Sedin Dekha Hoyechhilo

Sedin Dekha Hoyechhilo is an outrageously-mainstream masala film aimed at big-time entertainment.

All productions of Shree Venkatesh Films raise expectations levels in terms of the box-office,and also in terms of churning out just the right dose of masala love,action,thrills and family melodrama at the right places North Bengal and Switzerland with the right people Dev,Srabonti and Co. at the right time closing of 2010. Sedin Dekha Hoyechhilo is no different. It is an outrageously-mainstream masala film aimed at big-time entertainment. But there is a little problem. The ingredients in this spicy dish have been put together by a chef N.K. Salil,who has lost his magic touch and the ingredients are not mixed in the right proportion at the right place though the timing and the people were quite right.

Director Sujit Mandal was a bit confused about whether he was looking to make a love story or whether to make is a family melodrama where Neelkanto Roy Tapas Pal,the patriarch,is a Bengali reincarnation of the Third Reich; or,whether he should turn it into a rollicking comedy; or perhaps,convert it into an action-hunt-chase thriller; or a song-and-dance rumpus in Switzerland. Sedin Dekha Hoyechhilo is a mishmash of Chinese Chowmien,hot fish-in-mustard-paste Bengali style,two big bars of Swiss chocolate,a bit of jhaal-muri for fun and a rosogolla for dessert.

Dev Abir plays his usual,happy self with élan but the lovelorn look does not suit him,nor has he learnt to express the look yet. Srabonti Nandini plays Hitler Tapas Pals younger daughter caught between her love for Abir and her love for her father. She has precious little to do except look pretty,exchange nok-jhonks with the captive hero or wander across the Swiss Alps in dream scenes dressed in badly-designed gowns with lover-boy. Tapas as Neelkanto Roy is a cross between a cold-blooded Hitler who runs a police state and a loving father emotionally distraught by a daughters elopement. His performance is stiff,self-conscious and lacks emotional range. Mousumi Saha as his wife plays a humiliating second-fiddle while Laboni Sarkar as Abirs mother shuns her glycerine factory to overdo her angry-mother act and dresses up to slice off half her age.

Two things that keep the cat-calls going are the music and the comedy. The two songs composed by lesser-known lyricists set to music by Jeet Gangully,are really foot-tapping. One is the romantic and melodious title-song Sedin dekha hoyechhilo. The other is a take-off on a well-known nursery rhyme Khokababy jaaye laal juto paaye. The comic parts are hilarious,specially the Kanchan Mullick scene outside the marriage registrars office where he pulls down all rich fathers of marriageable daughters who dare to marry below their status unwittingly making Neelkanto Ray the target of his attack.

Rating:

If you are looking for entertainment with a focus,then give SDH a miss. If you go ga-ga over the Dev-Srabonti pair without expecting any spark or sizzle,then go ahead and get bored. If you are looking for some fun,this is the film for you. The film does not deserve more than two stars 8211; one for the music and one for the fun quotient.