গল্পহীন ছবি প্রচুর আছে, অন্তত অভিনয়টা? সেটা তো থাকবে? সারা সিনেমা ধরে ঋতুপর্না সেনগুপ্ত কেন হঠাত হঠাত গান গাইছেন, আর পরিপূর্ণ eye-makeup নিয়ে রাত্রে শুতে যাচ্ছেন,আর কেনই বা তিনি হঠাত ক্রিকেটার রণদেব বসুর সাথে swimming pool এ নেমে গান গাইতে শুরু করলেন আমার সাধারণ বিদ্যায় তার ব্যাখ্যা আমি পেলাম না । কোন চরির্ত্র কেন আছে চিত্রনাট্যে, এর কোনো ব্যাখ্যা নেই।ঋতুপর্ণাকে যিনি আয়ুর্বেদ treatment করেন, তিনি একটা হাফ লাইন dialogue ঠিক করে বলতে পারেন না। আর ঋতুপর্না ২৪ ঘন্টার anchor হয়ে যা ছড়িয়েছেন সে আর কি বলি! অতি নিম্নমানের বাংলা news চ্যানেলের কোনো anchorও ঋতুপর্ণার থেকে ভালো অভিনয় করতেন। She is worse than a B grade hindi movie actress.

অনন্যা চট্টোপাধ্যায় একজন দেহব্যাব্সায়ীর ভুমিকায় অভিনয় করেছেন। তার এই পেশায় আসার কারণ? তার স্বামী মারা গিয়েছেন আর তাই শ্বশুরবাড়ি থেকে তিনি নাকি বিতাড়িত হয়েছিলেন। অনেকেই হন। কিন্তু তারপরেই কি তারা সবাই দেহ ব্যবসায়ে নেমে পড়েন? পৃথিবীতে আর কোনো জীবিকা কি একজন মহিলা আগে চেষ্টা করেন না? আর সর্বহারা একজন দেহব্যাব্সায়ীর অমন ঝাঁ-চকচকে বাড়ি, নিদেনপক্ষে ভাড়া দিলেও তো কম রোজগার হওয়ার কথা নয়!

আজকাল বাংলা সিনেমার একটা চল হয়েছে। কিছু অশ্রাব্য ভাষা চরিত্রদের মুখে বসিয়ে দেওয়া। কালে কালে আমারও কম হলো না, কিন্তু কস্মিনকালে আমি তো এরকম ভাষা না কোনদিন ব্যবহার করেছি, না কাউকে করতে দেখেছি!

সিনেমার শেষে হঠাত ব্রাত্য বসুর আবির্ভাব।তিনি নাকি বহুদিন ধরে ঋতুপর্ণার মানসিক রোগের treatment করছেন! কখন করতেন treatment?একবারও তো তাকে দেখলাম না গোটা সিনেমাটায়? তিনি কিসব schizophrenia নিয়ে জ্ঞান দিয়ে গেলেন। আচ্ছা জ্ঞান দেবেন দিন, তার জন্য পেন্ডুলাম এর মত একবার স্ক্রিন এর এদিক থেকে ওদিক, আর ওদিক থেকে এদিক করার কি দরকার? বাড়িতে একজায়গায় দাড়িয়ে কথা বললে লোকে শোনে না নাকি আজকাল?

মহিলা আইপিএস এর ভুমিকায় উন্নতি। তার জীবনে সর্বাঙ্গীন উন্নতির আশু প্রয়োজন। তিনি না পারেন হিন্দিটা ভালো করে বলতে, না পারেন ঠিক করে রাগ করতে, না পারে ঠিক করে বন্দুক কোমরে গুজতে! আগেই বলেছি তিনি একজন glamorous আইপিএস অফিসার, কিন্তু ঋতুপর্ণা কেমন করে জানি সব সিকিউরিটিদের চোখে ধুলো দিয়ে তার বেডরুমে ঢুকে পড়লেন। ভারতবর্ষের কোন আইপিএস অফিসারএর বাড়ি এত unsafe আমার জানা নেই। তার এবং ঋতুপর্ণার মধ্যে ব্যাপক মারপিট হলো এবং তাতে অবশেষে ঋতুপর্ণা যে আওয়াজ করতে করতে মারা গেলেন (আমরা ভাবলাম), সেটা কোনো মানুষের গলায় মৃত্যুর আওয়াজ হয়না, শাকচুন্নি, বা পেত্নীরা ওরকম ভাবে আওয়াজ করেন বোধয়।

শেষে দেখা গেল ঋতুপর্ণা হলেন একটি schizophrenic মহিলা যিনি, তার স্বামীকে খুন করে বাথরুম এ রেখে দেন আর hallucination দেখেন সারা দুনিয়াকে নিয়ে। তারজন্য পার্ক স্ট্রিট এর রেপ-কান্ড টেনে আনার কি দরকার ছিল, অনন্যা চট্টোপাধ্যায়ের এইডস হবারই বা কি দরকার ছিল, কিছুই বোঝা গেল না।

রবীন্দ্রনাথ বলেছিলেন, 'কাদম্বরী মরিয়া প্রমান করিল সে মরে নাই'. এ ছবিতে ঋতুপর্ণা অতগুলো গুলি খেয়েও মরলেন না, lunatic assylum এ গেলেন এবং প্রমান করলেন তাকে মেরে ফেলা  পরিচালকের অসাধ্য। তিনি পাগলাগারদে যাওয়ার আগে আমার যাওয়ার ব্যবস্থ্যা প্রায় করে এনেছিলেন আর কি!

সিনেমা শেষে বাড়ি ফিরব বলে মেট্রো স্টেশন এ দাঁড়িয়ে আছি। এক ভদ্রলোক তার স্ত্রীকে বলছেন, 'এসব ডেঞ্জারাস সিনেমা দেখা উচিত না। কোনদিন দেখব আমাকে murder করে বাথরুম এ পুরে দিয়েছ।'

যেমন খারাপ অভিনয়, তেমন জঘন্য স্ক্রিপ্ট, তেমন খারাপ পরিচালনা। বহুদিন পর এত খারাপ বাংলা সিনেমা দেখলাম।

একমাত্র তবু বলার মত অভিনয় করেছেন রজতাভ এবং অনন্যা।

 

আমার টাকা গেল, সময় গেল, সবচেয়ে বড় কথা মাথাটাও প্রায় গেল. তাই আপনাদেরটা যাতে বেঁচে যায়, সেই চেষ্টায় এই লেখা।

আপনারা ভালো থাকবেন।

 

আমার পুজো

ফোন, এস এম এস, ই মেল, অনেক কিছু দিয়ে চেষ্টা করলাম, কিন্তু কিছুতেই যা লিখতে চাইছি লিখে উঠতে পারছি না| তোর বাড়ির ঠিকানা গেছি ভুলে, লেখা শেষ হলে চেয়ে নেবো|

অনেকদিন পর কাগজ, পেন নিয়ে লিখছি | বাংলায় লিখছিও অনেকদিন পর| মনের ঠিক নেই, তাই যা লিখছি তার মানে নাও হতে পারে | তুই নাহয় তোর মত করে সাজিয়ে নিস| আমি জানি তুই ঠিক পারবি|

আজকের দিনটায় আমার সোনার বাংলা ঠিক যেন পুজোর ম্যারাথন শুরু করে| মহালয়া হলো সেই রেসের বাঁশির মতন |ভোরেরবেলার স্তোত্র সে বাঁশি বাজায়, আর সারা বাংলার গরীব,বড়লোক, মধ্যবিত্ত, নিম্নবিত্ত সেই দৌড়এ সামিল হয়! শেষ বেলার কেনাকাটা, আলতা- সিন্দুর, মিষ্টি, নারকেল নাড়ুর সাথে মিশে থাকা কর্পূর এর গন্ধ.....সবাই একসাথে জানান দেয় পুজো এসে গেল| ধানের ক্ষেতের সোনালী রোদে,সাদা কাশফুলের আল্হাদ মাখা পুজো, যেন এক ছোট্ট মেয়ে- যে এক্কা দোক্কা খেলতে খেলতে, একটা একটা করে ছোট ছোট চৌকো ঘর পার হয়ে ক্রমশ এগিয়ে আসছে....ষষ্ঠীর দিন সকালে ঠিক এসে দুয়ারে কড়া নাড়বে|

দেশে না থাকলে তবেই দেশের মর্ম বোঝা যায়|যে পুজো আমার দেশ,আমার সংস্কৃতির সাথে নিশ্বাসের মত করে জড়িয়ে থাকে, বাংলা থেকে উনিশশো কিলোমিটার দুরে সেই পুজোকে আমি দু হাত দিয়ে আজ যতই আঁকড়ে ধরতে চাইছি, সে ততই দুরে চলে যেতে চাইছে. হাত আমি যতই উন্মুক্ত করিনা কেন, সে ধরা দেবেই না!

আজ সকালে টি ভি তে মহালয়ার অনুষ্ঠান শুনে মনে হলো, "কেন এ ভুল করলাম! কেন বাড়ি গেলাম না?" এতদিন ধরে যে অনুভূতি একটা চোরাস্রোতের মত আমার চেতনার আড়ালে অস্ত্রে শান দিছিল, আজ সে খড়্গহস্তে আমাকে যেন বলি দিতে চাইছে!

বিধাতার রঙ্গও কম নয়! এখানে পুজোর কোনো উন্মাদনা নেই, পুজোর কোনো ছাপ নেই, কিন্ত শরতের কড়া রোদ, আকাশে প্যাজা তুলোর মত মেঘ, সবাই একসাথে হাজির | আমি ভুলতে চাইলে কি হবে? ভুলতে দিছে কে!

সবার কি পুজোর জন্য এত মন খারাপ করে? কে জানে? আমি তো চোখ খুলে, চোখ বন্ধ করে, আমার বাড়ির সামনের মাঠটাকে, Modern decorators এর শেষ রঙে রাঙানো pandalটাকে, মিষ্টির দোকানের উপচে পড়া ভীড়, গড়িয়াহাট, নিউ মার্কেট এর জনারণ্য, পা ফেলতে না দেওয়া ফুটপাথ,হকার্সদের বিকিকিনি......সব স্পষ্ট দেখতে পাই, কানে শুনতেও পাই |

মানুষ তার জীবনের এক এক সময়ে বিভিন্ন অনুভূতিতে নিজের অস্তিত্বকে জারিত করে| একটা একটা করে বছর যায়, সে উপলব্ধিও বদলে যায় আজ জীবনের অনেকগুলো বছর পিছনে ফেলে এসেছি. অনেকগুলো বছর কলকাতার বাইরে থেকেছি, আরো হয়ত থাকতেও হবে, তবু এ উপলব্ধি সূর্যের মত সত্যি আর তাই স্বীকার করতে লজ্জা হয়না| আমি বুঝি জানিস, আমি ভীষণভাবে কলকাতার সন্তান|গঙ্গার ধার, মেঠো চায়ের ভাড়, আমার বাড়ি, বাড়ির ছাদের সারি দেওয়া গাছের গা ঘেষাঘেষি'র বুনো গন্ধ.... তুই, চান্দ্রেয়ী, কলেজ স্ট্রীট, দ্বিতীয় হুগলী সেতুর পিছনে অস্ত যাওয়া সূর্যের আলো, প্রিন্সেপ ঘাট........আমি আজ যায় হই না কেন, যেখানেই থাকি না কেন, আর যেখানেই যাই না কেন, এসব ছাড়া সে আমি ঠিক আমি নই কখনই! সে আমি এক ভীষণভাবে অসম্পূর্ণ আমি |


কলমের কালি বুঝি ফুরিয়ে এলো......আজ শেষ করি!

Gasping price rise, state sponsored terrorism- a choice to make!

The food price index has soared to an unprecedented high of 18.38% in the recently concluded week. This is one of my favourite spaces, since it directly hurts my pocket. Never before in the history of Indian economy had we had an instance of three of world's best economic minds as Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. P Chidambaram at the helm of politics and economics and yet such a soaring price rise of daily consumables, without an acceptable explanation. I do not know the nitty-gritty of economics,  micro or macro, and I do not need to know. What matters to me is that I have not got a pay hike, the public deposit instruments are offering me an interest rate of max of 8.5% and here I am fighting a price index of 18% and above, which means, in  near future if things don’t get back to normal immediately my actual earning would be in the negative.  These NSCs, PPFs, and other savings schemes, which give me 7.75%, 8.85% etc; as returns are actually not additions to my earning,  rather, they give negative returns when compared to the rate of inflation! The 'sarkari babus' do not feel the pinch because the central and state government raises the DA (Dearness Allowance) at a regular interval. But people like us, on private sector employment, and not working in the IT or ITEs sector, people who work in unorganized sector, the daily labours, wage earners, retired individuals whose income is solely dependant on bank interest ....can you find a way for them to survive in a world where onion is Rs. 65 / kg, and garlic Rs. 300/ kg, mustard oil Rs.76/kg? Even if you want to survive on a vegan diet you are not spared! Vegetables, milk, fruits everything has beaten previous inflation rates.  For the last two years we had seen situations where the inflation has gone to the negative, and yet, the prices have shown no signs of going down! I do not know what theory in economics could explain that, I am sure there is one, but my aware, conscious mind can find only one reason! Corruption! Had it not been the hoarders going rampant, there cannot be any explanation to this anarchy.

Manmohan Singh’s government wakes up from sleep intermittently. One fine morning Dr. Singh decides to call upon Mr. Sharad Pawar and ask why is the onion so costly. To which Mr. Pawar, who spends more time in Dubai at the ICC headquarters than this poor nation, declares that there has been a record shortage of onion production. Come on, now! My pet dog too has that much of knowledge having stayed so long in my company! The question is what makes the minister come up with this revelation after the shortage has actually impacted the market? Why did he have to wait for us to gasp for breath amidst this sky rocketing price? Where are the preventive measures? Why has the state machinery not taken any action to stop this or at least to mitigate this? What takes the government / IT department to crack down on the hoarders after three weeks of marauding price hike? Did they get their fat pay cheques three weeks later than when it was scheduled to be? No.  Then why is there such a delay? How can the government afford to sleep under their cozy blankets for so long? How can they be so unprepared at tackling this? Dr. Singh, Mr. Mukherjee and Mr. Chidambaram with Montek S Ahluwalia better go back to schools and give us a trustworthy story now! We are tired and indignant at their folly, rotten explanations and so called remedy!

Then there are the scams! They are not new to us. Born an Indian, you are bound to know about them now and then. In a way, they have become a part of our daily lives and conscience. Hence I did not read much of Suresh Kalmadi or Adarsh Housing initially. These news items die a speedy death after one week of coverage on the media. However, the recent spurt in the scams invoked my conscience and I thought it was a good idea to lend a piece of my mind through this very personal yet publicized space.

India has seen many such scams. From Bofors to Kargil Coffins, to Olympics to IPL to Aadarsh Avasan, to the crowing glory of scams - the 2G spectrum, you name it, they have it! Whichever party comes to rule these mammoth billion, they loot the government exchequer and thereby public money! Congress being at the helm of affairs for the longest time had had the maximum opportunity to do so! And they did not disappoint!

Ms. Mamata Banerjee , well known to call bandhs and disrupt public life at the slightest tickle, is so busy in garnering political support from the Central government that she has not raised any voice against this …….not a pronounced one! Call it her political maturity or opportunist politics, even though the state of West Bengal expected a robust protest from her on this, she chose to be different! How far and for how long can she pass the buck on the opposition? What has she done other than blocking the Metro channel and trying to gain political mileage out of dead bodies is a question that looms large in public mind.

On that note, the massacre at Netai village in Lalgarh, West Bengal on Saturday calls for some serious introspection on our part!

I do not go blind on the media stories and comment on them since they are all biased and coloured. However, when all the media report the same fact-irrespective of their political bias, I have reasons to believe them. I am aghast (I am looking for a better phrase!) to learn that a mass of villagers could be killed in such cold blooded manner just because they staged a mass protest against taking up arms training from the cadres? Is this what we call democracy? How could human life be so cheap? Reports tell us that the party cadres had made a list of people from each village and enforced them to do household chores at the CPM camps without a remuneration. And the villagers were ready to do so! Netai village is an agriculturally solvent one. People tolerated the party cadres' anarchy, exploitation to the farthest extent possible and went on toiling hard for the party 'netas'.  They relented only when they were forced to take up arms to prevent themselves from the Maoists.  They are agriculturists, who, the CPM cadres pressurized and tortured to learn arms handling! 

It was learnt that the police stopped coming to the village ever since the CPM cadres had set up camps there, and on the event of the massacre, the police did not come to rescue the villagers. No one picked up the phone at the police station,  the District Magistrate or none of his men were at their office during the incident. One can  imagine to what extent the ruling party has flexed their muscle, paralysed everything together in the system and made it completely defunct!

We are at the receiving end - the educated, aware people. We vote because we were told we should. Given the state of affairs, there is no way CPM can retain power nor should we vote for them. It is high time we correct our 34 years of mistakes and not vote for them. But then what is our alternative? Who do we vote for? The Trinamool? The Congress? Look at the central government, the series of scams, the price rise, the blunt infight within the party members,  and you know you have no option. No viable alternative!

Someone told me once – “Don’t give me problems. Give me problems only when you have solutions.”  I have none. I am seeking one through this post from all of you. May be you could throw some light on this.

Autograph- A Review

A lot must have been written about Autograph - the new, 'different' bengali movie and I consciously chose not to read any one of those. Finally, almost a month after the release of the film, yesterday I rushed straight from work to the theatre to see it. When it comes to films, these days I rely on my own grey matter (Irrespective of how little I have it!)

Prosenjit Chatterjee accepts a rookie Director's (Indraneil Sengupta) script to produce and act on. He wants to prove to his critics, that He is the industry and that his star power can steer a movie towards success all by itself. Nandana Sen, whose screen name is Srinandita, and she plays the role of an young columnist in the film within the film 'Ajker Nayak'. She is also the director's live-in partner, and cast against Prosenjit in the onscreen film. There her name is Jahnvi. Within the course of the shoot, Prosenjit falls in love with Srinandita and instead of exploiting the director, he himself becomes a soft prey. One of the rare verbal aberrations of the hero in front of Jahnvi gets recorded in a video camera unaware of both. The director uses the tape to promote the film by selling it to the media for a negative publicity of the film! The livid Hero/Producer scraps the launch of the movie. The director continues his quest for film making. Jahnvi is not a part of this sinister (or is it?) design of her boyfriend and chooses to move away from this conundrum to find her own abode of peace. Money, success, paparazzi, or the allurement of being a lady love of a superstar does not hold her back.

This film is a tribute to Satyajit Ray's 'Nayak'. Many scenes and images are adapted from Ray's only work with Tollywood's undisputed 'Nayak' Uttam Kumar and I must say Srijit Mukherjee has settled his scores on the higher end!

The casting is a perfect mix of the old and the new. In the lead we have Prosenjit Chatterjee, Indraneil Sengupta and Nandana Sen. The filmmaker Srijit Mukherjee himself is a new comer. The female lead Nandana Sen is good. She could be better, though.  Her interaction with the lonely, dejected Arun Chatterjee ( Prosenjit) demanded a lot more maturity.  Indraneil is very good. In fact his smart, suave look has been used exceptionally well by Srijit Mukherjee. And Prosenjit Chatterjee is at his career best. He has lent complete credence to the character of Arun Chatterjee. If I were to choose a reason to watch this movie, I would lobby hard for Prosenjit. After countless run of-the-mill Swapan Saha 'gharana' movies, this one is Chatterjee’s class act after a long time. Indeed, the film once again proved that Prosenjit's acting acumen has remained majorly unutilized.

Music by Debojyoti Mishra is definitely a fantastic relief from the painful Bengali film songs that we are forced to listen to these days. Rupam Islam’s ‘Beche Thakar Gaan’ and  Shreya Ghosal’s ‘Chal Raastay’ are the two best numbers.

One of the reasons I do not watch Bengali movies is their ever receding line of demarcation with 'Jatra'. This one though, is very fresh in its dialogue composition. The characters speak day to day, realistic language and a lot of subtle humour has been peppered throughout the script to provide comic relief.

The story will make you think about it for a long time after the show is over. An average cinema lover like me would not come out of the theatre satisfied, since it is difficult to grasp the storyline, which has multiple layers in it. Autograph leaves you in a dilemma. Is it a film about the unending web of exploitation that runs like an undercurrent in the glamour world? Or is it a tale about the emotional loneliness of a superstar who thinks he is omnipotent! Or is it a movie about relationships..some that never consummate, and some, even though thought to be complete, do not stand the test of time. Or is it about innocence? The story teller allows us to make our own observation! The film allows its audience ample opportunity to understand it their way.

All said and done, Autograph is a commendable work by Srijit and his crew, and definitely worth a watch!

Mahalaya, Durga Puja, price rise et al.

Those of you, who have never woken up on a Mahalaya morning without the radio turned on in its full volume and the eternal hyms chanted by Late Birendra Krishna Bhadra, I am sure you feel the same way as I do. That hymn of 'Mahishasuramardini' has got something in it. You play it on any other day,and you would not like it....and if it is not played, it feels like you have not heralded the Puja properly.

Bengal is gearing up for its four day annual show. These four days, we will choose to forget about the Commonwealth... ( Kalmadiwealth), that the state is witnessing an imminent change of power baton from Buddha to Mamata, that there has been a bumper crop of Sugar and yet the price is soaring high at Rs. 31/ Kg, that three best men in the world of Economics sharing prominent portfolios ( Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, and Montek S Ahluwalia) have been taking turns since past one year telling that the sky rocketing price of commodities will go down, and it still has not and the Food price index is touching an unpreceedented 16%!

Its time to spend what you have saved up for the past one year to get the best and be at your best. Its time to indulge in a beauty therapy so that you look good during those four days, to have food at the restaurants where you otherwise would not have the money power to step in, to hang out with friends whom you dont get to meet, to cough up more money on anything, knowing fully well that you are being overcharged, and yet, keep that benign smile on your face. Ladies and Gentleman! Brothers and sisters, please welcome, Durga Puja - Bengalee's greatest show on the earth. Those who call themselves 'Prabashi Bengalee' and sneer at the dirty, dingy, chaotic Kolkata, somewhere deep within, I know, atleast for once, you would think...." If ..!" during these four days.

Its time for everything Good and New. New clothes, shoes, jewellery (Attn: my wealthy brothers and sisters!),bags, perfumes ( as if one does not smell rotten during the entire year!).... and many many many things, that human rationality would banish otherwise to buy, would defy all logic and place themselves in your kitty with pride.

This time I could not decide where to buy clothes from. Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop, Fab India all have lost their steam. I find them either overpriced, or lacking in ideas. I thought of going to Prapti once, but this rain has marred everything. Its good to see rain from my window with my roof gardern at the backdrop, but to go out in this rain, get my feet submerged in mud and muck did not seem like a good idea.

That reminds me, how some 15 years back, I ensured that I have a ready clothing line to sustain for these 4 days. One less in number, and I used to be so sad! The clothes would have their classification. The best and the most costly being saved for Ashtami ( the eighth day from now) and gradually the order would follow - Nabami, Saptami and Sasthi. The least costly and attractive would be used on Sasthi. There is an unwritten tradition in the way we have food these four days. Strange to many of my friends hailing from East Bengal, till date on an Ashtami, either at home or outside I have never eaten non - veg! I grew old, my mom no longer polices around what I do, what I eat outside home, and yet, I do not eat non veg on an Ashtami.

(Mom, I have never defied you on this one yet!:)

On Saptami, we usually have Fish and on Nabami Mutton has always been the way of life. Dashami, usually ends with Payesh ( Kheer). Taken out of context, this tradition has always made me laugh, but during those four days, it never falls out of place.

Its time to make exclusive plans for hanging out as well. Friends ( With no one else to spend time with, but me) have already called up! Sasthi is booked for pandal hopping and a dinner that has been postponed since time immemorial. On Saptami, I have plans to go out with Ma and family and Ashtami and Nabami I have still kept on the parking lot. Its time to ready the camera as well, and if the Weather God does not play spoilsport, I plan to click some photos.

The only bonus of being a Teacher are these long vacations! Its time to unwind, time not to work and idle away with books, newspapers, FM radio, and just do nothing!

For those of you who would venture outside Calcutta to Sikkim, Digha Puri, Darjeeling, Kerala, and wherever in the world you choose to go, these four days, I will pray for you all....May Devi Durga help your soul, freshen up your body and bring back sanity to your mind, so that next time onwards, you do not committ the same mistake of stepping outside this city. Because, these four days, the same,muck filled, polluted, congested, bandh ridden Calcutta.... celebrates LIFE like never before.

MAY MAA DURGA BLESS US ALL!!!

Byomkesh bombed!!!

It is encouraging to find such a long queue infront of the movie halls to watch a bengali flick. Two Directors in recent times have tried their hands at Byomkesh Bakshi. The first one went away unnoticed despite the sleazy posters. The film was so quickly forgotten that I cannot even remember the name of the movie or its Director! This is the second one- 'Adeem Ripu' - a screen adaptation of Sharadindu Bandopadhyay's Byomkesh series.

Anjan Dutt, having established his credentials with films like 'Bong Connection' and 'Chalo lets go', made the audience expect something really exceptional and the encouraging box office collection of the first week stands proof to it.

All shows at Nandan being housefull, I watched it at the Star theatre.

Any film adaptation of a literary work faces comparison with the actual story. The image of the characters are so deeply eked out in the readers' mind, that whenever a film is made, there is an obvious comparison with the book.

Anjan Dutt's Byomkesh Bakshi disappointed me because of its several anomalies and incongruous treatment of the script by the film-maker!

Anadi babu is murdered! The Director shows that life is as usual at Anadi's house even after his murder! With Anadi's dead body lying unattended, Anadi's friend Kalibabu is asking for tea, and even though Nanibala denies, Byomkesh insists, that its okay to have tea even if there is no milk! Death, for all its worth, deserves some grace, irrespective of who it befriends!

The costume designer has not done a good job either. Ajit's watch is a old one that needs keying in. However, Byomkesh is found wearing a quartz- ( A Fast Track I guess!) in the 1960? Naninbala Devi always wears designer Tant sareer with no sign of crease on them, no matter which time of the day she gives an appearance! The policemen are all wearing white Kolkata Police outfit, and if I am not mistaken, those days, the cops wore Khaki- wardis. White terricotton were not so much in vogue then!

Byomkesh visits Prabhat's (the adopted son of Anadi) book shop, and finds him unwell. He takes him to a Dr. and then accompanies Prabhat to his house. After that, why does he go inside Prabhat's room, what does he do? What clue did he find there, nothing is known to the audience even after the film ends.

Byomkesh knows who is the killer, however, he decides to play the surprise game with the audience and thereby distances the audience from the film to a great extent! He is the Sabjanta type with no explanation given to the audience!

How did Byomkesh even know that Nanibala witnessed the murder of Anadi? Nanibala did not tell him for sure! Byomkesh or Ajit, no one was present at the site of the murder! None of the characters give any details or clue to suggest that Nanibala had seen the murder! Did Byomkesh get a divine blessing of a third eye? Well, the audience does not get to see that!

One fails to understand what is Swastika doing in the movie and especially the climax scene? Why so much of screen space has been allotted to her remains a question till the end. Her character rightly says "I cannot understand why even I am here?" Well, she had no roles to play in the murder and yet was made a part of the last scene hearing by Byomkesh..no one knows for what! The audience was not interested to know her love story! And thats all she tells the audience and leaves. The fact that Nanibala had an out of marriage relationship, that she was a fallen woman, has already been told by Kalibabu during his inebriated conversation with Byomkesh and therefore Shiuli 's (screen name of Swastika)verbal tirade against Nanibala was unnecessary!

The riot scenes are extremely ill conceived, overdone and strikes a discordent note. Throughout the movie people run from and to every possible direction for safety from communal riots. However, Ajitesh, Byomkesh and Nripen move about the riot stricken Calcutta streets in such a manner as if nothing has happened despite a growing inferno around them! Amidst the recurring scenes of communal violence, an attempt by the film-maker to portray the contemporary social set up, the utter reluctance and indifference of the characters to the surroundings is extremely unnatural and funny at times. In real life, imagine you are walking down Park Street, and God forbid there is an all devouring fire. Is it natural to walk slowly chatting and whiling away, as if nothing has happened in the world? Is it not normal to run away for safety? It was very surprising how a seasoned filmaker like Anjan Dutt could make such an unrealistic portrayal of the locale! The same Anjan Dutt, who exploited the locale with such greatness in films like "Chalo lets go", has failed miserably in this film on this count.

All conversation of Byomkesh with Ajit , intense, or otherwise, is lit up by a cigarette! The smoking is so overdone that at times I felt, Charminar was the key funding agency of the movie!

A big plus in this film is Rudraneil. The dark, short and overweight actor is getting better with each of his movies. His performance is absolutely fantastic and lends complete credence to his character. Abir Chattopadhyaya- aka Byomkesh Bakshi has done reasonably well, and Saswata Chatterjee looks good. Nanibala Roy looks more like a woman of nineties than sixties except for her glasses.....and is pathetic in her sobbing attempts! Maybe she should take a few acting tips from Rundraneil..who manages to get the audience by his side despite being the murderer by merit of his acting acumen.

Anjan Dutt's Byomkesh Bakshi, does not live up to its expectation! It fails to create the lasting impact in the audience's mind...the urge to see it more than once! That is a rare distinction achieved by all the Feluda movies made by Satyajit Ray. A 'Sonar Kella', or a 'Joybaba Felunath' creates interest in our mind even today...even though we have by-hearted the dialogues and scenes!

Had I not had the intention to write this blog, I too, would have cleaned up the hard disk of my brain off this movie soon after I came out the theatre hall!