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Friday, March 16, 2012

Bhooter Bhobishyot: Plight of the Living Dead


Anik Dutta's debut Bangla feature film 'Bhooter Bhobishyot' is a delightful watch.

It is a tongue-in-cheek film about endangered ghosts of an ancient mansion.

Here, the ghosts of the age-old Choudhury Palace face the plight of getting ousted, as it is being eyed for a mall-cum-multiplex, thanks to the contemporary consumerist craze.

The crumbling mansion hosts unique specimens of the living dead, hailing from different era and from different socio-cultural backgrounds, making the colourful past come alive.

They have nowhere else to go, and apparently enjoy their stay at the derelict mansion.

Their abode lures film crew who find shooting amidst the decaying opulence lucrative.

It is an irritant for the ghostly souls - averse to the purported invasion of privacy.

They ensure that the place gets a haunted house tag and remains secluded in obscurity.

They also need to ward off the scheming villains eager to raze the building to the grounds.
I found 'Bhooter Bhobishyot' to be a thoroughly entertaining film. It does not pretend to be pseudo-intellectual, although the premise has multiple layers that will make one chuckle and relish the sardonic wit in the writing. The director deserves a pat in the back for the skilful execution of his novel concept, and the producers deserve some genuine appreciation for having braved to back a project which one would have easily relegated for the small screen, as many a novel idea are found to seek refuge only in the format of tele-films. After all, this is indeed a period of existential crisis for not just the film's ghost protagonists but also for the makers of cinema that chooses to digress from a much trodden path. Anik Dutta's film tries to blend the absurd, or the farcical, with the real. And he succeeds, mostly that is.
The ensemble cast is joy to watch. It includes (the list is really long) Parambrata Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Anindita Bose, Bibhu Bhattacharya, Swastika Mukherjee, George Baker, Paran Bandyopadhyay, Samadarshi Dutta, Sumit Samaddar, Biswajit Chakraborty, Mumtaz Sorcar, Monami Ghosh, Kharaj Mukherjee, Saswata Chatterjee, Debdoot Ghosh, Srilekha Mitra and Mir. Some of the big names just have cameo appearances, yet each has contributed fairly to make their presence felt.

The teamwork of Indranil Ghosh (art direction), Abhik Mukherjee (cinematography), and ArghyaKamal Mitra (editing) has contributed immensely in creating the ambience and ethos integral to the narrative. The music (by Raja Narayan Deb) is apt and some of the situational songs are a breather (the best songs are however the zany ones featured on Samadarshi, playing Pablo-the-rocker). The spoofy takes on the constitutional inconsistencies of Bangali life, as well as the period-specific milestones that are casually referred to, have enriched the screenplay. The film could have been a crass comedy in lesser hands (although some of the innuendos could have been easily avoided) and a less nuanced tone could have marred the desired effect. I wish the film all the best, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that Bangali viewers (who do not necessarily equate a comedy with a laughathon) will love this breezy celluloid treat.

14 comments:

Anirban Halder said...

Am privileged to be the first to comment on your post after long :). I have been following the film and this review endears the film to me a lot. Wish Anik's labour of love (that took painfully long to hit the screens despite being ready long back) all the best!!

diya said...

Right from the posters and publicity design, the film has hit the bull's eye, I hope it does the same
at the Box-Office too:)

aniruddh said...

An impressive debut from Anik Dutta. I wish him the very best, for all his future projects. The film is a refreshing change from the run-of-the-mill comedies that viewers are dished out time and again. The cast, the crew, and the brilliant packaging have made it a film to be proud of.

Imran said...

Hey, this film is even better than the recent hits (comedies) like 'Goraay Gondogol' or 'Bye Bye Bangkok'. The script is witty and the dialogues are just awesome.

mehul said...

Saw it today......
lovable ghosts all.......
cool (synonymous with hot)!
hahaha

saurabh said...

A much better fare than 'Gnosaibaganer Bhoot'.

ankush said...

I wish Parambrata, Sabyasachi and Bibhu Bhattacharya could be seen in the same frame at least once....... reminding us of the Feluda films. Incidentally, this is Late Bibhu Bhattacharya's final release, though he had finished it before 'Royal Bengal Rahasya'.

Deep said...

A well-made film. Surely joins the ranks of good comedies like 'Teen Ekke Teen', 'Necklace', 'RangMilanti' and 'Natobar Not Out'.

Sharmee said...

I saw the film last evening. I liked it immensely.

aarav said...

Impressed.
Loved the film,
and I have to say that I loved the concept of Spookbook (I hope it had been really functional; it would have had as many - if not more - takers as those for Facebook......
hahaha)!

dougie said...

The film appeals because it works on many layers, the cast is impressive and the music gels perfectly as well. Will be looking forward to the director's next.

Akaash said...

A small request to the makers of regional cinema: Please make the films more accessible by adding subtitles in English, it will be for the good of regional cinema in general.
'Bhooter Bhabisyat' is definitely a praiseworthy attempt in doing something different yet choosing to entertain. Loved the review, Anindo.

Neeraj said...

Saw this comedy yesterday after your recommendation and I would like to thank you for recommending in the first place. The film has a fresh take on the ghosts, and has put the blast-from-the-past idiom to great use. Needs to be seen more than once for enjoying the witticisms to the fullest.

Imran said...

The film having been immensely successful has now been made in Hindi, titled 'Gang of Ghosts', directed by Satish Kaushik and starring Sharman Joshi, Parambrata Chatterjee, Mahie Gill, Anupam Kher, Saurabh Shukla, Chunky Pandey, Yashpal Sharma, Rajpal Yadav and many others. It remains to be seen if the Hindi version can exude the same appeal and create some magic of its own at the box-office.