Bow Barracks Forever

Bow Barracks, an enclave of Anglo Indians in Calcutta, in danger of collapse. A way of life, rich, varied, and multi-cultural, on the verge of eclipse. Anjan Dutt8217;s idea, to capture it all, is nice; the execution much less so.

The film starts with the Dawson family leaving for Australia, and zig-zags through the decrepit barracks, dipping into the lives of the characters. There8217;s a plot somewhere in Bow Barracks Forever, and the characters look as if they would have wanted to do more, say more, mean more, but everything gets buried in the clicheacute;d presentation. Mrs Lobo Lillete, who is forever making calls to London, to her son who8217;s escaped and gone off, in the hope that she will be asked to live with him. Peter the Cheater Victor, who deals in broken pieces he passes off as antiques. Ann Neha, a battered wife, yoked to a monster who beats her, in love with Brad, Mrs Lobo8217;s other son, who is hoping to get out of every-day drudgery by making a go of his musical talents.

We8217;ve met these characters before, in some form or the other, in Hindi movies which love to exaggerate an ethnic type. This was an opportunity to show the Anglos the way they are, but we come away with obligatory portraits. Moon Moon Sen, in clinging black dress and cleavage, who wants her husband to make love to her, because she is so sick of living her life. A young school girl who8217;s constantly making excuses not to attend class, and her mother threatening to pack her off 8216;to Asansol8217;, the Anglo equivalent, it would appear, for Coventry.

The lines, a mix of English, Hindi, and Bengali, are there too. 8216;I8217;m toh only going to make a call to my son, he should be there now, no?8217; The angry mum tells her daughter to stay away from all the 8216;b8212;-y paaraboys8217;, and 8216;doing chokrabaazi8217;: the words sound rehearsed.

The only actor who manages to break out is Lillete Dubey8217;s Mrs Lobo, who typifies a once vibrant community which now only wants to leave, to go away forever. Victor Bannerjee hams outrageously. But the music, like in Dutt8217;s other movie this month The Bong Connection, is pleasing: a smart variation of a Beatles fave, and a song belted out by Usha Uthup, who shows up for a Christmas celebration.

As for the rest, you echo a character8217;s sentiment: what8217;s the point of all this jhamela, men?