The Uttam Kumar mania, or craze, has not waned even after forty-four years since his demise in 1980. Dubbed at one time the “Mahanayak”, his presence is still felt in the hearts of cinephiles in Bengal even in this new millennium. His film premiere, Oti Uttam, directed by Srijit Mukherji, was screened on Wednesday, 24 March.
Oud and its exotic aromas have enchanted humanity for aeons. It’s today, back with a bang.
One of the biggest follies of Indian cinema is its tendency to stretch—and stretch beyond. Director Blessy's Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life) in Malayalam (although it is also available in Tamil, Hindi, etc.) is a classic example of this.
The aesthetically designed studio-theatre of Chidakash Kalalaya, an Ashram-like institution founded by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award recipient scholar-guru Piyal Bhattacharya, is a haven of research, restoration, and practical application of music, dance, and drama as scripted in Bharatmuni's Natyashastra and its precious commentaries by scholars of yore.
We have seen films in which stories are narrated through songs. The classical examples of this are Hamilton, Cats and Tommy, among others. There are others, like My Fair Lady, that are not completely devoid of dialogue.
The opening number set to Ravindra Jain’s Shyam Teri Bansi elegantly portrayed the plight of Meera, who knows that the flute is being played for Radha but is still lured by its melody, even at the cost of being defamed by everyone.
The present collection of six is amongst the best of his oeuvre of over fifty original plays, written between the years 2000 and 2020
Durga is happy and content to carry forward the legacy of pure kathak among her students. Durga believes this success of her long creative journey has been possible only because of the tapasya and sacrifices made by her not-so-well-off parents.
In the film, Sara Ali Khan and Vijay Verma’s characters get the most screen time other than the detective, and we know why. Oftentimes, their characters’ relationships overshadow the mystery, making the murder the side plot.
Credits for Chitragati Collective go to music designer Sayak Mitra, who also gave the voiceover along with Deepmoy Das. Instruments played were by Mandola Joy, Prabir Chatterjee (percussionist), and Rick Mukherjee (flautist). The lights were designed by Amlan Chaudhary.
