Utsab

I have always enjoyed the films of Rituparno Ghosh--one of the greatest Indian filmmakers. While rewatching "Utsab" recently, I couldn't sit through it without some exasperation creeping in from time to time. The film offers a family drama but lacks the nuances often present in Ghosh's other films. Other than the doomed romance of the star-crossed lovers and "taboo" relationships within the family that create some heart-wrenching moments, the drama mostly devolves into drab sentimentality. The movie has a stellar cast featuring the likes of Madhabi Mukherjee, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Mamata Sankar, Rituparna Sengupta, Pradip Mukherjee and others. With a cast like this, the film looked like a missed opportunity. The writing seemed shoddy, the cinematography unremarkable, and the characters pretty forgettable. The film was carried entirely by a group of actors just doing their jobs.