Kari Diye Kinlam

What happens when a literary classic gets adapted by a leading mainstream film-maker? Well, it results in a cinematic classic as well!

I have always been a big fan of Biresh Chatterjee. Unlike his contemporaries in the 80's, he never shied away from trying his hand at adapting various literary works on the big-screen. But unlike his predecessors in the Black-&-White era, he never hesitated in adding a generous dose of 'spice' in order to reach out to a wider section of the public. After successful celluloid adaptations of Prafulla Ray's works in 'Mohonar Dike' (1984) and 'Ekanto Apon' (1987), he lays his hand on Bimal Mitra's masterpiece 'Kori Diye Kinlam' and packages it in his own signature style.

The biggest challenge that laid in front of the director was recreating the ambiance of pre-independent Calcutta; and that is something which Chatterjee has crafted masterfully. Very few scenes are shot on real locations which is quite understandable. But the artificial sets possess a wonderful old-world feel which keeps the audiences enchanted. In fact, the sequences featuring Sati's in- laws' residence appears to have been shot in a real North Kolkata mansion belonging to the zamindari-age. Backed by good production values and suitable costumes the film brings to life vintage old Kolkata. Clearly made on a large-scale, the film even incorporates some visuals of New Delhi which is something extremely rare for those days!

Having recreated the period-feel with aplomb, the rest of the job is done by the script which is a complete tear-jerker. Barring his initial couple of films, Chatterjee has always had a penchant for extremely fast-paced narratives. Here too he produces a tight, exhilarating screenplay which is minutely detailed with incredible twists and turns. The novel itself is a masterpiece and the adaptation also succeeds in packing a solid emotional punch.

In order to portray the varied characters of the novella, the film required an ensemble cast with strong performers; and that's exactly what Chatterjee got at his disposal. The film essentially revolves around Aparna Sen, Tapas Pal and Moushumi Chatterjee and Sen as always, leads the way with a top-class performance. Although Tapas Pal plays the main lead Dipu, his character is merely a witness to all the surrounding action and never plays an active part. This is akin to other Bimal Mitra protagonists as in 'Saheb Bibi Aar Golam' and 'Pati Param Guru'. Die-hard Tapas fans might be disappointed with the reduced influence of his character; but this was a time when Pal was still good-looking and he puts in a measured performance in one of the most memorable roles of his career. Moushumi also looks good and her chemistry with Tapas is quite sweet, unlike some of the later films they have done together. But the true revelations of the film are Haradhan Banerjee and Supriya Devi who surprise in their never-seen-before negative avatars. The remaining cast comprising of Arjun Chakraborty, Madhabi Mukherjee, Utpal Dutt, etc do full justice to their roles with only Kali Banerjee sticking out with his over-the-top histrionics. One of the biggest flaws in the film involves his character who is shown to be almost visually impaired initially, but is shown later on reading the palm lines of Aparna Sen!

There are quite a few other flaws as well; but no director barring Tarun Majumder could claim to be a sound technician in that decade. Judging by his own standards, Biresh Chatterjee delivers his finest piece of cinema overtaking 'Ekanto Apon' and 'Surer Akashe' (1988). After a mediocre 'Toofan' (1988) which was inspired from Yash Chopra's 'Waqt' (1965), Chatterjee reverts to Bengali literature and bounces back in style.

The other high-point of the film has to be its music. Sapan Chakraborty always reserved his best for Chatterjee as seen earlier in 'Mohonar Dike', 'Surer Akashe' and 'Toofan' and this time too its no different. 'Oi Bujhi Banshi Baje' and 'Keno Gelo Chole' are beautiful renditions by Haimanti Shukla while 'Phuteche Go Ekti Golap' is also an extremely hummable tune. Background music has always been a strong-point in every Biresh Chatterjee movie and here too the tunes form a heady concoction with the narrative.

The viewers are left with a heavy heart and nagging tinge of sadness long after the film ends which is exactly the effect that was desired. The story, characters, music and above all, the old-world charm creates a solid hangover which refuses to die down. To sum it up, 'Kori Diye Kinlam' is a film which is sure to immortalise Biresh Chatterjee in the pantheons of great film-makers of Bengali cinema...

Would have loved to see more from Dipu's childhood and how his character shaped up from his surroundings. I mean the director totally emitted the first step of Dipu's fight to be a human. He got that job by bribing someome and even though it was his mother who paid it, he never could shake that incident off till the moment he died. His character development should have been followed just like in the book. The best part is, he never blamed his mother for it, he blamed himself mostly and then the society. Would have loved to see more through Dipu's eyes when he was a child. But, this is a good enough job. The book is a masterpiece, everyone who actually wants to be a human and has a soul or wants to cling onto his or her soul, should read it.