A good thriller is not necessarily the flawless depiction of crime. Rather the events which add up to it and the events which follow make up the tale. Arindam Sil's latest directorial venture "Byomkesh Pawrbo" scores heavily on these fronts. The puritan may sneer at the attempt for making the quintessential Bengali bhodrolok try his hand (and feet) at martial arts and beating up the bad guys all over the place but overall the film engages right from the beginning till the end. The film based on Saradindu's short story "Amrit er Mrityu" (Amrit's death) deals with the event of the murder of a mentally imbalanced lad and the illegal arms circulation which takes place in the backdrop in the picturesque Doars town of Santalgola in North Bengal. The factor which scores above everything else is that it's a visual treat. The opening scene where the drone camera focuses on the solitary track treading its way through the dense forests sets the very mood of movie. Soumik Halder does it yet again.
The interest is retained throughout with controlled performances of the cast. Abir shoulders the responsibility of playing the Satyanweshi (Truth Seeker) in a suave manner. Sohini plays Satyabati and her anxiety as well as trust for her sleuth husband is well brought out without overdoing either of the two. Ritwik as Ajit provides the comic relief along with playing the trusted aide to Byomkesh.
The whodunit hovers around four characters who are elites of the town. Sil here carefully weaves elements from the plot as well makes changes to it only to heighten the tension further. The four probable culprits Biswanath Mullick (Kaushik), Badri Das (Rajatava), Nafor Kundu (Subhasish) and Jamunadas (Ashok ) all play their part to pace up the story aptly. Climax is pretty action packed and instead of being cerebral, it's actually pure adrenaline pumping. Overall the action elements and racy theme was well enacted along with scintillating cinematography and costume design.
For this reason, the film set in the late 40s appears trendy and barring the attire it can easily pass off as a 21st century one. Use of music was commendable with couple of songs adding to the mood of the plot along with aggravating the photogenic factor. Bickram Ghosh cultivates a fitting theme too. However the Mujra song choreographed by Saroj Khan and enacted by Sayantika was a huge let down. The bosom focused and pelvic thrusting dance steps can be an item number of today but not a palate of infantile Free-India.
To sum up the long review, Arindam Sil's Byomkesh definitely is the finest movie about the detective till date. Despite the unconventional maneuvering and a few slacks here and there, it's definitely worth a watch.
The interest is retained throughout with controlled performances of the cast. Abir shoulders the responsibility of playing the Satyanweshi (Truth Seeker) in a suave manner. Sohini plays Satyabati and her anxiety as well as trust for her sleuth husband is well brought out without overdoing either of the two. Ritwik as Ajit provides the comic relief along with playing the trusted aide to Byomkesh.
The whodunit hovers around four characters who are elites of the town. Sil here carefully weaves elements from the plot as well makes changes to it only to heighten the tension further. The four probable culprits Biswanath Mullick (Kaushik), Badri Das (Rajatava), Nafor Kundu (Subhasish) and Jamunadas (Ashok ) all play their part to pace up the story aptly. Climax is pretty action packed and instead of being cerebral, it's actually pure adrenaline pumping. Overall the action elements and racy theme was well enacted along with scintillating cinematography and costume design.
For this reason, the film set in the late 40s appears trendy and barring the attire it can easily pass off as a 21st century one. Use of music was commendable with couple of songs adding to the mood of the plot along with aggravating the photogenic factor. Bickram Ghosh cultivates a fitting theme too. However the Mujra song choreographed by Saroj Khan and enacted by Sayantika was a huge let down. The bosom focused and pelvic thrusting dance steps can be an item number of today but not a palate of infantile Free-India.
To sum up the long review, Arindam Sil's Byomkesh definitely is the finest movie about the detective till date. Despite the unconventional maneuvering and a few slacks here and there, it's definitely worth a watch.
