No second chance

They live together in a spacious apartment in a posh Kolkata neighbourhood. Neil is fiercely ambitious while Nikita has given up a promising singing career in Mumbai.

Jodi Ek Din
Story,Script,Editing Cinematography,Director: Riingo
Music: Joy Sarkar
Cast: Indraneil Sengupta,Priyanka,Shaheb Chatterjee,Rii and Biplab Dasgupta

Nikita and Neil live together in a spacious apartment in a posh Kolkata neighbourhood. Neil is fiercely ambitious while Nikita has given up a promising singing career in Mumbai to move in with Neil. Neils ambitions overshadow his love for Nikita. The good-natured,generous Nikita does not crib. Destiny intervenes in the shape of a magician whom Neil meets in a park. Through a few simple tricks,the magician explains how the magic called life does not give one a second chance. One must make the best of the chance before time is up. This raises questions in Neils mind about his relationship with Nikita. A tragic incident devastates Neil and changes his perspective about love.

Technical Expertise
: Director Riingo,who honed his skills in cinematography and then through directorial films like Kranti,Neel Rajar Deshe,Love and Risk,takes his cue from a Hollywood film If Only 2004 directed by Gil Junger and starring Paul Nichols and Jennifer Love Hewitt as the lovers. A Hindi version called Ru-Ba-Ru appeared in 2008. The plagiarisation ticket is enriched by Riingos original touch of introducing the magician both as a cameo and a metaphor who reappears sometimes as a cheerful,bespectacled young man on the motor cycle repeating,Time is up, only to Neil. The characterisations are too westernised for the comfort of a Bengali audience reasoned out by the live-in values of urban modernity.

Riingos cinematography is stupendous though he gets carried away by inserting a long fantasy song sequence in a village that does not jell with the lovers high-flying lifestyle. Another song sequence,in flashback soon after the film begins,is an eyesore. Apart from these minor lapses,the director in Riingo takes charge. He drags his feet over the first half as editor but quickly speeds up things after the interval,leading the film to an electrifying yet believable climax. The film is lavishly enhanced by strategic lighting,an impressive soundtrack that complements the brilliant visual texture of the frames. The orchestra performance is too melodramatic and the conductor and composer Rabi Ranjan Mitra,tellingly called A.R. is made to look like a caricature.

Shaheb Chatterjee as the magician-cum-man-on-the-motor cycle gives a mind-blowing realistic performance in a very unreal role. He invests the fantasy character with cheer,charm,magic,amusement and sarcasm. Indraneil looks dashing,smart and attractive,fitting the role of an ambitious no-nonsense ad man to a tee. Varying expressions sweep his face every other minute. Priyanka slips into Nikitas character very well except for a few scenes where she tends to overact. But she desperately needs to shed some kilos. Rii is good as the couples friend. Joy Sarkars musical score and Chandrabindoos lyrics are good too though three song sequences seem too much in this mood-centric film. Jodi Ek Din,plagiarisation notwithstanding,is a compelling film that fuses fantasy with suspense. The film is more visual with silences filling in the vacuum where dialogue is kept to a minimum.
RATING:
Three stars 8211; one for the wonderful use of the magic element,one for Shahebs scintillating performance and one for the cinematography.