Mind Games

That is a lot of baggage for a film to carry, and director Suman Mukhopadhyay seems to be strangely aware of it in his adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore8217;s iconic Chaturanga. The film is at its strongest when it creates the atmosphere of repressed sensuality and the complicated byplays in the relationships between the three main characters. However, it almost feels more heavy-handed when it deals with the consequences and aftermath of these developments, setting them against current events and debates.

Set in Colonial Bengal at the turn of the twentieth century, the film almost matter-of-factly addresses its settings, without the brouhaha of its direct predecessor, Rituparno Ghosh8217;s Chokher Bali. So there are no ornate tiles and mirrors here, nor are there filigree screens and twisting staircases. Mukhopadhyay8217;s world is not about overheard conversations and half-glimpsed secrets where sensuality seems to be part of the furnishings, his approach rather seems to be more philosophical, where lead characters take long, silent walks in sandy beaches to reconcile to their realities. The lead protagonist Sachish a disturbingly unlikable Subrat Dutta fluctuates between radical positivism to religious mysticism in his quest for life8217;s true meaning. Unfortunately, his search is quite futile, as he is yet to come in terms with his own desires. Two women distract him from his quest for nirvana8212;Damini Rituparna Sengupta sleepwalks her way through what could have been a career-defining role, a young Hindu widow, and Nanibala Trina Nileena Banerjee sparkles in a cameo, the abandoned mistress of Sachish8217;s own brother.While he believes that he is doing a great favour to Nanibala by proposing marriage to her, he treats Damini as a mere distraction on his route to spiritual salvation. His faithful aide, Sribilash Joy Sengupta, however, proves to be the true liberal who negotiates idealism and reality with honesty.

Strangely enough, though the film doesn8217;t have the lushness of the kind of period dramas we are used to. Chaturanga8217;s almost austere visual language pulls you in rather than shuts you out; it isn8217;t difficult to decipher, and it enables Mukhopadhyay to navigate the story8217;s many realms with a directness and dexterity that is refreshing.

Mukhopadhyay also has conviction even with the airiest elements. The churn and sweep of time, memory, karma, the whole enchilada of fate, give the story a weirdly compulsive charm. But its philosophical preoccupations make Chaturanga more of an intellectual exercise than a cinematic experience. Which is why you are more likely to walk away pondering on Sachish8217;s ideals than Sachish himself. But then will that really disappoint Mukhopadhyay?