UTSAB - Rituparno Ghosh's classic

My fascination of movies isin't news for anyone. I have started watching movies in other languages as well these days. Recently I had the opportunity of watching 'Utsab', a Bengali movie by Rituparno Ghosh. A family movie set in the background of Durga Puja, it lets the viewers inside a family re-union for the puja. The director tries to express the complexities of various relationships and the importance of communication within family members through various metaphors.

Bhagbati's 4 children come back to their mother's ancestral house for the puja celebrations as they do every year. The eldest son Asit is trying to solve all the problems and his wife is mostly devoted toall household chores. They have a daughter Shompa who is aamazing singer. The second son Nishit, is having problems at work. He tells about it only to his borther but not keeps it a secret with his wife because he doesn't want her to take unnecessary tensions specially because she belonged to a very well to do family before marriage. Eldest daughter Parul, is married to a rich family against her wishes. Her husband still taunts her about her affair with one of her cousins Shishir even though they now have a 21 year old son Joy. Shishir previously a poor man is now a very rich builder. Younger daughter Keya married against family wishes to a passionate politician Arun who after having failed in the political games has succummed to drinking and now theyhave problems in their marriage. Arun is visiting his in laws first time after 3 years of their marriage.

The movie slowly unfolds and you first come to know about the various characters, then there fears, there dreams, there past there future and what is there position in the current scenario. Like real life we misjudge certain characters at start and understand them better later.Shishir wants to buy this ancestral home now and hence starts the play of emotions of each of these family members. Parul's past keeps haunting her because of Shishir. Keya doesn't knnw how to tll her family about the problems she is having because she married against their wishes. Nishit wishes to start business soon so that he doesn't have to be ashamed in front of his wife.

The family members strike an instant chord with the audience as the story starts unfolding about each of the characters. Suppressed emotions hide in shadows and happy ones play with bursts of light. Even though you may feel that the movie is slow and mundane but the amotions are beautifully constructed to build the whole theme. When the movie end you can'thelp thinking about these problems and stories and enjoy it. Mostly because they are so real that you or someone from your family could have been easily as one of the characters.


Its again shown how communication is important within the family. The characters first try to hide there problems, but later they open up and confide things to there siblings/son. The way Parul cries and tells her son why even after 21 years is she still being taunted about Shishir. Keya tells Parul of her problems with Arun. Nishit tells Asit about his work problems.

Finally, the director shows how history repeats itself depicting the construction deconstruction process. Joys uncle Asit wanted to study literature but bcause of his mother, he ends up learning economics. And in present Joy wants to learn film-making but his father wants him todo MBA and now he is going to US soon. The way Shishir-Parul's relationship was there in past is repeating itself with the way Parul's son Joy is shown to have a liking for his cousing Shompa.

Handling so many characters, showing there individuality and at the same time narrating the story in an interesting way is not an easy task to do. Rituparno ghosh has done it beautifully. No wonder that he was awarded the Best Director's National Award for the film. The story progresses mostly on words rather than on any visual action. Even the past incidents are narrated in terms of dialogues and not as flashbacks. But he does not waste any of the dialouges. Every single dialouge in the movie adds to the overall structure and is an essential piece of the story.

Everyone has acted very very good. Specially the roles of Keya and Parul played by Rituparno Sengupta and Mamta Shankar. Avoiding all complexities the film ends at a postive note. All the family problems are now just beautiful memories.

MUST WATCH for the fans of thinking cinema (or what you may call parallel cinema) and classy products.