Often mainstream Indian filmmakers keep falling into the dangerous trap of globalisation. So a film like Kaler Rakhal often becomes a distinctive but not always successful mixture of the directness of a mainstream film (sex, violence, subtle melodrama) and the ambiguity of an art film (cinematic metaphors, post-modern elements).
Shekhar Das’s Kaler Rakhal falls somewhere between the direct and the indirect, the rustic and the urban, the global and the local, the real and the surreal; struggling to build bridges but not always being able to pull it off. Adapted from Nilanjan Chatterjee’s original novel Du Nombor Ashami, it is about Subol Mondol, a poor young village boy who ekes out a living for himself, his widowed mother, a sister and brother, by performing as an itinerant performer, a bohurupi and in yatra performances. Local politicians often coerce him to go to prison for some crime he does not even know about to substitute for the actual criminal by paying him money. The film is also about Aparna, one of the two NRIs who arrive from Germany to make the documentary. Subol dreams of owning a cell-phone some day and is triggered by the advice of Aparna, not to be the ‘understudy’ for a criminal even for big money. Aparna points out the ideological clash with the character of Bibek (conscience) he plays in the yatra performances.
Aparna is raped by a gangster of Tiger, the mafia goon the local politicians are forever trying to protect and Subol is once again coerced into going to jail in place of the rapist. He runs away. They grab him and terrorise him into surrendering. The next morning, the villagers find his body hanging from the tree outside the village temple. The film remains incomplete, Krishashakha goes back, but Aparna decides to stay on. Subol’s kid brother picks up the masks left behind by Subol.
Technical Expertise
Das embeds the film’s ideas in a rural place setting in contemporary times, in the music and the songs, in characters, employing fragmented, impressionistic structures that encourage the audience to raise questions while he makes his statement. The result is a certain lack in narrative clarity and cohesiveness. What undercuts the demerits is the brilliant performance of Parambrato Chatterjee. He sheds his urban, upwardly mobile, hep screen image to slip under the skin of the rustic, illiterate, innocent and poor Subol Mondal. Das breaks the actor’s conventional screen image to small bits as Parambrato resurrects himself to rise in a power-packed performance. He rebels in the only way he can - by committing suicide. Or, figuratively speaking, isn’t it murder? Matching him frame for frame is Rudraneel Ghosh as is Taher Mullick, the Muslim bohurupi who delights everyone with his female roles of Sita and Draupadi. Premendu Bikash Chaki’s cinematography is stunning. Indradip Dasgupta’s musical score merges into the ambience beautifully though the songs could have been clipped as much as the extra footage with superfluous characters walking in and out needlessly. Das exercises considerable restraint in depicting violence. Kaler Rakhal is good. It could have been brilliant had Das not fallen into the ‘globalisation’ trap.
Verdict
One star for Parambrato, one for the cinematography and one for the music.
