After hectic days of workload, boredom and frustration about vain expectations from the World Cup, here is the perfect feel-good recipe for all in the form of a visual treat, as director Pratim D. Gupta returns almost a year after on the big screen with a bag full of warmth and heartfelt emotions, labelled "Ahare Mon".
The film comprises four different journeys of love between people of various walks of life. These include- a romantic saga between an Immigration Officer and a woman who often goes on tours; an elderly man who earnestly tries to help out a woman, both of whom live in an old-age home; a sweet and humorous love tale between two hustlers; and an innocent, ailing young girl fantasizing about an on-screen superstar. The stories have a far-fetched connection, with a touching twist at the end, which the audience will have to find out at the theatres.
Frankly speaking, the film is very well made. The direction of Pratim D. Gupta has certainly become more polished and this film is a symbolic of that. The visual cuts by Soumik Halder are captivating and the editing has been smartly done. The balanced script and screenplay both deserve applauds as they ensure that the cinema never becomes sloppy. In fact, the parallel running of the stories have been so well managed that you never find shortage of interest in the film. Several times, one story shifts to another just after an intriguing dialogue has been spilled; or, right after a sequence of high emotions we have a humorous episode of the hustlers trying to steal something from the shelves of a shop, which keeps the energy of the film intact. We had found this quality of storytelling of the director in his 2016 film "Shaheb Bibi Golaam" as well, which has developed significantly.
The biggest takeway of this film is definitely the brilliant acting of the ensemble cast. Anjan Dutt, playing Mr. Barun Sarkar- the man with a heart of gold, is simply a treat to watch. It is a completely different avatar of Dutt, which the Bengali audience has probably never experienced. Each scene he is a part of, stays in your memory forever and you only hope that he doesn't leave the screen. Especially the two scenes where he sings "Ami Chini Go Chini Tomare" and the scene at Shiraz Restaurant where he is relishing on the meat preparation, he looks stunning. It is another graceful performance of this veteran actor, who seems to be on a roll this year. So is Mamata Shankar as Charulata Debi, who is in search of a man she had met 25 years ago. Special mention must be made of Adil Hussain, who plays the Immigration Officer Mr. Purnendu Pahari with great elan. He doesn't talk much; his eyes convey all emotions he wishes to express. From the first scene of the film his naturalism is brought out and that adds to the film's flavour. Same goes for Ritwick Chakraborty and Parno Mitra, who play the two fun-loving hustlers Michael Tendulkar and Suzie Q ("Shujee",as the subtitles suggest!). Ritwick once again proves that he can fill the boots of any character and do full justice to it. Their inclusion was probably to add humour to this drama, and here too, the director has scored full points. Also not to forget to mention the seasoned Paoli Dam a.k.a 'Madam Ramona' and the newcomer Chitrangada Chakraborty, who plays the ailing girl, Titli. The innocent looks on her face do complete justice to the character, who is madly in love with Tollywood's Superstar Dev. In fact, the presence of Dev on screen for just a couple of minutes was quite a gracious one, as it was anticipated by the audience. The other memebrs of the cast also deerve credit for their performances, ensuring that the film was in sync with reality. Last, but not the least, Neel Dutt's background score was a fitting one for this film, with emotions and characterisation being brought out in each story by the music itself. "Monta Ahare" the only song used in the film, written by Srijit Mukherji, composed by Neel Dutt and sung by Durnibar Saha, played an important role in depicting the progress of each story.
Thus, in a nutshell, "Ahare Mon" is a film which is certainly not to be missed. It is graceful mingle of unusual stories of love and romanticism brought out in the form of a collage that is in sync with reality of life. Several themes of social life has been brought up using the backdrop of romance, with wide dynamism and optimism. The optimistic view of "Hope" and celebration of the "elixir of life" has also been brought out pretty well in this film. As the director puts it: #AhareMon is a tribute to all those who have "waited to love" and "loved to wait"....I would call it a must-watch film for all ages.
4 out of 4 found this helpful