Reunion will be nostalgic to a lot of Bengalis who were associated with the student activism in the 80's & 90's in universities. It tries to showcase the gaping chasm between the communist ideology that inducted students into unionism and the socio-political practice and agenda of communist governance. In theory, they shouldn't be different, but the execution of the political ideology created a gap that left many disillusioned and disheartened. Rudra (Parambrata, in a superbly underplayed yet dominant role) represents a copy book character who when confronted with the reality of some political players who held forth a distorted face of the communist ideology chooses to distance himself into obscurity and yet remain devoted to uplifting the masses that need his intervention. Reunion is the stark reality of an ideology that is fast diminishing into oblivion.
Raima Sen has a sombre presence in her role of Monideepa. A youthful quartet completes the 20 year long journey from their college days to the recent times representing a catharsis. Reunion has strong performances of the protagonists and is a sincere effort by the debutante director. It could, however have had a more balanced and well paced execution, as the first half sagged and the second zipped through in a hurry. In the process, neither the disenchantment of Rudra nor his sublime romance with Monideepa penetrates anything more than skin deep. The characters could have been better fleshed out if the script permitted them to, but they too remain peripheral to the central theme, which is too much on your face. The music by Joy Sarkar is superlative - "Hridayer Ekul Okul" is heart wrenching in particular.
