Ek Je Chhilo Bhooter Chhana (Bangla)

Direction,Story,Screenplay

and Dialogue: Samar

Cast: Mita Chatterjee,Mrinal Mukherjee,

Kuntal and others

As you start watching Ek Je Chhilo Bhooter Chhana,the first question that comes to your mind is why does a comparatively new director like Samar take on the onus of other departments like story,script,dialogue,direction and even music. You are compelled to ask this question because of his amateur and unprofessional approach towards the story,which is strongly inspired by the comic strip character Casper,the Friendly Ghost and Satyajit Rays Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne. However,the film cannot rise above its mediocre production values.

The film is about two youngsters,Bhola and an orphan,who are forced to run away from their village to escape the wrath of the cruel zamindar. The zamindar has usurped the land of Bholas uncle along with the help of his evil Nawab. On the way,Bhola and the orphan meet a ghost who gifts them a magic bone that can help them fulfill all their wishes. They land in another village that has a kind zamindar. But he is sad because his daughter has gone missing on her way to the village temple. Bhola promises to fetch his daughter and her maid back. They discover that an evil tantrik has kidnapped them for human sacrifice. They scare him off,rescue the two girls and take them to the zamindar. Bhola also punishes the cruel zamindar and his crony with his magic bone till they surrender and promise to mend their ways. He goes back to the other village and gets married to the zamindars pretty daughter.

Rather than a straight narrative,the film is narrated as a story by an old grandmother (Mita Chatterjee) to her grandchildren. Mrinal Mukherjee gives a restrained performance as the cruel zamindar. The other cameo characters talk in clipped tones without pitch or tone. The musical score is nothing to write home about because the songs are popular ones drawn from folk numbers. One wonders what makes these aspiring filmmakers rush to make a film without knowing the basics of cinema.

RATINGS: The film deserves one star only for the veteran actors performances.