Teenkahon (2014) User Reviews

Cinema at it's best

[das-joydeep · 6/10 · 18 March 2015]

Teenkahon consists of 3 stories Nabalok,Post Mortem and Telephone.Cinema as a craft is quite complicated as it involves numerous skill sets to produce the final product.According to me two things make or break a movie (1) the story telling and (2) balancing the numerous skill sets appropriately in the movie. Debutant director Bauddhayan Mukherjee showed his mastery in dealing with both these elements, making Teenkahon a modern day classic.The simplicity with which complex scenarios are presented is a rarity in today's Indian Cinema. Nabalok explores the mind of a child with respect to relationships with women in great depth but in a very polished manner.The director kept his patience with the camera to capture the mood of every scene.One can see the "Ray Influence" in Nabalok,but never at the cost of originality. Post Mortem my favorite of the three is just fascinating as it explores the contradictions within a person in very subtle and unique way using camera,situation and the actors.Popular Bengali actor Sabyasachi Chakrabarty has been unshackled from his typical self and this will remain one of his best or may be the best performance. In the last story Telephone which is incidentally written by the director himself is a typical mystery but presented in a very unique way keeping the audience attentive throughout. Rituporna Sengupta again showed that with a good director she can reach exceptional heights. Asish Vidyarthi who plays the role of a cop and husband to Rituporna combined his facial expressions with great physical acting.

The casting in Teenkahon has been excellent and specially the young boy in Nabalok will live with me for a long time.The only area where Teenkahon could have done better (anyway it is good) is the use of music.

Hoping to see more from Bauddhayan Mukherjee.....

A stellar film

[user-267-269926 · 8/10 · 19 March 2015]

Starved of watching Bengali films on big screen in Dubai, Abhijaan 2015 - the Bengali Film festival in Dubai was such a great opportunity for movie lovers to watch Bengali films... and that too such great films like TeenKahon. What a stellar movie Teenkahon is... absolute stunning ending... the treatment is also very different. While the first act reminded us of Apu in Pather Panchali and it was very evident that Ray had a huge cinematographic influence on the director. The less we discuss the third act, the better it is for those who still haven't seen the movie. Incredible climax. Cannot give a 10 out of 10 only because I didn't get the second act so much, although Sabyasachi has never given such a stupendous performance in any of his movies. Rituparna has evolved so much since her early days - she even acts through her silence. Ashish Vidyarthi has given a kick-ass performance as well. 3 different stories, different treatment - a whiff of fresh air in Indian cinema alibi this Bengali film. Given a chance for a remake, I would be keeping the elements of rain and child as a common thread in all the three acts.

Good wishes to both Buddy and Mona and the entire think tank of Lamb Little... this is just the beginning of story telling for you... your journey begins only now!

3 short films with one drive- obsession

[naveen-pun · 7/10 · 17 March 2015]

Teenkahon being a triptych has to be seen as three different short films. The only thing common to the three is the theme of obsession. Apart from that each has a distinct style of its own. The filmmaker has achieved in bringing forward three different worlds separated by age, look and form of telling a story. The searching gaze of the boy in the first, the power game of the widower and her wife's lover both trapped in a gloomy room of heaviness and the cops struggle to breathe free from his marriage, all leave you in a circle of thought- what all obsession can make us do.

Though each story is engaging I would like to specially mention the way the 2nd story is told. The setup is minimal, a room of an old bachelor. It's great to see how much drama just camera angles can bring to a story. You can sense in the way the characters are framed, the art and the silence in the sound design the graveness of the situation. Specially the variety of 2 shots where one character is overpowering the other. Only sense of relief is a knock on the door, the door closes and the intensity increases. The acting is flawless here.

I highly recommend the film to be seen.

Obsession can be innocent, dramatic as well as mysterious

[abhidarocker · 10/10 · 30 June 2015]

This is a movie about the obsession that can be created by love. This love can be as innocent as a child, as dramatic as the husband of an unfaithful wife or as mysterious as a person who can go to any extent to achieve the woman of his desire. The best part of the movie is that it tells three (Teen) stories (Kahon) which took place in three different times. And the beauty is that each one of them is shot based on the time when those stories were taking places. The way of shooting a film has evolved from time to time and this change can be observed as we move on from one story to another. Amazing concept which gives you the feeling of traveling through time. My personal favorite is the Third one which was the story from the Director himself, but I will always admit the depth of obsession can only be felt through the second story where a betrayed husband is obsessed with the lover of his unfaithful wife.

Tries too hard

[josharekare · 6/10 · 7 October 2015]

Teenkahon comes across as trying too hard to be art-house. The checklist seems to be taken care of – it is full of things you'd expect in such cinema. The cinematography, for instance, is a lovely black and white in the first story Nabalok. There are beautiful visuals of the countryside and the Rabindra sangeet is mesmerising. Likewise, the other two stories too have their bits of wonder whether in the form of acting (Sabyasachi Chakraborty is extraordinary) or the theme or some really clever screenplay (in the third part).

But all put together, you can sense that it is trying too hard. None of the stories really pull you in the way they should. It doesn't give the sense of an organically evolved script. Now, this is a complaint which isn't easy to articulate but I'll try.

I'll use comparison. Take Asha Jhawar Majhe, another art house Bengali film that made some waves recently. Nothing much happens through its runtime. Or at least, it appears like nothing much happens. But it all comes together towards the end. It feels like the film crystallises suddenly and my heart felt a firm tug as the lady sets off to work again at the end. Everything seems so right about the film. Masterfully shot, enacted, and directed.

But Teenkahon often feels forced. It feels like a bunch of nice things stuck on a inherently nice idea but they don't really work well together. Often the staging feels sub par and sometimes the acting doesn't come through. One could blame these issues on the inexperience of the director (Teenkahon is Bauddhayan Mukherjee's debut) but this is often a problem of ambition that doesn't match with vision. Mukherjee seems to be full of ambition but without the vision of the master that he seems to aim to be.

The evident obsessions

[rahulbasu16 · 9/10 · 29 June 2015]

Bengali movies have always surprised me with their content and direction and Teen Kahon was no different. I watched it at the Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival and I was literally spellbound. I could feel goosebumps in the first story when the young kid gets upset about the woman's husband visit her. The innocent mind's obsession was so evident from the expression in his eyes. The third story was yet another way to express that a single man can never complete a woman. The film shot both in black & white and color can only be compared to works of Satyajit Ray & Mrinal Sen. The little one depicted so much of Apu that it made me have tears in the corner of my eyes. The director has showcased how obsession & greed can at times make us fall in the trap.

Don't get obsessed with anything, else it will possess you .

[ankitatiya · 10/10 · 26 August 2015]

Some films make you happy, some films make you sad and some just amaze you. Teenkahon is a film that I would name among my favorites. The film was riveting. This movie is very different because it has stories concerning not only the characters' love lives but their obsessions as well. It is exciting, creative and well worth a few hours of your time. This movie is filled with amazing actors and their performances. Bauddhayan has done a wonderful job with his debut direction. He has portrayed all these three stories with enough delicacy. One of the best things about this movie is that it's very much related to our own life. We all experience those magical moments that make us obsessed at some point in our life. All these three story lines develop methodically and beautifully. I was thrilled with the unexpected ending of this movie. All in all I would definitely recommend it. It's a must watch!!

Disappointing

[JuguAbraham · 5/10 · 15 March 2015]

A winner of the Aravindan film award, Teenkahon, was a total disappointment for me. The well-meaning young director has evidently seen lots of Satyajit Ray films and influenced by them and unwittingly regurgitates the imagery of the Bengali master-filmmaker. Scene after scene, I was reminded of films I had seen in the past. There was no originality in Teenkahon. It will appeal to viewers who are not sufficiently exposed to good cinema. The jury chair that awarded the film the Aravindan award did state that the other films in competition were poor. I guess the film won by default. Here is a young director who uses the famous peeing imagery of Singer's "The Usual Suspects" and transposes it on a boy's similar action. A child showing disdain by peeing??? Mukherji means well but his debut is no great shakes. I am thus not surprised that the International Film Festival of Kerala did not select this film for screening in 2014.

A Must Watch

[amitanshukjain · 9/10 · 24 September 2015]

One of the films i cannot forget after watching ..and its really intense..This Film may also scare you by its depiction of eroding human value system but then its a dark reality...The 3 stories here describe the change in thought process, emotional capacity,sensibilities about obsessive love ..it also depicts the change of language, lifestyle and attitude of people in our society since last 100 years..one question viewer may ask why to Show Obsessions and why Repression or Fear in name of Love ? ANd that is the point here this film is trying to make.. in the Present corporate & digital age where everything from fast food chains to shopping malls to education to personal relations - everything seems like a facade and no one really cares about anyone anymore except for their own desires & survival..this film sums its all.. ....please don't compare it with works of previous bengali film makers or European cinema of 70s to 90s..just watch it and enjoy the labour of love by debutant director Baudhayan Mukherjee ...its well shot , good sound mixing and great acting by some debutant as well seasoned actors

Worth every minute.

[SanchitaR · 10/10 · 9 June 2015]

What a start to the film festival at India Habitat Centre Delhi with Teenkahon by Bauddhayan Mukherji! Teenkahon consists of three different stories with one common theme - obsession. The first one Nabalok (The Innocent) is a story of a small boy Shailen around whom the story revolves (Barshan Seal - what a performance!). There was a scene when a character Nayantara had a fight with her husband Akshay, here the mischievous smile of success and pleasure in Shailen's face need a big applause, credit goes to the director indeed! Nabalok took me to the nostalgic feeling of 'Pather Panchali' by the great Satyajit Ray, the characters and nature of rural Bengal bonded so well and the background score also depicts the many moods of the boy - on the whole a delight to watch! The second story Postmortem revolves around two characters, here the director took all the pains to create every detail of a single room act, like the water droplets dripping from the rain drenched dress of one character or the wet match box. Excellent performance by Sabyasachi Chakraborty. The third story Telephone written by the director is the icing on the cake, what an ending ! Can't be a spoiler but a standing ovation for the director for the climax ! Loved the songs, specially Parvathy Baul's song. Suman Mukhopadhyay, Kharaj Mukherjee, Manu Mukherjee, Ratan Sarkhel, Manasi Sinha, Bishwanath Basu, Joy Sengupta, Rituparna Sengupta & above all Ashish Vidyarthi - superb casting and superb performances from each one of them! Enjoyed the movie thoroughly and the dialogues specially in the first story 'Nabalok' where in between serious talks those few light hearted jokes are to help the audience breathe . Worth every minute of the 124 minutes, highly recommended to everyone to watch the movie.

Complex stories, well told

[aquarius012273-1 · 9/10 · 29 March 2015]

Teen (=three) Kahon (=stories, story-tellings) is billed as a triptych, but to me, it was not a three-fold story. The film is comprised of three separate stories - powerful stories by their own rights - that were bound together by a single thematic underpinning: all-consuming, obsessive love. None of these three was the typical Bollywood-flavored love stories that are churned out annually by the various vernacular film industries of India. Each story was complex, many-layered and gut-wrenching in their own way.

Some other reviewers have accused this director, Mukherji, of following too closely the other celebrated film-maker from his state, Bengal, the illustrious Satyajit Ray. Ray's influence, given his stature, is perhaps not an easy thing to avoid for serious film-makers of Mukherji's generation, but I didn't get that sense from these three films. Rather, the presentation and the color techniques used changed from film to film - and it seemed that the director has aimed to recreate small vignettes from three different periods of Indian cinema, perhaps his way of paying tribute to the 100 years of Indian movie-making.

I would recommend this highly to lovers of quality International cinema. I understand the language (Bangla), but the subtitles seemed to run from the screen a little too fast, which may make it difficult for non-Bengali audiences to get the nuances.

Outstanding Film!

[johpacobp · 10/10 · 16 March 2015]

Saw Three Obsessions (Teenkahon) at the Aravindan Puraskaram screening. I must say it was a very bad screening. Why would a prestigious award allow such bad screening? But I liked Three Obsessions. As a film buff, I must say it was very beautifully shot. Abhik Mukherjee is a master craftsman.He is brilliant. And as debut film this is quite remarkable. Ms. Beena in her citation read that "the filmmaker has exceptional command over the language of cinema." I agree with her. As a first time filmmaker Buddhayan Mukherjee has shown very good skills. The first story did remind me of Satyajit Ray but in a good way, the second one I thought could have been shorter but what a performance by the husband. The actor desrves prizes. The third one again was quite something. Asis Vidyarthi was superb in his role. And what an ending! Must watch.

One of the best

[siddhartha1984 · 9/10 · 15 November 2015]

This movie revolves around relations not defined by society.As the name suggests three stories neatly told and evidence of inspiration from Masters of Bengali Cinema.. The first story..a story of innocence and love that demands possessiveness and manipulation and the magic of Black and white will tie you up. Second story is an excellent one room show between a husband and a lover of a same woman and the decision to bring forward the one responsible for her suicide.The story is superbly told with cinematography being excellent you will feel connected! Third one is my personal favorite with twists and turns and ....the lust and shadows of human manipulation!!! A must watch for those who understand movies...

Stellar cast

[dibeyendu · 8/10 · 22 February 2019]

It's hard to go wrong with the stellar cast that Bauddhayan has brought together for this film. It's a real pleasure watching Ashish Vidarthi, Rituparna, Joy Sengupta, Sabyasachi Chakrobarty and Dhritiman Chatterjee on screen. They do a fantastic job. Still, the best of the three stories presented here is the one with no big actors. In fact, the main character here is an evil little boy. Which the goes to show that a big cast is all very well, but what's important is the story. The last story, Telephone, starring Ashish Vidyarthi and Rituparna, is so far fetched as to be absurd. The second story, though very atmospheric, doesn't go anywhere. But the first story by the great Bibhutibhushan Mukhopadhyay is marvelous. It has a great climax and I loved the setting of the three friends eating "beguni" (fried aubergines) and drinking tea on a rainy evening as one of them tells the tale of his first love.

A bloody masterpiece!

[Debajyoti_Guha · 10/10 · 5 May 2022]

One of the finest acting ever done by Rituparna, Ashish Vidyarthi, Sabyasachi, and Joy; not to speak of the child-actor of the first story . The last story is the ultimate culmination of what has been building up. Bauddhayan excels in holding the audience with whatever pace the stories deserve.