Samarjit Saha

First of all I would like to congratulate Mr. Kamaleswar Mukherjee for a brave and inspiring attempt. Chander Pahar, the most expensive Bengali cinema till date, will definitely change the course of Bengali cinema in coming years. From cinematic point of view the movie is not anyway comparable to Indiana Jones or King Solomon's Mines or Romancing the Stone. Not even near to those. But we have to remember that it's a Bengali film with a budget of only 15 crore. So it will be unfair to compare this film with any of the Hollywood classics. Plus points. 1. Marvelous camera-work. I have to admit that the photography is really stunning and near perfect. Specially the helicopter shots. 2. Direction. Despite a few loopholes, Kamaleshwar Mukherjee has done a commendable job. 3. Gerard Rudolf as Diego Alvarez. I really like this man. His screen presence is more enjoyable than Dev. 4. Background music. Some lack of variation, but appropriate for an adventure in Africa. Weakness. 1. Dev's accent. Far better than Paglu, Khokababu etc. But still a long way to go. 2. Volcanic eruption. The CGI is below average. 3. Some variations from the original story. Like, in the original book, the Black Mamba didn't bite Shankar. He put the torch light into the eyes of the snake for three hours. After that the snake moved away. This would be more realistic. Another variation is the Bunyip. The mythical creature. Shankar never killed Bunyip. It remained a mystery till the end. This would also be more realistic and cost efficient. Overall, I like the movie. It's a memorable and entertaining journey which lasts for 2 and half hours. I recommend this film to everyone. Specially for Bengali speaking people, it's a must-see. Despite the flaws, with this film, the Bengali cinema will enter into a new era. And this feeling is making me very proud as a Bengali.