Right out of my heart. I only found out about this movie a week ago. And how did I (an ardent Mithuna fan) never hear of him before? He even in the filmography Mithun I did not find anywhere, but he came out 12 years ago. I came across him by accident. And thank God that I came across, or would never have seen this amazing work. That would be very sad.
A deep and deep film. A beautifully shot interesting story, based on the real fact of the abduction. A skillful combination of factual material with artistic fiction.
A great role for the quality of the film was played by the choice of Mithun Chakraborty for the main role, who put so much deep experience in the image of his character associated with his excruciating hesitations regarding the correctness of the choice of action that it becomes impossible to watch without empathy. Total reincarnation. Sincerity, kindness, breadth of soul and unsophisticated striving for justice even to the detriment of oneself are the main traits of Bhanu’s character, thanks to which, by the end of the film, the viewer begins to involuntarily admire this naive ingenious peasant.
Is there anything in the world that has no price? Of course not - Bhanu knows this for sure! We need money, bicycles don’t give away for free. The wife, of course, tried to hint to her husband that the Nobel medal of Rabindranath Tagore, which Bhanu accidentally discovered near the well, may not be suitable for sale. After all, Mr. teacher for a long time and not very clearly tried to explain that this is not just a piece of gold, but some "national treasure", "great value".
It is fearful, of course, to go so far from home - to an unknown Calcutta, but it is necessary. The teacher wrote a letter to the highest superior, the Chief Minister. Like, Bhanu, came to the city in order to return to the nation its not quite understandable "property".
Film-thorn, film-journey, film-awareness, film-intelligence ... Suman Ghosh may seem to have taken a decades-long path: it’s easier to show a hero’s reassessment of values during a real journey from A to B! But external simplicity in this case does not contradict the depth of research and accuracy of reflection of everything that happens to the hero. On the contrary, it is largely due to this “simplicity” of form that the content manifests itself with all its power. The little man trapped in circumstances is as old as the world. But just like the world, and fundamentally. And is it really so “small” turns out to be the final hero of the film, finding his national identity in the whirlpool of life, where his ill-fated find... He wanders the streets (virtually with the same facial expression as I did when I first went to an unfamiliar place), he sees a new life, and can not understand what kind of way to live with the rich ... he has a revaluation of values, he begins to understand what kind of treasure he has in his hands.
Making films about the very essence of any culture that ultimately shapes a nation is not too grateful. But in this case, the director brilliantly managed to convey the main idea of the film, without getting mired in either moralizing or flirting with the viewer. The form is so linearly simple that there is no need to look for some hidden meanings, semantic layers. However, they are.
From the very first shots you get into the atmosphere of summaries of criminal chronicles, reasoning (or even speculation) about the event that stirred up the whole country. Mass hysteria, in a word. And - immediately - the complete opposite of the city bustle. Village peace and quiet - fields, ponds, children's laughter, simplicity and naivety of peasants. Suman Ghosh decided on a real experiment - a mixture of several genres (up to the opposites of comedy and tragedy). The step is bold, because you need to have true skill in order to bring the film to the "common denominator", but the director succeeded in this. Opposites "city - village", "wealth - poverty", "education - ignorance" somehow accompany the film narrative from beginning to end. A near, ignorant Bhanu comes to the realization of the supreme truth, gaining the aura of a martyr in the final, and the respectable, educated Raj (Harsh Chaya) turns out to be a notorious scoundrel, and comically furnished and not foreshadowing anything terrible, the trip of the main character to the city turns into a tragedy ...
The director subtly seasons the story with amazing dialogues, often built on a play on words. Funny, fresh and perfect! The viewer does not even notice how the play of words over screen time from purely formal becomes deep-substantive, when the reward of the Great Tagore gradually turns into his "alter ego", and the hero, referring to the sale of the Nobel medal, pronounces - "sell Tagore". The truth, which arises from the word, burns.
Excellent and musical accompaniment of the film. All songs are very atmospheric and melodic, not to mention their content, revealing even more deeply the main idea of the film as a whole. Mixing folk music with modern Bengali melodies Bikram Ghosh provides the musical content of the film and its diverse moods.
The contribution of the operator also deserves the highest praise! Contrasts are felt not only visually, but also tactilely. Impressive is the reception of attenuation of the frame, emphasizing the viewer’s attention on the key events of the film.
Of the actors, I would especially like to mention the village idiot Manmato (the excellent Shankar Debnat) - a kind of embodiment of a conscience living on the rights of an outcast.
And, of course, the film would not have taken place without the genius of Mithun Chakraborty, who presented to the audience another stunning image with its depth: an illiterate peasant experiencing, if I may so say, “education of feelings.” Mithun is just a genius. His movements, facial expressions, turn of head, look - I was shocked again, so to convey the image of an illiterate peasant from the outback. Take a look at Mithun's eyes in this film and then prove to me that he can actually read and write. Try to disconnect from all the Mithun movies that were before... forget about it. At the beginning of the film, we see a solid head of the family, demanding from the household respect for their person (it all looks very comical). Over the course of screen time, the image of the main character is transformed, and watching this process gives the viewer true pleasure! I don’t know who else can play this role on such a high note.
In essence, this is a journey into the heart of Bengal and the heart of the Bengals, exploring and discovering the significance that Tagore and his legacy still retain in the daily lives of people today.
I really liked the beginning of the documentary-style film, where the director shows a whirlwind of edited excerpts of real-life television reports, newspaper clippings and live interviews of stars and high-profile guests telling about the “kidnapping of the century”, creating the basis for the climax from which the rest of the film begins.
Indranil Ghosh’s artistic direction tastefully embodies the film’s huge structure and scale, as well as its rural and urban scenery. A simple story told honestly from the heart reveals the winner in the Nobel kidnapper.
10 out of 10