Alex Deleon
One of the most interesting things about Chittagong, the film, is that it is the debut feature of a 49 year old director with a PhD in physics, Bedabrata Pain, who left his day job as a leading scientist for JPL (Jet Propulsion Labs in Pasadena) after a brilliant 15 year career there, to take up a new career in filmmaking at the age of 45. He started out byco-producing a film by his Bengali wife Shonali Bose, "Amu" which dealt with the government backed pogroms against Sikhs in 1984 after President Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards. "Amu" was shown at major festivals such as Berlin and Toronto. Now Sinhali returns the compliment by coproducing Bedabrata's maiden effort along with maverick producer/director Anarug Kashyap of "Gangs of Wasseypur"Pain's "Chittagong" is so well crafted that it's hard to believe this is a first time film by a new director, but there it is, one of the more topical films of the year. "Chittagong" tells the story of a little known uprising against British rule by Bengali shoolboys under the leadership of a charismatic village teacher, Masterda Surya Sen. Some audacious young ladies were also involved. Generally speaking historical films relating to partition have not fared well in India. Why such a tale is now suddenly of interest is a good question. Director Pain who is himself Bengali said that he wanted to tell a story in which the Indians come out victorious, because most historical films of the Raj colonial era tend to dwell on defeat and martyrdom. The schoolboy revolt succeeded and Chittagong was actually liberated in 1930, if only for a single day.At the same time he said he did not want to give viewers a history lesson, but more a sense of dramatic entertainment. In this he has more or less succeeded. Chittagong has the right mix of all the elements --action, drama, politics, romance and patriotism, convincing little-known actors, and is also a history lesson, like it or not, maybe more so than intended. Pain chose to shoot the film in Hindi, not the original Bengali language which was and is still spoken there. Chittagong today is not even in India, but in the Islamic state of Bangladesh next door, originally created as East Pakistan when India was partitioned in 1947. However, choosing Hindi, the language of Bollywood, automatically gives the film a national rather than a regional outreach. Several Bollywood character actors spotted by co-producer Anurag Kashyap, notably Manoj Bajpayee, who plays the teacher, Surya Sen, in Chittagong, and ended up as Boss Sardar Khan in Wasseypur I, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui who plays his military sidekick, Nirmal Sen, in Chittagong and his weed puffing son in Wasseypur II, have now become high profile figures in what is fast becoming an independent Bollywood Nouvelle Vague ...Brash and ballsy Indian director-Producer Anurag Kashyap recently locked horns with Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan on the widely read hotlines of personal media accusing Bachchan of using his industry clout to have the release of Pain's Chittagong delayed, so that another picture on the same subject starring Bachchan's own son, Abhishek, could get a leg up in the highly competitive B-Town market.I needs to be mentioned that Abhishek Bachchan, 36 year old son of King Amitabh, while tall dark and handsome, is no chip off the old block as an actor, and has established a career as a leading man in Bollywood largely on the strength of his illustrious family name and his marriage to fabulous Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai. The other Chittagong film in queston "Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey", (immediately dubbed KHJJS in true Bollywood fashion) is another Hindi period piece directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles, and also based squarely on the same student uprising of 1930. Deepika, 26, is like Rai another striking beauty from the south, more lauded for her looks than her acting abilities, but exceptionally popular. Gowariker is a respected mainstream Bollywood director best known for "Lagaan" 2001, (Land Tax) which was barely nosed out for Best Foreign Film Oscar that year and brought some recognition to Bollywood from out west. The two films were set for release around the same time but the Gowariker version got there first by a mile while the Pain pic was held up for over a year until now. Reacting sharply against what he saw as undue influence by Amitabh Bachchan to hold up release of Pain's Chittagong in order to protect his son's film from being upstaged, Kashyap started posting caustic remarks on the networking sites. One of them read: "See Chittagong, a far superior film made on the same subject as Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey.. At 1/8 th of the cost, far superior actors and immense passion... Producers decided to sit on it, because of a phone call from someone, because that someone was trying desperately to save his son's career... welcome to Bollywood, where whose son you are outshines all the hard work and passion and potential and talent. KHJJS came and went, now what?" Well, here's what. KHJJS received some respectable reviews but flopped badly in spite of it's prestige director and bankable stars. Chittagong was voted audience favorite in Florence, but it remains to be seen what it will do elsewhere, especially now that two of its actors, Siddiqui and Bajpayee, have become overnight sensations.Pain's Chittagong was viewed at the River to River Indian Film Festival Florence,'Italy, in Dec. 2012
arupmandal1983
Almost nothing outrageous happens throughout the film.Even the armoury raid takes only about 10 minutes in the 105 minutes long film that too pre-interval.And thats the beauty of Chittagong, which depicts this forgotten tale (outside Bengal) so efficiently through silences,emotions and expressions.The honesty involved in making the film, touches you deep down and makes you forget the few flaws here and there.Manoj Bajpayee,Nawazuddin Siddiqui,Jaydeep Ahlawat,Raj Kumar Yadav all shine again after GOW and are aptly supported by Dibyendu Bhattacharya,Shaheb Bhattacharya,Anubrata and others.But its Delzad Hiwale as young Jhunku (loved him in Bubble Gum) and Vega Tamotia as Preetilata who stand out and make the deepest marks.Eric Zimmerman's camera is beautiful to say the least.Bedabrata Pain has really surprised with the maturity in execution,treatment and tight cholesterol free screenplay.Leaving apart the personal tragic story behind or his identity as a NASA scientist,Chittagong judged only in its own merit scores higher than most films on Indian freedom revolution.This definitely requires more screenings,viewings and word of the mouth publicity.
Mahadyuti Adhikary
Chittagong is disappointing. It's an honest film but fails to transcend into a good film. The biggest disadvantage that plagues a period film based on real events is the predictability of the plot. So, to make the film more engaging, the director needs to indulge in a sort of retelling of history inculcating a healthy dosage of drama into it. This is precisely where Bedabrata Pain falls short. There's no building up of drama. Watching the film is like glancing through the pages of a history book. The narrative of the film is so simple that it is reduced to a textbook of chronological historical events. Hence, although it adheres to factual fidelity, it doesn't deliver what is expected from a celluloid drama. It will be cruel to say that the film is uninspiring because it does have a lot of heart and characters do evoke a genuine sense of empathy. It's more like a ticking bomb that doesn't explode. I'm not talking about the typical Bollywood exaggerated sentimentality, but Pain's maiden effort doesn't have that soul-stirring zing in it, it's not intense or emotionally compelling enough. I love simplistic minimalism and restrained performances, but the characters somehow are nipped in the bud and deliberately not allowed to grow and evolve, especially when the director had the luxury of a casting coup comprising the likes of Manoj Bajpai, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Jaideep Ahlawat and Dibyendu Bhattacharya. He fails to exploit the brilliance of such wonderful actors at his disposal. Even the background score is so disappointing and underwhelming, completely incompatible with the elegiac undertone of the film. The editing has rough edges with loose disconnected parts. The only rewarding aspect of the film is Eric Zimmerman's breathtaking cinematography.
nik_footyfreak
Chittagong is absolutely well directed, well scripted n well performed movie,the story based on the few rebellions of Chittagong in 1930's, How they decide to fight against British rule, to expel them out of Chittagong, its an epic tale about some forgotten heroes of our country there are numerous scenes where the film arouses feelings of patriotism within you; and that last 5 mins clip of real jhunku (Subodh Roy)was like ice on the cake!! Manoj Bajapai and Nawazuddin siddiqui are just brilliant as usual, the background score was also too good. if you like patriotic movies, this is must watch for you!!this is surely gonna be remarkable year for bollywood Pan singh tomar, khaani,Vicky donor, Gangs of wasseypur 1 & 2, Barfi, OMG, English Vinglish and now Chittagong, it'd be interesting to see who gets best film's award !!
