Is this indian artmovie classic a bengali film dubbed
to hindi or a hindi film with some bengali actors, i'm not sure.
But this film is based on a Bengali novel anyway. This psychological
drama take place in Calcutta and it starts
and ends with monsoon rain and flooding. It looks and feels like a Bengali
artmovie.
The Family Roy, that's the pensioner professor Sashank
(Shreeram Lagoo), his wife Sudha (Uttara Baokar) and
their 3 grown children Amit, Seema and Neeta (Shabana Azmi).
She's in the foreground on the DVD sleeve pic
above and i just LOVE this wonderful and finely tuned actress.
(These pics of Shabana Azmi may be from the 1997 film
Mrityudand?)
The father has left the family for a walk in the rain
and he told them he would be back shortly, but he isn't.
The hours float by and the family gets more and more worried. They wait
and wait and the day after they report
the missing to the police. They've found a note among his things that
could point in the direction to that the professor
didn't feel well (suicide?), but the police don't believe in that and
suspects the reason can be found within the family.
Or, does the professor's young colleague Aparna have someting to do
with disappearance ? Has he abandoned his
wife and family for a younger mistress, his former student (played by
Aparna Sen) ?
Or, could the reason be feelings of shame towards his family due to
an possible upcoming academic dishonour ?
The Film shifts between Now and Then, from the worried
family seeking an answer to the individuals memory
fragments of the professor, and in these latter we can maybe get the
pieces to solve the puzzle.
A Minimalistic and well acted drama thriller that quietly snares you
in it's mystery. Hailed by critics and receiver
of prizes and Shabana Azmi in the role of Neeta, the only working child
in the family, she's impressive.
A nice edition with fine quality and these NFDC films may get the proper
DVD treatment they deserve