Teenkahon

One of the films i cannot forget after watching ..and its really intense..This Film may also scare you by its depiction of eroding human value system but then its a dark reality...The 3 stories here describe the change in thought process, emotional capacity,sensibilities about obsessive love ..it also depicts the change of language, lifestyle and attitude of people in our society since last 100 years..one question viewer may ask why to Show Obsessions and why Repression or Fear in name of Love ? ANd that is the point here this film is trying to make.. in the Present corporate & digital age where everything from fast food chains to shopping malls to education to personal relations - everything seems like a facade and no one really cares about anyone anymore except for their own desires & survival..this film sums its all.. ....please don't compare it with works of previous bengali film makers or European cinema of 70s to 90s..just watch it and enjoy the labour of love by debutant director Baudhayan Mukherjee ...its well shot , good sound mixing and great acting by some debutant as well seasoned actors

Saw Three Obsessions (Teenkahon) at the Aravindan Puraskaram screening. I must say it was a very bad screening. Why would a prestigious award allow such bad screening? But I liked Three Obsessions. As a film buff, I must say it was very beautifully shot. Abhik Mukherjee is a master craftsman.He is brilliant. And as debut film this is quite remarkable. Ms. Beena in her citation read that "the filmmaker has exceptional command over the language of cinema." I agree with her. As a first time filmmaker Buddhayan Mukherjee has shown very good skills. The first story did remind me of Satyajit Ray but in a good way, the second one I thought could have been shorter but what a performance by the husband. The actor desrves prizes. The third one again was quite something. Asis Vidyarthi was superb in his role. And what an ending! Must watch.

This is a movie about the obsession that can be created by love. This love can be as innocent as a child, as dramatic as the husband of an unfaithful wife or as mysterious as a person who can go to any extent to achieve the woman of his desire. The best part of the movie is that it tells three (Teen) stories (Kahon) which took place in three different times. And the beauty is that each one of them is shot based on the time when those stories were taking places. The way of shooting a film has evolved from time to time and this change can be observed as we move on from one story to another. Amazing concept which gives you the feeling of traveling through time. My personal favorite is the Third one which was the story from the Director himself, but I will always admit the depth of obsession can only be felt through the second story where a betrayed husband is obsessed with the lover of his unfaithful wife.

It's hard to go wrong with the stellar cast that Bauddhayan has brought together for this film. It's a real pleasure watching Ashish Vidarthi, Rituparna, Joy Sengupta, Sabyasachi Chakrobarty and Dhritiman Chatterjee on screen. They do a fantastic job. Still, the best of the three stories presented here is the one with no big actors. In fact, the main character here is an evil little boy. Which the goes to show that a big cast is all very well, but what's important is the story. The last story, Telephone, starring Ashish Vidyarthi and Rituparna, is so far fetched as to be absurd. The second story, though very atmospheric, doesn't go anywhere. But the first story by the great Bibhutibhushan Mukhopadhyay is marvelous. It has a great climax and I loved the setting of the three friends eating "beguni" (fried aubergines) and drinking tea on a rainy evening as one of them tells the tale of his first love.

Teenkahon comes across as trying too hard to be art-house. The checklist seems to be taken care of – it is full of things you'd expect in such cinema. The cinematography, for instance, is a lovely black and white in the first story Nabalok. There are beautiful visuals of the countryside and the Rabindra sangeet is mesmerising. Likewise, the other two stories too have their bits of wonder whether in the form of acting (Sabyasachi Chakraborty is extraordinary) or the theme or some really clever screenplay (in the third part).

But all put together, you can sense that it is trying too hard. None of the stories really pull you in the way they should. It doesn't give the sense of an organically evolved script. Now, this is a complaint which isn't easy to articulate but I'll try.

I'll use comparison. Take Asha Jhawar Majhe, another art house Bengali film that made some waves recently. Nothing much happens through its runtime. Or at least, it appears like nothing much happens. But it all comes together towards the end. It feels like the film crystallises suddenly and my heart felt a firm tug as the lady sets off to work again at the end. Everything seems so right about the film. Masterfully shot, enacted, and directed.

But Teenkahon often feels forced. It feels like a bunch of nice things stuck on a inherently nice idea but they don't really work well together. Often the staging feels sub par and sometimes the acting doesn't come through. One could blame these issues on the inexperience of the director (Teenkahon is Bauddhayan Mukherjee's debut) but this is often a problem of ambition that doesn't match with vision. Mukherjee seems to be full of ambition but without the vision of the master that he seems to aim to be.