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| Image Courtesy: Surinder Films |
They say, sometimes the best form of love is the one that’s
left unfinished or unrequited or tragically frozen in time. As sadistic it
might seem, but often, the most intense and unforgettable love arrives in such
forms. And celluloid have always welcomed unconventional love stories with open
arms. Irrespective of that fact, Drishtikone stands out as a familiarly unconventional
story about love, but not necessarily a love story. The film leaves no stones
unturned to register itself as one of the most prominent relationship dramas made
in the last couple of years.
I won’t delve much into the storyline because this review is
more of an attempt to emotionally decrypt the myriad of emotions that I reeled
through while watching the film rather than acting as a voluntary storyteller
and spoil the fun for those who are yet to catch the film, because I have
always felt, unveiling the story of a film always reflects on the reviewer’s
poor insight!
As the title itself has the word “কোণ” in it, which reads “angle” on literal
translation, there’s no guessing that the film exhibits and establishes several
angles in several means throughout the narrative- different angles of emotions,
angles of characters, angles of relationships, angles of thrill and most
importantly, the different angles of perceiving the truth. The story follows
the lives of Srimoti (played by Rituparna Sengupta), who is on a pursuit of seeking
justice for her deceased husband (Kaushik Sen) and Jiyon (Prosenjit Chatterjee),
an advocate by profession, who seemingly leads a happy family life with his
wife Rumki (Churni Ganguly) and their 2 kids. Director Kaushik Ganguly
accumulates all his directorial genius in astutely establishing the changing
dynamics of Jiyon, Srimoti and Rumki’s relationships. From capturing the subtle
frowns to the hesitant fixation of eyes, Drishtikone soars with brilliance in attesting
the qualms, envy, insecurity and helpless of its central characters.
Where we are habituated in seeing flamboyant, melodramatic
love triangles, overdone confrontations, impracticable character growths-
Drishtikone breaks the popular trend in a commendable way and shows the real
struggles of triangular relationships in a much more somber, realistic and
relatable manner. The thrill and suspense elements are skillfully blended in
the story that, despite getting predictable at times, they do not let you drift
away from the core subject line. The
metaphor of “দৃষ্টি”
Or “vision” is beautifully imposed in
the film as we see the characters struggle with “light” and “darkness” in both
literal and figurative sense. So when Jiyon exclaims, "অন্ধকারটা তোমাদের থেকে একটু বেশিই দেখতে পাই", it hits right
in the feels where it makes you ponder how at times, darkness engulfs us all-
even the ones with eyesight. The character developments and transformations
too, never appear to be rushed. As Jiyon, Srimoti and Rumki gets unknowingly
entangled in the eternal battle between light and darkness, love and
righteousness, the audience also take a trip to some of their unscathed feelings,
unsaid confessions and unexpressed commitments.
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| Image Courtesy: Surinder Films |
The match-winner for Drishtikone is undoubtedly its prodigious
cast, their powerhouse performances and definitely the long-standing celebrated
on-screen chemistry between Prosenjit and Rituparna that proved once again that
48 films together can still ignite the same fire over and over again. The ‘Prosenjit-
Rituparna magic’ which was evidently the primary USP of the film from its
inception, unquestionably turns out to be inexplicably magical. It takes a
welcome detour from their 90s and early 2000’s collaborations (where Bumbda and
Ritu di meant fancy dances, overdramatic dialogues)- to a commendable maturity
and composed exchange between the two each time they shared the frame. I think
the greatest success mantra for a celebrated pair is the amount of spark and
chemistry that flies between them even when they’re not romancing each other.
And this is where Kaushik Ganguly and Drishtikone excels. It takes out the best
of the chemistry between its lead pairs even in scenes where there is nothing
but silence, in moments where there is nothing but aggressive confrontations.
However, for me and I know for many, the biggest treasure of
Drishtikone is Churni Ganguly- her impeccable expressions, her unmistakable silence,
her minute nuances and her admirable subtleties! I can’t seem to recall the
last time since Anirban Bhattacharya in Egoler Chokh, has any actor in a
supporting role left me this speechless, until her in this film. Each time she
was on screen- she reminded me of Alicia Vikander as Gerda in The Danish Girl,
that relentless, indomitable wife who would reach for the impossible for the
ones she’s entitled to love and protect. For me, if Drishtikone has a hero, it’s
Churni. She wins each scene she is in, she appears the rightful prototype of those
of us, who sacrificed immeasurable possibilities and opportunities in life,
just for the sake of love, just to protect the ideals of a perfect family but
never truly losing herself in the process. The look you have on your face when
you see the love of your life becoming the love of someone else’s, the feels
you go through when the most important person in your life prioritize someone
else over you- I don’t know such looks and feels could have been so incredibly demonstrated
on screen if not by Churni.
The only downside of the film, according to me was its
dialogues. A film that felt like poem could have been a poetry with just a
little crispier and memorable dialogues. Otherwise, Drishtikone is a winner in
all true sense. It takes the age-old concept of “love” with all its possibilities
and intricacies and presents it in such a convincing and matured form that you
cannot help but laud.
To sum it up, Drishtikone succeeds in establishing that yes,
the most passionate, the most memorable forms of love are often left
unfinished, unaddressed, unacknowledged and in that lies its true attainment.
Sometimes the hardest goodbyes are meant to be said for the much needed
beginnings, not because the love that was there isn’t there anymore, but
because it knows that sometimes “letting go” is the best way to keep that love
alive.
So quoting some favorite lines from a Kelly Clarkson song,
“You know that I love you so
I love you enough to let you go”
© Shreya Mitra
| From a Whisper to a Scream| Blogpost 2018|
