mrinalchak

Is this a film by Neeraj Pandey? No, certanly not. This is a sloppy sentimental rubbish! The querky humour is absent. Stupid sentimentality with maudlin songs have entered the Pandey arena. Growing old? May be.

Is he the maker of Special 26, Baby, and the best of the encomium, A Wednesday? No.

Then what is this stuff about? Nothing. It's a remake of the undigested stuff that prevailed in the 'smart' 80s and early 90s. Not befitting the brilliant wit of Neeraj.

It's a bland movie; I give 3 out of old sentiments. The script is banal so are the dialogues. Competents actors appear like... Puppets.

This is what a poor story and a weak screenplay can do to a movie. All the actors have done their job, but they've all done much better elsewhere. Though it's very surprising, unpleasantly, that in the days of smart and intelligent TV series, they did not object to the screenplay and dialogues, which are banal and loose pick-ups from better movies and series. There are many loose ends. I just cite one. There is a frightened boy in this movie belonging to Zaraar's group. He just gets vanished into thin air. He could have helped the police to draw a picture of the terrorist. But then the project would not stretch to so many episodes. It's also astonishing why such a noted platform like Prime Video has given it such space...space wasted.

I am still quite entranced by the series. The problem with adjectives is that they turn all praise or condemnation to an average, mediocre cliché, unless you have a great command of the language, which i don't have.

'Chhotolok' is supposedly a thriller , which it is, and much more. It's full of touching strains. While remaining well within the confines of the genre, it deals with caste issues, minority issues and such other bigotries in little touches, almost in a whispering manner. And all this hurts. The script, cinematography, acting and editing combine, again, not shouting, not protesting, just cinematically, to present a scene of massive waste.

Acting follows the same undertone and impact. But Daminee Benny Basu stands out. Sabitri stands out with her burden of caste discrimination, lonely fight and the resultant neurological subtle expressions, a touch of non-urban 's' and 'sh', and the 'sh' she considers repugnant, which is expressed in the scene when she beats up the CA. It comes out from deep down, from a series of humiliations. Kudos, kudos, all the way!

We expect more of this, Indranil, from you. Congrats!!!