Hemlock Society

Concept 10/10 because of uniqueness Dialogues 8/10 barring those instrumented boredom of few situations Cinematography 10/10 - feast of watching all through, studio and outdoor Music 10/10 - generally made feel good as an album Background score - 10/10 - never became a noise Story - 5/10 - because of predictability Acting - 7/10 - Character of Shantanu never became make believe one, accents of Anindita Bose taxes auditory nerves Casting - 8/10 reasons are same as those of acting Costume - 9/10 Col Samaresh Bagchi's uniform had an Airforce badge yet the colour of uniform did not match that of Airforce, the attempt to make up the gap through dialogues is clever, but not satisfactory. Screenplay -6/10, predictability, boredom, impertinent scenes.

Director Srijit Mukherjee could not match up the expectations he has created after Baishe Shrabon. The night and morning before setting out for Hemlock Society between Ananda and Meghna could have been shorter, so could be the road journey (I had to tolerate an entire song unnecessarily), so could be the situation just before Meghna leaves Hemlock Society. Yet I thank Mr. Srijit Mukherjee for he makes me watch contemporary Bengali movies.

The dark, morbid undertone of the movie notwithstanding, this movie was a different kind of experience. At the outset, it starts on a happy note, a musical performance in a bar, a happy girl listening to the song and enjoying the moment. Suddenly, in the span of 2 minutes, the entire atmosphere takes a 180 degree turn. And thus, starts Hemlock Society.

The female lead was a big no for this kind of film. She was overacting for the most part and her entire performance looked like it needed a great deal of effort on her part to even say an entire sentence and emote at the same time. In the presence of such natural actors like Parambrata Chatterjee, Rupa Ganguly, and Dipankar De; Koel Mallick fails to live up to expectations, especially since her role was supposed to carry the film.

Instead, Parambrata Chatterjee does the job for her. A shorter role, yes, but definitely much more impactful. He was brilliant in his role and brought a different kind of vibe to this bordering-on-being-depressing kind of film. His natural dialog delivery and his expressions were perfect for his role as the slightly-mischievous, super-sarcastic Ananda Kar. The supporting cast was great and the film also featured a host of cameos by popular faces of the Bengali film industry.

At the heart of the film and its biggest asset, is the story and the way it was allowed to blossom on its own. Kudos to the director on that part because the message that was delivered was both hard-hitting, and also, easy-to-grasp. This film could have really gone out of hand but Srijit Mukherji steered the ship in the right direction and Parambrata and the supporting cast did the rest. This movie will not be appreciated by everyone but still deserves a watch if only for the message it means to put forward. Great film!

If you are not one of those, who love watching romantic films end with a happy scene, then this film is suitable completely for you. Completely a new concept and an excellent work by the director of the movie. Not because I am a Bengali, but truly it is one of the films which is a must watch. Cinematography was good, with great music. the acting was good too. Parambrata, Koel, Dipankar Dey were excellent. I guess the use of Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Soumitra Chatterjee along with Sabitri Chatterjee was not needed for such small roles. some other actors could have been used. Use of such great actors in such small roles means nothing. Even the entry of Jeet in a special appearance was forceful. But overall the film is a success and a must see.

Hemlock Society is a black comedy directed by Srijit Mukherji and is based on an institution teaching people how to commit suicide successfully. The plot opens up with a melodious song being performed in a typical Kolkata pub and captures the essence of the nightlife of city of joy. Plot development is slow but magnetic till the first half of the movie and after that it becomes somewhat predictable. Parambrata Chaterjee has played his part pretty well as the male lead and for some reasons I think Koyel Mullick was not a great choice for the female lead but given the budget constraints it is an acceptable choice and ultimately worked for the movie. Roopali Ganguly and Dipanker Dey have acted well and the well-balanced chemistry between them as a couple is one of the best points of the movie. Background score was well synchronized with the scenes and the integrated emotional elements. The plot became thinner in the second half and it would have been better if the movie was cut short 20 minutes. I would have loved it if they have shown more of Kolkata, its food and the vibrant culture. Some of the scenes in the background are witty (such as a suicide note: Thank you for the fish) and shows the director's attention to detail. It is good to see that Indian directors are attempting seriously to make dark comedies and this film takes us closer to that dream.

When I set out to watch "Hemlock Society" , I just came back to Kolkata from a out station and I had no idea about the cast , music etc of the film .Only thing I knew that it was a Srijit Mukherjee film . So I watched that film with open mind .

Concept is no doubt good. Music is nice . But film itself became boring & predictable after interval that I felt running out of theater . Koyel Mullick as Meghna was total disaster. Parambrata as Ananda Kar did a good job.

There are many loopholes in the film. Like Soumitra's Uniform & rank . Indian Air force has White uniform and has no Colonel rank.Few shots which should have been shorter were dragging on unnecessarily.

Srijit Mukherjee's third film doesn't match up with the success of his second. This film can be seen once but if you have missed , well , you are not loosing anything.