A love letter to the movies

The best thing about the film should be its characters and how the director fleshes them out with care – turning them into flesh and blood people than mere props in a story. In places,where the film loses pace,you anxiously watch Shubho give into hunger for success and walk over trust,you wish Arun would reclaim his swagger and cut Shubho to size,you wonder if Srinandita can at all stop being naïve.

The lives of the three central protagonists are sharply put in contrast with characters almost antithetical in nature. Shubho and Srinandita’s married friends who have walked the beaten path and look on wide eyed as the formers’ lives take unpredictable twists. And in process makes ordinary look warm and inviting. Or the idealist theatre veteran played by a brilliant Rudraprasad Sengupta. Who would burn out keeping the flame alive,as our hero,vacillates between prosperity and loyalty.

The music does a lot of talking and saves the film from dragging. And if you have gone to Presidency College,it’s a sweet rewind of sorts. Only Indraneil Sengupta looks too hunky for the college corridors. It’s difficult to imagine anyone else in Shubho’s shoes. Unfortunately Nandana Sen is way too stiff to convince us that she is a free spirited young girl. Dhruv Mukherji in his cameo stands out in the pleasant motley of people in the film.