Monday, April 27, 2015

When the Himalayas sung a melancholic tune

                                                        Photograph: Omar Havana/Getty Images

Debris pile up each day,
Bricks and bones, buried under the rubble,
thousands of lives wiped out from the surface of earth with one sudden shy of mother earth.
A mother looks for her child in the remnants, 
couples wrapped in an eternal embrace waits under the debris,
friends hold hands,
life has left them behind for long now,
their stony gaze waiting to melt into dust.
The livings,
mourn the dead,
scream to the heavens in betrayal,
blame the gods for its wrath,
and then sob into submission.
Survival brings souls close to humanity,
erasing the lines of religion, race, creed & language.
Under the streetlights, they fight cold now,
hunger breaking their resolve a bit more with each inch of time.
Who will light candles in their dark sadden hearts,
who will heal their bruises,
who will teach them to hope?
Perhaps, its time we need to understand the futility of life itself or else tomorrow when the mountains roar, heavens bled and the ocean comes to our homes, the blame will still lie with Mother Earth.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

From Bomkesh Bakshi to Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!!!


Many Many summers ago, I remember giving my lessons to my mother to earn a meeting with a dhoti-kurta clad man who called himself Byomkesh Bakshi. He came on Tv, solving difficult and complicated cases with his wit and intelligence. He seemed to be a simple man with a nice and warm personality. In no time, we became his biggest fans and he the hero of our childhood fantasy. Though a lot of it we hardly understood then, we still fantasied to be a detective.

But then we grew up and got busy with our lives. Lost in the hustle and bustle of life, intertwined with the complications which has slipped into our own lives we somehow had forgotten that dhoti-clad man. Sometimes when Rajat Kapoor popped up in the screen, he reminded us of Bomkesh. We saw Mr Kapoor in many shades after that but nothing could replace the dhoti-kurta clad man.

Even in this commotion of life, Bomkesh Bakshi sometimes peeped at us through some websites or newspaper articles or jumped into our discussions with friends.
So when Detective Byomkesh Bakshy was set to be made into a hindi bollywood movie I had doubts but when I heard it was Dibakar Banerjee, who would be at the helm, i wanted to give him a shot. Someone, who has directed four completely different films on four different subjects and treatment, he was definitely worth a shot.

When Sushant Rajput was cast as Byomkesh, my heart sank. A 2 and a half old film actor for such a celebrated character? I again had doubts and once again I placed my faith on Banerjee. I am glad that Banerjee didn't disappoint me.

He completely reinvented Bomkesh Bakshi without compromising on its soul. He made him a little grey, he made him a part of the mystery which he was trying to solve. Rajput brought a cookiness, innocence and intrepidness to the character. He was nothing like the dhoti-kurta clad man of my childhood fantasy but still he made me to stay with him, always apprehensive to trust him completely, but eventually accepting him as a new-age young Bomkesh, who probably would be more relatable to the kids of this generation and has the potential to grow into a fantasy of the new age India.

Banerjee has stamped his authority on the screenplay and the way he has created a Kolkata of 1940s, getting down to the last details, and shot it so beautifully through a tram journey at the start of the film, its simply commendable. The trash metal background score, the colour and texture of the film gives it a touch of a stylish and edgy political thriller.

But despite the films numerous positives, still there would be people, both bengalies and non-bengalies, who might stay away from the theaters for their own contrasting reasons. So to them, I would like to say: Bongs don't go looking for Bongness as you won't find one and non-bongs don't rule out the film because it might have bongness. You need to trust Banerjee here and see it just as another political crime thriller and you might just like it.
Go with an open mind, give this 'Detective Byomkesh' a chance and if you
are following closely, you will surely go on amazing ride. I had my ride. For
now, I am staying with this Byomkesh!!!