Missed chances

Musalmanir Galpo
Kamala (Mumtaz Sorcar),an orphaned young girl brought up by her uncle and aunt,is married against her wishes to a lecherous landlord twice her age and already married. On her way to her husband’s home,Habir Khan (Sudip Mukherjee),a philanthropist who rescues women and girls in distress,rescues her from being abducted by the dreaded dacoit Madhunallar and his gang. He gives her shelter in his Hindu Mahal where rescued Hindu girls are placed in a life of dignity. Over time,Kamala learns the arts of warfare from Habir Khan and becomes his successor. She falls in love with Habir’s second son Kabir Khan (Indrajeet Chakraborty) and asks for his hand in marriage from Habir Khan. Her first independent crusade is rescuing her cousin Sarala from Madhumallar who takes to his heels with his cronies establishing Kamala/Meherjaan as the uncrowned queen of the area.

This very cinema-friendly story by Tagore authored just before his death and left in the form of a draft could have been a box-office hit because of the unusual action angle in the leading character. It does not,because of the rambling and weak script,melodramatic handling and lack of focus. Pandit Debjyoti Bose’s music and lyrics are the high-point of the film,but only in terms of its presence independent of the narrative. Placed within the drama,the songs are too many,too long and picturised with little imagination. Thus,it weakens the story instead of strengthening it. The cinematography is erratic and stagey at most places while it loses focus in mid-shots. The scenes where Kamala is training to fight are good however and are the only ones where the camera takes top-angle shots for greater editorial control.

Mumtaz Sorcar shows great promise in the title-role trying to put in her best in a role with multiple shades. Sudip Mukherjee as Habir Khan is also good though his character is needlessly iconised as a God-like figure,which the script fails to bear out. He does nothing to rehabilitate the girls he rescues by teaching them in skills that could make them independent and does not try to marry them off either. Kamala,on the other hand,is made into a queen of the Hindu Mahal with the other girls revolving like satellites around her. Indrajeet Chakraborty as Kabir Khan is very good in a brief role while Shankar Chakraborty hams his way as the zamindar. Too many flashbacks weaken an already weak script pulling it down with its inordinate length. What can one expect of a film of this proportion if it is shot in 18 days flat?
RATING:
Musalmanir Galpo deserves two stars – one for Mumtaz Sorcar and Sudip Mukherjee and one for the music and the lyrics.