The city that decays Cast: Sreelekha Mitra, Satrajit Sen, Bratya Basu, Anirban Chakrabarti, Arindam Ghosh Director Aditya Vikram Sengu...
The city that decays
Director Aditya Vikram
Sengupta makes his actors carry the film. The usage of glass is another
penchant of his which he uses fully. The endless Tagore busts lying around the
accident spot is another masterstroke from him with Rabindra Sangeet playing in
the background. The mosquitoes used may be a symbol of corruption and rot in
Bengal that has taken place. The city of Calcutta (Once Upon A Time In Calcutta)
takes centrestage in the film and the decay that has taken place brings up
the disruption in the city by the news headlines. The ponzi scams, the flyover
collapse bring corruption to the fore.
The film opens with the death of Ela (Sreelekha Mitra), the illicit daughter of the owner of the once mystical Circarina, and her husband Shishir's (Satrajit Sen) only daughter. From here, Ela (who drinks rum every evening) wants to escape her emptiness and succumbs to her boss Pradipta's (Anirban Chakrabarti) advances. She also has an affair with her childhood sweetheart Bhaskar (Arindam Ghosh) who tricks her into believing that he is still unmarried because of her. She leaves her husband and moves to a flat gifted by Pradipta.
Parallelly Ela's step-brother Bubu (Bratya Basu) drinks his way into depression amidst the ruins of Circarina in the company of his faithful servant Ananta and his son Raja (Shayok Roy) who works honestly and tirelessly to fulfill his dreams unaware that the company which he is working for is actually run by the corrupt Pradipta and his ponzi scam. When the scheme collapses and the flyover that is looked after by Bhaskar crashes down, Ela's world crumbles as Pradipta is buried under the collapse of the flyover and Bhaskar is arrested by the police. Ela returns to her husband Shishir when the news comes that Bubu is also dead making her the sole heir of Circarina.
Sreelekha Mitra is excellent and yet perverse. Bratya Basu delivers a performance that only he is capable of. Shayok Roy makes an unforgettable debut. Anirban Chakrabarti puts up a convincing act as the sleazy and easy talking boss. Arindam Ghosh is graceful as the smooth-talking Bhaskar. Satrajit Sen is possibly the only character in the film who is fully positive with no motive and delivers a nuanced act.
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