These films are gem to indian cinema...needs to be watched...i cried to my heart-out after watching this...Kudos to Kaushik ganguly! and the director aniket.
Shankar Mudi is a pleasing film when it focuses on its core subject. But when it digresses, a whole host of literal 'red flags' is raised. Essentially, it is a slice-of-life film about the life of a traditional grocer, who is friend and confidant to everyone in the neighbourhood. The story is familiar. The Barbershop series of movies come to mind, which dealt with a similar topic - with a barber as the protagonist instead of a grocer. But the script of Shankar Mudi tries to make a point. And in trying to do so, wastes time dwelling on matters that have little to do with the core subject.
The story begins simply enough and you feel the lightness of the script. Shankar is more than a mudi. A good-natured, kind and rotund man (played in earnest by Kaushik Ganguly), he is the heart of the neighbourhood. Having run his shop there for ages, he knows the orders and habits of his customers better than they do. And the customers trust him with their shopping, and sometimes, their lives. For Shankar Mudi is not just the owner, he is a part of their existence in sunshine and rain, sharing every plight and joy and extending unconditional support - even if it means striking off loan accounts of some customers after their death.
But there's a storm brewing. Foreign direct investment and big business, in the form of a swanky new mall, are raising their heads in the neighbourhood. This makes Shankar and the other small shop owners of the locality wary. Will they be able to coexist and or will they be swept aside by the new wave of capitalism? What happens next forms the crux of the story.
As you can surmise, they are a lot of political undertones here. While the director may argue that it is there to create conflict and resolution, a lot of viewers may see it differently in these politically sensitive times. There are subplots about John Henry, the rise and fall of communism and manhunts of youths belonging to fringe groups. None of these have anything to do with the core plot and clever editing could have cut out some scenes and help shave off some of the runtime. The ending too is a bit problematic and morbid. Instead of finding a solution, the film implies that the final nails on the small business owners' coffins have already been struck.
That apart, there is little to complain about. The acting department is well taken care off with stalwarts like Kaushik Ganguly, Saswata Chatterjee and Anjan Dutt in top form. Kaushik needs special mention as he infuses his character with humanity and pathos and makes you care for him. A surprise is the scant use of actress Sreela Majumdar, who plays Shankar's wife. An actress of her calibre deserves a few more scenes as the supportive wife. The music and songs by Kabir Suman are very topical and help move the story along. There is comic relief in the form of Saswata and Kanchan Mullick too. Overall, a decent effort led slightly astray by a meandering script.
