Director: Haranath Chakraborty
Writers: Manotosh Chakraborty (screenplay), Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay (novel)
Stars: Gaurav Chakrabarty, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Paran Banerjee |
Storyline :
Indra Pratap a heir of a kingdom called Raidighi,comes to India for the
first time to find the hidden treasure of his ancestors.
The film is based on Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay's story of the same name. The story revolves around a village autocrat, a thief, some gold coins and of course, a ghost
The film, as a faithful adaptation of Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay's story Chayamoy, is a collection of all things our childhood was made of. If you are a Shirshendu-holic, then you must be familiar with his gang of friendly ghosts. They usually help those in need. They are also very fond of kids and can go to any length to help the neglected, rejected and underdogs of the society. Chayamoy is also a story of such a ghost, whose honest meddling in others' lives changes the fates of Shimultala's people.
As the film starts, Shimultala, which looks like a normal village from outside, reveals a mixed bag of colourful characters — there's a village money monger Gagan (played with elan by Dipankar De), who exploits the poor villagers; a 93-year-old man, who actually looks forty; a fraud kapalik, who dreams of borrowing enough money from people so that he can build Ma Kali's than in bot-tala and have half liter of milk every day; a little boy who enjoys life even in extreme poverty; a thief, who possesses a bagful of gold coins and a ghost, who knows all the secrets. Like all thrillers we loved as a child, there's also a story of hidden treasures and unfulfilled dreams. It's good that director Haranath Chakraborty didn't take any unnecessary detours and decided to stick to the original plot. For that reason, the film he made is simple yet heart-warming. He was also extremely astute while deciding on the cast. As it's the ensemble cast of brilliant actors that ultimately make the film special. Every single one of them — be it Paran Bandopadhyay as the 93-year-old thakurda, Sudip Mukherjee as Gagan's hired goon with a heart of gold, Sabyasachi Mukherjee as the bondhu-bhoot or his talented son, Gaurav, as the thief-cum-hero of the film — play their individual roles as if they are actual residents of that village. Even the kid who plays Alankar is completely natural. Their performances are complemented by Debojyoti Mishra's music. Though, sometimes, it has uncanny similarities with that of Ray's, his background score helps to make the comic situations come alive. The director also brought back some veteran actors on screen after a long time. For that he deserves a special thanks. But Rituparna Sengupta's cameo as a courtesan of Gagan's fantasy and some childish special effects used in the film, fell short of expectations. The film also could have done with better editing.
Chayamoy can easily be termed as a children's film. However, as Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay's stories for children are enjoyed by Bengali readers, irrespective of age. Similarly this film also has the capacity to capture all hearts.
Chayamoy Movie Reviews :
The film is based on Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay's story of the same name. The story revolves around a village autocrat, a thief, some gold coins and of course, a ghost
The film, as a faithful adaptation of Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay's story Chayamoy, is a collection of all things our childhood was made of. If you are a Shirshendu-holic, then you must be familiar with his gang of friendly ghosts. They usually help those in need. They are also very fond of kids and can go to any length to help the neglected, rejected and underdogs of the society. Chayamoy is also a story of such a ghost, whose honest meddling in others' lives changes the fates of Shimultala's people.
As the film starts, Shimultala, which looks like a normal village from outside, reveals a mixed bag of colourful characters — there's a village money monger Gagan (played with elan by Dipankar De), who exploits the poor villagers; a 93-year-old man, who actually looks forty; a fraud kapalik, who dreams of borrowing enough money from people so that he can build Ma Kali's than in bot-tala and have half liter of milk every day; a little boy who enjoys life even in extreme poverty; a thief, who possesses a bagful of gold coins and a ghost, who knows all the secrets. Like all thrillers we loved as a child, there's also a story of hidden treasures and unfulfilled dreams. It's good that director Haranath Chakraborty didn't take any unnecessary detours and decided to stick to the original plot. For that reason, the film he made is simple yet heart-warming. He was also extremely astute while deciding on the cast. As it's the ensemble cast of brilliant actors that ultimately make the film special. Every single one of them — be it Paran Bandopadhyay as the 93-year-old thakurda, Sudip Mukherjee as Gagan's hired goon with a heart of gold, Sabyasachi Mukherjee as the bondhu-bhoot or his talented son, Gaurav, as the thief-cum-hero of the film — play their individual roles as if they are actual residents of that village. Even the kid who plays Alankar is completely natural. Their performances are complemented by Debojyoti Mishra's music. Though, sometimes, it has uncanny similarities with that of Ray's, his background score helps to make the comic situations come alive. The director also brought back some veteran actors on screen after a long time. For that he deserves a special thanks. But Rituparna Sengupta's cameo as a courtesan of Gagan's fantasy and some childish special effects used in the film, fell short of expectations. The film also could have done with better editing.
Chayamoy can easily be termed as a children's film. However, as Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay's stories for children are enjoyed by Bengali readers, irrespective of age. Similarly this film also has the capacity to capture all hearts.
