GOTRO - (Bengali film) review


GOTRO - a film review



              WINDOW FILMS'  second production this year, GOTRO is certainly going to be a success story, I think.

                Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee have been giving us a plethora of films since 'Ichche' that abound in social anomalies to deal with. After 'Kontho' this year that went down well with viewers, especially families struggling with health issues that can ruin relationships, it is the poison of divisive sentiments riding high on religious labels that is suffocating humanity today. 'Gotro' just hits the nail on the head.

                  The plot is a simple and common tale that of an elderly widow, Mukti Devi (Anusuya Majumdar), living alone in the family's ancestral home which is called 'Gobindo Dham' as the family deity happens to be Lord Krishna. Like many young men, her son stays abroad and she's left in the care of a bunch of domestic help who are loyal to her. But the notorious promoter, Bapi (Khoraj Mukhopadhyay), is a menace as he hounds her, almost forcing her to hand over her property to him -- by hook or by crook. But Mukti Devi, better known as 'Hitler Mashima', thwarts his every move. She appoints an ex-convict, Tareq Ali ( Nigel Akkara), to protect her property. For obvious reasons, he is introduced to her by her son and his friend as Tarak Guha, to win her confidence. And so he does. However, she's unaware of his true identity and unsavoury past and is furious when she realises that she has been deceived. She throws him out of her house. Tareq's challenge begins here to win her approval back and refuses to stop protecting the property.

                  The film is a good blend of humour, action, music, sentiment and love that blossoms between Tareq and Jhuma ( Manali Dey), the young and flirtatious maid in the house. But most importantly the movie focuses on the concept of humanism that rises above everything and crushes all barriers created by caste, creed and class divisions. Mukti Devi teaches all that the purpose of having faith lies in being compassionate and humane; that man's true identity is seen in his behaviour and action. Not what he preaches but what he does.
                  Anusuya and Khoraj are veterans and are brilliant in their individual performances. But it is Nigel Akkara who captures your attention with unadulterated devotion to the character he plays that somewhat reflects his own. Powerful and sensitive in his portrayal of Tareq Ali, he is able to bring back faith in humanity that is slowly slipping out of our grip. 

                  I give it a thumbs-up as a candid yet sensitive depiction of the society we live in with its diverse and multitude of problems that need to be addressed adequately with a generous heart
.
Dola Dutta Roy
27th August, 2019

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