In Tarakar Mrityu filmmaker Haranath Chakraborty has traversed a long cinematic path. The person responsible for hits like Sasurbaari Zindanad, Saathi or Protibaad featuring stars like Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jeet, Ranjit Mallick has changed his entire stance in his recent release Tarakar Mrityu, and it is a positive step forward. Chakraborty is perhaps one of the few directors who despite being part of a totally commercial cinema milieu, where adaptations of successful films of other languages were the only sure-shot road to success has modernised himself and made a film based on an original script. The story and script written by Padmanabha Dasgupta is loosely based on the play Deathtrap by Ira Levin. The Indianisation of the script with its typically Bengali nuances is the script writer's effective contribution.
The film, a thriller woven in the background of picturesque Kalimpong has twists and turns that keep the audience guessing, despite the exposure of a crime at the very outset of the film.
(l-r) Parno, Sudeshna Roy
The crispness of the script has been followed by Chakraborty with a commercial presentation that once again proves his technical skill in storytelling. He has used a modern setting and in this, he has been ably egged on by Hindol Chakraborty his son and assistant.
The filmmaker delved into the criminal mindset of even those who are so-called artistes or belong to the creative world. Ritwick Chakraborty plays the greedy, fame-hungry director to a T. In casting too Haranath Chakraborty has moved into a different world. The only so-called old world star he has cast is Ranjit Mallick, while the others are all actors who are known and appreciated for their acumen in delineating roles, each different from the other. Parno Mittrah, Anindya Pulak Banerjee and Soham Majumder have all played their characters with the finesse expected of them.
But the biggest surprise in this film is Ranjit Mallick, the star who quit his usual demeanour and adapted a very different look and mode of acting that is sure to grab eyeballs. Here too the look was prompted by Hindol.
The location and the venue, Morgan House in Kalimpong has been very effectively utilised by the director and his team of highly competent technicians. Morgan House has many ghost-sighting stories around it, and Haranath Chakraborty has effectively cashed in on it. In his journey, he has been ably assisted by his DOP Supriyo Dutt, who has created a chiaroscuro with his lights that bode suspense and help a chilling feel to creep under the skin slow and steady. The sound design (Ayan Bhattacharya) and background score (Nabarun Bose) combine to give the film that extra fillip which once again proves how important sound is in enhancing a thriller.
Editor Sujay Datta Ray has played his part well in balancing the fast and the slow pacing of sequences to create a mood of fear, suspense and at times comic situations that are on the verge of black comedy. Haranath Chakraborty has chosen his cast with care and has managed to eke out sterling performances from them. Ritwick as mentioned before exposes the avarice of the creative faculty without resorting to melodrama. Parno Mittrah as the long-suffering wife with an obvious mental disorder was subtle yet effective. Ranjit Mallick of course stole the show at times with a performance that he has perhaps created for this new character.
The film Tarakar Mrityu is definitely a new-age film by an extremely competent veteran filmmaker who believes in the motto, "Never say die!"
