I will start off with the reason I gave the movie a star more than I probably should have. The actress who could well be called the main character in the movie, Rukmini Maitra. I have heard she is in a relationship with Dev and soon to be married. While that is truely none of buisness (except for maybe emphasizing how good success must feel when you end with a lady this fine), i only address this because I do not somebody as talented as her to give up acting and move up and away from the metaphorical silver screen (unless she really wants to do that so as to add some extended meaning to her personal life via that) because of that entanglement. I wouldn't care about rumors her getting role because who she is related to from here on out because I have seen her act and while a lot of women in the industry can be really pretty (it is undeniable and necessary pre-requisite to making it big in that particular field and many others), few are as talented as her and I would immediately put in her in a list of people actresses such as Raima Sen, Rituparna Chatterjee, Swastika Mukherjee, Churni Ganguly, Mimi Chakraborty amongst others. The way she handles her character transition across phases and twists of the story being told against and with the stories of race riots and terrorist attacks that have interspersed the lives of the people of this country, leaving catatonic on their outlook about certain issues. That is where both the movie and the actress I have repeatedly found their glory.
But unlike the actress, the movie loses its shine when Dev starts to take the limelight and almost loses its value when the dust of disaster starts settling down, the audiences expecting some more from Rukmini and the clock that counts down to their necessity to be seated to the story. I exaggerate the last bit but Dev is honestly the worst thing that happened to this film, except maybe for the dialogue, "Danga korena Hindu ra, Danga korena Muslim e ra. Danga kore Dangabaaz ra." I mean that is sort of false equivalence that is good for a more commercial minded film where the regional superstar needs to deliver punchlines to get whistles and bucks out of the audiences. It is like saying that it is not left hand and right hand which makes a clap but any two hands that meet with a necessary force. I mean it is not totally illogical but the people who cause riots and perpetrate terrorism don't just give up their religion up for the newly minted religion of 'Riotry' prophesized by Altaaf Kabir, everyman and no-man, suave and over-top, overweight and toned-in, commercial and critical superstar and paraller actor. There is one choice Dev must make about what kind of hero he chooses to remain as the spotlight lowers on the prime of his acting career. Out of the commercial tollywood movie stars, Dev has alwasy been my favorite because despite all the over-the-top herogiri, he brought a genuine to the table that Jeet, Mithun, Pro's'enjit and their contemporaries had lost in those times. But times have Pros'h'enjit is back with the best acts of his life, Chiranjeet made Chotushkone with Srijit, Jeet is as dead in a film career as someone with back-to-back-to-back commercial general mediocrity can be and Parambrata, Abir and Saswata are somehow getting better with every act they produce.
To end off, watch Kabir. It is interesting weekend watch, partially thought-provoking if nothing else. Watch it for Rukmini, Watch for Dev the actor struggling to be things himself, overacting and taking all the spotlight of his pulled on extra weight for this role because supposedly suspenseful but impending ridiculous punchline as perhaps contemplates whether to pass such roles onto someone like Parambrata Chatterjee who would have suited it way better.
