हेमॉक सोसाइटी

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.

This movie is very essential for teens suffering from depression. This movie teaches to live life despite harsh difficulties. I love it. It's really a coming-of-age theme and different from usual romances. Loved it

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.

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.

Concept: I'm really amazed by the concept of the movie. I have never seen such a movie in any language. Read one story in my childhood in similar concept and happened to come by an article few days ago. But, I could never imagine someone would ever dare to make a movie on this topic. Topic? If summarized its "Assisted Suicide"! To make it more clear, let me translate the tagline of the movie i.e. "Morbe moro chorio na" (Die if you want but don't embarrass). So there is private organization which helps people to commit suicide successfully! Provides a 3 days crash course to enlighten the participants about various methods to suicide. What not to do and what to do etc. Meghna(Koel Mallik) recently has broken up with her bf. She's very upset after breaking up a 14yrs long relationship and wants to end herself. Enter Ananda Kar(Parambrata) the CEO of "Hemlock Society". He asks her to join the course so she could die properly without embarrassing everyone including herself. Rest you need to see.

Character development: Only two characters come into focus since the movie begins. Meghna and Ananda, even though I would say its Koel's movie. She first time got the chance to break out of her usual happy, bubbly, naughty characters. Her d-glam representation is also something she tried first time. And, I love her so I liked her anyway Supporting characters are also very strong actors but not much explored.

Direction: So Srijit Mukherjee made a hat-trick with his 3rd movie. Another totally different subject executed very well. A very beautifully crafted movie. Well executed first half and not so well executed second half. But, I've a question to Srijit, what is this obsession of him to explain everything, every character getting justice. Life is boring, zero dramatic. Why not keep that way. Would have really loved it if the "6 months later" part was not there.

Screenplay: Slow but steady. At a length of 2 and half hours its too much. Movies on such concept should be crisp and short. Which has the scope to impact to audience. Last few minutes just dilutes everything, breaks the quirky environment it created from start.

Cinematography: Good but not great.

Songs and background score: Few are already hit. Nice mix of pop and normal filmy music. Background music is apt to situations.

Editing: Poor job with editing. The movie should have been 30 minutes shorter.

Verdict: Even with few downside this movie wins (or would win) hearts because of its subject and great acting. Watch it even if you have to watch it with subs.