Review of Bengali film Chaar

After showcasing three short stories together in a one film in "Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy" director Sandip Ray and Production house Shree Venkatesh Films are back with another combination of short stories but this time neither the stories are interconnected by any story teller nor they have anything common. 

There are lots of short stories in Bengali literature while choosing only four from them is very difficult job so Sandip Ray has to do a tough job to select four stories considering the fact which story can be told in cinematic way within a limited time. A perfect short story should have characters who can make place in the audiences heart within a limited time and the story should have an impact on the audiences mind  but Sandip Ray has failed to choose such perfect short stories. Apart from the first story "Batashwarer Abadan" all other stories have some problems.

Coming to the stories one by one, "Batashwarer Abodan" is a very nice story written by Parashuram. Its a story about an author and the impact of the fictional characters created by the author on the readers. The story has been presented very well without taking much time all the characters have been developed  smartly. 

The second one is "Dui Bandhu" written by Satyajit Ray. It is a story of two friends who meet each other after 25 years. Though the concept is very nice and the twist at the end is good but the idea that two friends can not communicate with teach other in 25 years looks unconvincing in today's world. When the story was written it might sound justified but for present time some additional changes were required in the screenplay to show some valid reason for the two friends separation for 25 years.

The third story is "Kagtarua" again written by Satyajit Ray. The story is of just one line and there are only two leading characters still the story has

been stretched unnecessarily just to give it almost equal screen time which was not required at all. Considering the supernatural elements of the story, it would have been better fit in "Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy".

The last story is "Pareekhha" written by Sharadindu Bandopadhyay. It is romantic story revolving around a couple who are about to get married.The story has no content at all , it looks like just a formal meeting of two people who are about to get married. Maybe the story was interesting on papers but it adds nothing on screen. The only saving grace of the story is the recreation of black and white era. Though considering that all other stories have been transformed to today's time its an unknown fact why only this story's period has not been changed.Probably the filmmakers were aware that it is the weakest story among the all so they have given it a better visual treatment to make it look better.

As a director Sandip Ray is just okay. He should have been careful about selecting stories as well as some actors too. Though he should be given credit for developing his characters very well in the short time span in the first three stories.

Among the actors Paran Bandopadhyay is too good as the author Bateshwar in the first story. Saswata Chatterjee is the only actor who has acted in two stories and in both the stories he is brilliant. Specially in the third story "Kagtarua", his expressions are very real as the scared person. Piyush Ganguly is a very talented actor and he has proved it once again in the second story "Dui Bandhu". Abir Chatterjee looks handsome as the hero of black and

white era in the last story "Pareekhha", his acting is good too. Rajatava Dutta has very little

role but his character has a surprise element but it needs to be said he is totally a miscast in the role. He does not look good enough physically to portray the character. Among the ladies Sreelekha Mitra is absolutely brilliant as the over the top loud actress in the story "Bateshwarer Abadan". Sudeepta Chakraborty has provided good support as Piyush Ganguli's wife in the story "Dui Bandhu". It is Koyel who has got the best role among the actresses in the story "Pareekhha" but she failed to deliver. She looks good with the periodic look of black and white era but her acting needs much improvement. It looks that she is doing the same loud acting what she does in her commercial entertainers. Actually she is a miscast in this role but when she is the wife of the co-producer what can be said.

Among the technical team , the man who should get credit first is Sirsha Ray who has done very good job with his camera in all four stories. He has given a different look and feel to each story and his work in the last one to recreate the black and white era is superb. The production design and sound design is good too. The editing is good in the first two stories but in the last two stories it could have been better. Specially the third story "Kagtarua" could have been edited more tightly.There are no songs in the movie but the background score has been used quite well.

Overall "Chaar" is a movie where the stories are not too good to win your heart but there are a bunch of good actors who have done good job. So you can give it a try  to get a chance to witness some good acting.