Ebar Shabor

Plot synopsis:
A police detective Shabor Dasgupta (Saswata Chatterjee) is entrusted with the daunting task of solving the mystery surrounding the murder of Mitali Ghosh (Swastika Mukherjee), a woman with a messy past, who was killed on the night she had thrown a party for friends and family. The task is daunting for Shabor because of the number of people involved. Mitali was once married to Mithu Mitra (Abir Chatterjee), who she divorced before settling overseas. Though she soon realized how much she loved him, her ego kept her from coming back to him. Heartbroken, Mithu found love in Mitali's cousin Joyeeta (Payel Sarkar). Also involved was Mitali's childhood friend and secret admirer Samiran (Rahul Banerjee), who has relationships with several women, including a school's physical education teacher, Julekha Sharma (June Malia), and another girl, Khonika (Debolina Dutta). Shabor starts investigation with his assistany Nandalal. As Shabor probes deeper, he learns many disturbing secrets about the Ghosh family, including the fact that Mitali had once eloped with a boy from her locality Pantu Haldar (Ritwick Chakraborty). She had married and left him within six months, ruining his future in the process. Another character, Doel, also comes into the picture. The detective now has to deal with the complex relationship problems that run deep root in the family and the mystery gets more and more complicated.

Tags: murder

Review:
Watch it, watch it again. You'll love it every time.. Kolkata police detective Shabor Dasgupta (Saswata) sets out to solve the murder case of Mitali Ghosh (Swastika), a woman with a messy past. Her ex-husband Mithu Mitra (Abir), ex-flame Pantu Haldar (Ritwick) and friend Samiran (Rahul) are the prime suspects and so is her cousin Joyeeta (Paayel). His investigation reveals a complex web of relationships gone sour that gives almost everyone a good motive.Ebar Shabor is the kind of film that leaves a lingering aftertaste — the kind that makes you crave for a repeat watch. And that, when you already know who the murderer is! What better benchmark can a film set? The reason behind this is, of course, the fact that the film is as much a murder mystery as it is a close look at the inner working of relationships, especially the romantic kind. Every character, every individual track is sure to find resonance among the audience and in that lies the film's true beauty. Add to that an extremely balanced mix of mystery, emotions and comedy and you get a film that makes you identify with every situation, every twist and even feel the emotions that lead to the murder. In short, you feel just what detective Shabor Dasgupta does, as he navigates the trail of soured relationships and scorned hearts left behind by Mitali (Swastika) and her father Barun Ghosh (Deepankar De).In Shabor's eyes, everyone — be it Mitali's ex-husband Mithu, her teenage flame Pantu, her childhood friend and secret admirer Samiran or her lovelorn cousin Joyeeta — is a suspect. And, somehow, such is the smoothness of the narrative that at no point would one want to take pride in guessing who Mitali's killer is. The tendency is to let Shabor do the dirty work and just sit back and enjoy his simple, yet precise methods. Saswata certainly scores an A-plus as the stoic detective — be it for his subtle display of emotions when strong feelings flow, his confident strides and perfect body language, or for the fantastic chemistry he shares with his assistant, Nandalal (Subhrajit). His comic timing, too, is unwavering, as he taunts Nandalal about his weak general knowledge and English. Even Subhrajit scores as the inexperienced assistant, who has a hard time speaking his share of English, given his education at 'Jagabondhu School'.As for the other members of the cast, Abir is fantastic as the calm, good-hearted Mithu and looks perfect as the low-profile bank employee. Moreover, his chemistry with Paayel stands good till the very last scene. Paayel, too, plays the role of a young and emotional girl perfectly, displaying her inner turmoil and feelings to just the right degree. In fact, director Arindam Sil deserves credit for keeping the emotions so real in the entire film. At no point does any character get melodramatic or loud, and everyone is just as real as they can be. Ritwick, especially, is fantastic as the neighbourhood boy who had a six-month 'marriage' with Mitali after the two eloped from college. His carefree mannerism, his fluid street-smart eloquence and his who-gives-a-damn-if- Mitali's-dead attitude infuses life into Pantu's character and defines the limping, bidi-smoking neighbourhood mechanic. Samiran (Rahul), on the other hand, provides comic relief every now and then, albeit subtly. There's no melodrama or overacting involved. And he scores high even when he jerks the earpiece away when his father shouts at him over phone, fumbles while talking about the two women in his life or reveals his fear of ghosts. As for the two women in Samiran's life, Khonika (Debolina) is good as his divorcée girlfriend, who gives Shabor a vital lead, and Julekha Sharma (June) is great as a woman who remains an enigma for a better part of the film. June, especially, plays the two sides to her character perfectly. Even Deepankar De is convincing as the rich old-school widower. But how can we not mention Swastika, who infuses life into the role of a repentant rebel. She, too, keeps her emotions low-key, but in that, she scores high. As for the music, Bickram Ghosh has done a commendable job, complementing, as he did, the exciting tempo of the film. Except one or two rare occasions, the background score blended in perfectly with the narrative.But ultimately, Ebar Shabor is the director's baby — right from the animated opening credits, the spot-on camera work by DoP Shirsha Ray, the unnervingly real chase sequences, the subtle interplay of sadness and humour to the rush of emotions in the last 10 minutes. It's a film that's as real as life itself. Watch it, watch it again. You'll love it every time.. A smart film featuring Bengal's contemporary best. Ebar Shabor is a sleek film. It is a murder mystery with its fair share of chases, skeletons in the cupboard and shady characters with more facets to them than initially visible. Saswata Chatterjee and Ritwik Chakraborty, perhaps the two best and in-form actors in Bengali cinema at present, deliver two very good performances and are ably supported by the rest of the cast, notably June Malia. The protagonist sleuth, Shabor, is part of the official force, in contrast with the more popular freelancing detectives in Bengali cinema (and literature). This takes way some drama perhaps but enhances the authenticity. There are too many characters in the plot for each to be fully developed in the limited time available, which is a pity as the characters are colourful but we get no more than glimpses into some of them. The sequences of Shabor ruminating in the company of his colleague are some of the best shot, along with the dramatic chases. To conclude: an entertaining movie, with some accomplished performances.. Who cares whodunnit. A fine example of something aspiring to greatness, but ultimately let-down by the narrative of its subject-matter itself. This one needed its writing fixed before it became a screenplay.Here's looking at both this movie's strengths (there are a few) and weaknesses (there are many):Swastika Mukherjee, Payel Sarkar, Debolina Dutta. 3 goddesses, uniquely characterized, the 3 strong women who prop up this otherwise muddled movie, with both the strength of their characterization, their looks and corresponding performances. These are ladies who know what they want, and how to get it, and heaven help those who stand in their way. Mukherjee especially, saddled with a character that is not all that supported by the written word here, does well to keep us guessing, and each interpretation of her character is revelatory. Looking forward to 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!' next month. Calling these women bold, would be an understatement. I'm sure they challenged the moral brigade as well.Abir Chatterjee, who's played both Felu (da) and Byomkesh (da?) in their recent incarnations, takes a lesser role here, and is ever- present on the sidelines as the prime suspect in the murder of one of the leads. I thought what he did here was bold, if not particularly illuminative, considering the fairly simple plot and its eventual disappointing denouement.Saswatha Chatterjee. I'm sure he's a good actor. Let down completely by the script, his character comes across as tired (possibly on purpose) but also cocky, arrogant and pretentious, who doesn't think twice about forcing his assumptions, wrong though they might be, down characters' throats, preying on the weak - not all intended, I'm sure. The guy who plays his sidekick is just a prop, does not matter to the tale at all, and could have been done without. Anyone expecting a Watson to Saswatha's non-Sherlock will not find what they were seeking in that department here.Dipankar Dey plays a stronger character than the one he played in 'Badshahi Angti', but doesn't have much screen-time, though his arc turns out to be the one that's almost important.June Malia, on the other hand, in spite of appearing caricaturish with her character's twists-and-turns, doesn't manage to convince in one of her holier-than-thou acts due to everything that came before. Performance-wise, it sure is louder-than-average, but the characterization also does her a disservice.Much is being written about the 'real' chase sequences. The one that comes after is essentially a re-tread of the shoddy one filmed earlier, with a different criminal'. They're really, really poor, with Saswatha made to pose for the camera (a still? in this day and age?) whenever there's a pause, and that's really grating. '..Angti' might have done better in that department.The way the narrative is peeled, layer-after-layer, in flashbacks, also gets tired after the 2nd time. Interspersing it with the narrative of a character who happens to be dead is not explained at all, and jars with the rest of the narrative. I still am unable to understand all the positive allusions made to the foot-chases across the flick, which is gone too soon before one notices how shoddily it has been conceptualized and executed.The score by Bickram Ghosh, on the other hand, and some of the cinematography, along with the realistic location and prod design, are what prop up the flick on the whole, along with the intent of Sil to try and make this as slick as possible. On the whole, it sure is slicker than 'Badshahi Angti', but falls miles below 'Open Tee Bioscope' (in spite of the fact that the latter doesn't belong to the 'mystery' genre, like this one does). Some of the punch-lines belong in a mainstream flick. In spite of that, they did bring the house down, and perhaps there is something to be said for that. To me, they stood out like sore thumbs since the narrative itself did not grab my attention.One (more) big flaw that stood out: Both the lead, and the murder victim, have to evoke some empathy in the audience's mind. There's no build-up to that at all, even from the multiple flashbacks that change our perception (and the lead detective's) of what transpired. Also, there is less detection and more flashing back going-on: not really a testament to the detection process. This was something this flick had in common with 'Yennai Arindhaal' a few weeks earlier, where an investigation made progress only when the lead beat up supporting characters and elicited confessions from them, and not by analysis of available data and using those to make conclusions - kinda vital in this genre of movie/screenplay.All in all, can be watched on the big screen for the 3 goddesses and the technical values, but disappointing overall.. Ebar no more. In a Quora post, somebody asked me that which film industry has degraded the most and the instant answer that came to my mind is the Bengali film industry. Being a Bengali, it is sad that I've to say this. I try to find the good things but the Bengali film industry has such a huge rift between commercial and art-house films, that the directors or producers have clearly lost all perspective. Commercial cinema makers don't care so they just make movies for the lowest common denominator. Art-house movie-makers apparently have a social circle of their own. They pat their own backs about what they have made and they don't care about the real flaws in their movies. It is a continuous loop which keeps repeating every year and nobody seems to bring any change to it.DIRECTION - There is a single most fundamental flaw in Arindam Sil's direction is over-stretching ever single scene. Arindam underestimates the audience very, very much due to which he has to extend every scene showcasing a certain character's attributes. That reduces the suspense, and when the suspense from a detective movie is gone then you clearly lose interest. This has happened again and again starting from Buno Hansh to Har Har Byomkesh and now Ebar Shabor. There is no tension, is what I am trying to say. It's a detective movie and everything feels like a drag. The audience is being dragged along with the character, the side-characters are being dragged by unnecessary scenes and the music is just poking you irritatingly. I have seen Indie movies and movies made by graduate students with more maturity in their movies. Everything was so rubbed in my face that I felt like screaming," HEY! I get it". There is even an interval without a cliff-hanger. Can you believe it? The purpose of the interval is that you're interested that what is going to happen in the next half. It just comes to a halt without any rhyme or reason. Har Har Byomkesh managed to kept me interested because it has a story which was written by one of the most acclaimed writers. Here Arindam Sil tries to give a similar feel and that brings me to the screenplay.SCREENPLAY - The screenplay was just too pretentious. The screenplay was so busy trying to glorify Shabor Dasgupta that there wasn't any room for character development. Shabor doesn't have any character arc. He begins a prick and ends a prick. The movie doesn't take time to show us his perspective. Instead it takes time to show the daily life of every other character and even that doesn't lead to anything, at all. Even a single joke that revolves around the educational background of Shabor's assistant is used a total of 7 times. Every single scene had so much in it. There is a sleazy character and there is no effort to support that with witty dialogue-writing. Instead, the whole scene is littered with pictures of naked women and magazines with naked women. There is a poor guy, he is the ex-lover of the victim. How do you show it? Make him smoke a lot of beedi which shows he has no money and make him blurt out expletives. You see what I am saying? There is no subtext or subtle story-telling. Everything is rammed down your throat. Hell, the opening scene had absolutely no significance at all. There was a long narration where something was mentioned that the man killed himself out of depression. That's it. It began in such a way that I was convinced that had something to do with the story. I have no idea that if it was intentional or not but it kept bugging me until that narration began and I was frustrated to know that that opening scene had no significance. Now, when you have such a screenplay there is a mighty tool which can help it feel tight. That is editing. That brings me to the most disturbing aspect of the movie.EDITING - Let me start with this. A guy is getting onto a bike. A man is getting off the seat so that the owner can sit on the bike. That's it. That scene has 5 cuts. Before the interval, Shabor meets Mitali's sister and that scene has 4 cuts. Just to establish the surprise. Reason? No reason. The chase scene is sometimes sped up and again slowed down because it has no substance. There are no consequences and in order to cover it up, bucketfuls of editing is done to make it look snappy. The music. What was going on with the music? It sounded like somebody just slammed his/her head on a keyboard and slapped it in the respective scenes. The music didn't compliment the scene or convey the emotion. It was that random. Coming to the camera-work and I am putting it in this section because I don't want to dedicate another section for that. The camera-work is horrendous which makes the editing even more difficult. Different types of camera are used to show one single scene, ranging from a cheap camera to a go-pro to a standard camera. Now when the camera shoots back to another part of the frame, the change in the type of camera becomes obvious and that just put me out of the seriousness of the scene every time.ACTING - The only performance that is even worth mentioning is Ritwick Chakraborty. He brought out the character right from the get go. Others were just themselves. At this day and age we know what a detective looks like and Saswata's Shabor doesn't look anything like one. June, Debolina and Dipankar Dey are way over the top. Abir, Payel and Swastika were basically playing themselves and that's that.