Borunbabur Bondhu review: Watch for the strong performances and well-etched characters

Anik Dutta’s Borunbabur Bondhu has a stellar cast and the characters they play have agency in the storyline. However, as suggested by the title, the film is about Borun Babu, played by the veteran Soumitra Chatterjee, who aces all the traits of the character that work as the driving force of the storyline, originally inspired by Ramapada Choudhury’s Chhad.

Borunbabur Bondhu mostly unfolds in the interiors of the house in which live Borun Babu and his son and daughter, or outside Kolkata. Inside the house, the characters reveal the traits that they otherwise cover up with careful sophistication and which we are all able to relate with. Most of their traits are in sharp contrast with those of Borun Babu, who is an idealistic old man who hates taking favours and has a practical but disillusioned outlook on life, politics and society.

Anik Dutta definitely deserves credit for building up Borun Babu’s character with a lot of precision. Soumitra Chatterjee also breathes life into the character, who has a sound mind with a lot of maturity. He is witty and does not hesitate to call a spade a spade. His notoriously uncompromising attitude is not at all appreciated by his two sons (Kaushik Sen and Ritwick Chakraborty), daughter (Sreelekha Mitra) or his grandsons and granddaughters.

Borun Babu's children and most of his relatives are portrayed as insensitive and opportunistic, with the particular intention to elevate his character, the ideas he represents. However, it does strike the viewer as odd that such an idealistic man, with strong views, was unable to raise even one of his children into his likeness, particularly since his wife (Madhabi Mukherjee) seems to have supported him at all stages of life. Not only are the offspring disconnected from Borun Babu's style of living, but they also seem to be outrageously insensitive, for instance when they continue to complain when their mother dies and do not even shed tears. The sequence of the mother’s death and the following one appear too unrealistic. It is not clear whether the director wanted it to appear so.

On the other hand, the sensitivity of Nemo (Samontak Moitra), son of Borun Babu’s younger son (Ritwick Chakraborty), comes across as real because his mother (Arpita Pal Chatterjee) is the only family member who doesn’t look at Borun Babu cynically and tries to understand his dignified position.

While Borun Babu’s traits are magnified in his interactions with other family members, Nemo brings out his sensitivity and shows what Borun Babu holds in priority, as a humanist.

The character of Sukumar Babu (Paran Bandopadhyay) plays a crucial role in the story. He cannot help but revere his childhood friend Borun for his calibre and honesty; however, his actions show that he is a simple man who doesn’t really have the strength to rise up to Borun Babu's level of idealism and is honest about it. He is equally excited at the arrival of Borun Babu’s special friend, but unlike the family members, he is not an opportunist; he is simply overjoyed in anticipation of a reunion of childhood friends.

Towards the climax, as Borun Babu calls Sukumar Babu a person who basks in reflected glory, he cringes in shame and also accepts the truth in embarrassment that at certain moments he also turned insensitive like the others, who are only there to have some of their agendas fulfilled through the sanction of Borun Babu’s influential friend.

The film has too many characters and, hence, too many dialogues to establish them, making Borunbabur Bondhu, a film mostly shot indoors, verbose. Instead of silent actions or moods, dialogues create the situations and characters. At times, you crave some peace and quiet to be able to process Borun Babu’s political ideology, stand against favouritism and the other family members’ issues and crises.

Also, Dutta could have avoided the interaction between Borun Babu and his influential friend, to make the anticipation more exciting. As it is, the film is as predictable as the graphs of all the characters indicate at every juncture. Making at least some sequences less apparent might have saved the film from becoming tiresome. The ending, while beautiful and satisfying, is also not unexpected.

Anik Dutta deserves credit for the perfect casting, and the entire cast has aptly portrayed each character. Paran Bandopadhyay’s body language and facial expressions are spot on. Ritwick Chakraborty’s careless demeanour perfectly suits the younger son who is often mocked as spineless by his own father. Similarly, Kaushik Sen’s sophisticated countenance suits his character, who is unusually nonchalant about his father and cautious about sharing his parents' medical expenses despite being well off but shows up with sudden interest in his health just before the arrival of Borun Babu's influential friend.

Dutta has shown how hollow these characters are at multiple levels. While both the men and women have been portrayed as insensitive and opportunistic, the men are also misogynistic while the women are ever ready to run the other women down behind their backs. Dutta, known for his overt political statements in his works, hasn’t forgotten to criticize government schemes as well as the opportunistic and money-minded Gujarati businessman, the would-be father-in-law of Arko, another of Borun Babu’s grandsons.

However, Borun Babu himself represents Dutta’s political ideology, a man who is critical of the existing government but has given up party politics long ago due to the discrepancy of ideas.

Bidipta Chakraborty’s rendition of Tagore songs are beautiful. Her natural act as well as Sreelekha Mitra’s effortless presence show that the entire team worked on the film in a very friendly environment. Arpita Pal Chatterjee does a decent job in depicting the simplicity and honesty in her character through her body language.

Avik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography makes a lot of contribution in bringing out the essence of Borun Babu’s character, with meaningful close shots. The way he has connected the revelation of the inner traits of every character with their surroundings is commendable. Arghyakamal Mitra has retained a consistent pace throughout the film, which helps the audience get absorbed in the experience but also tires it during certain sequences that lack relief.

Debajyoti Mishra’s music heightens certain moments, adding an emotional undertone, but it hardly offers quiet moments to allow the plot to sink in.

Borunbabur Bondhu is worth watching for the effortless performances by all the artistes and to see the graph of the character of the protagonist. Though the director has not been preachy, he does send out certain messages in the garb of satire and some strong dialogues written for Soumitra Chatterjee.