Piprabidya (2013) User Reviews

Not Farooki's best work

[mdhasan14 · 7/10 · 3 January 2015]

The film is not bad. It is entirely watchable. But as one of the leading filmmakers of Bangladesh, we expect more from Farooki, specially after his last film, Television.

Without spoiling anything, it's about a jobless graduate from Dhaka, who tries to make a honest living. He fails miserably and then gets hired at a MLM?Ponzi scheme company. Later, in a series of events he gets introduced to a film actress and the story moves on.

The first 60 minutes is actually enjoyable. But the film gets boring towards the later half. And there is no final payoff after you actually finish watching the movie. So ending is a bit dull. But overall, it's well worth a watch on the telly. But for future, everyone hopes Farooki makes another Television.

Expectations Never Fulfilled!

[nazim_mahmood · 4/10 · 31 October 2014]

I was not sure in the morning of October 25th that I was going to watch "Pipra Bidya: Ant Story (2013)" in the afternoon; Nor did I know that I will be going to review this title! After reading a massive article by the writer-director himself, I felt interested.

Eventually, I found myself with two friends in Star Cineplex standing for the national flag. It was really disheartening to see some boys and girls of this generation are more interested in checking Facebook status than standing to respect our national Anthem!

As noted by many others, a poster of this film reminded me of 5 Oscar winning title "The Silence of the Lambs (1991)". A second simile (which was unnoticed by many) is the striking resemblance of Noor Imran Mithu, the lead character, with British star Clive Owen (that's not a problem or his fault; stated just for sharing).

Starting sequences automatically stirred curiosity in mind. Plot was non-traditional capturing the commonalities of our day to day life which made it quite different from others. Reality of a Multi-Level Marketing company, trade of a stolen cellphone, video footage of a popular female actor with her boyfriend and some other characters promised something special. After some hilarious sequences, I expected the plot to grow deeper. Unfortunately, nothing like that happened. Moreover, the theme and script didn't run together after a while. The trigger never worked.

The script could have been much better. It seemed that unnecessary dialogues were inserted just to reach one and half hour mark. The story might reach any climax, but landed nowhere. I felt that this story demanded a solid end; but all that remained was an open-ended question for the viewers. May be, the director didn't want to change his basic style.

I noticed that a MacGuffin was used in the movie; but may be the director was not aware of it since he never mentioned it in any interview published till date. However, it's nice to see such approach in a Bengali cinema. MacGuffin might be a goal, desired object, or any other motivator that the leading characters pursue. In this movie, the video clip is the MacGuffin since it had slight or no narrative explanation and importance to the overall plot.

On the bright side, cinematography was very refreshing. Visualization of the passive listener than active speaker in the car and dreaming sequences in the stair before knocking the door seemed distinctive. As far as the acting performances are concerned, Noor Imran Mithu (as Mithu) looked natural and was nearly perfect in his act. While he kept the tempo most of the time, Sheena Chouhan (as Rima) looked flat. Other actors looked out of place and not in character; I still cannot decide, which one was the worst: Ayon or Mithu's ex-girlfriend's husband.

The weakest point of the film is music and as a music-lover, I felt cheated. Even I couldn't find a single note of background music that may be admired. For a Bengali film, ignoring or misjudging or undervaluing the music is totally unacceptable. Most probably, we will see more sincere approach in casting and music in their new projects.

Promises, uttered by the makers, created high expectations; but never fulfilled. As Viewers, we can surely expect some more maturity. If I knew in the morning, how I would feel in the afternoon, I might have skipped it. Shockingly disappointed! Don't know; maybe I am wrong, haven't mastered the Ant-Education, should start going to school like Mithu!

A masterpiece in Bangladeshi cinema history

[jayedhussan53 · 8/10 · 11 May 2014]

Gripping storyline and fascinating characters. Faruki stuns audience. The film starts with a simple plot, and leaves the audience deeply connected with the central character. Faruki proves to be a real master in storytelling. He is believed to be one of the best directors in Bangladesh. But now he seems to be alone on top, far from his other fellow cinematographers.

The central character of this movie played so bravely that sometimes he looks stronger than godfather, sometimes he breaks apart and surrenders to his mother. He strives to meet his dreams to become reach and prove himself to his ex-girlfriend and mother. The vulnerability of characters and mistrust among them is so real. Kudos to the director and writer Mostafa Sarwar Faruki.

Miserable Trash...

[sjahir_888 · 3/10 · 26 October 2014]

After ripping off a Turkish film in his previous film, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki came up with his new film "Pipra Biddiya" (Ant story). The trailer was pretty much flat and the poster was visually similar with "Silence of the Lambs". I watched it with a minimum expectation and my minimums were never met.

The film is about a struggling guy who is employed by a crooked multilevel marketing company. He buys a stolen phone which belonged to a female film star (Rima) containing a sex clip with her boyfriend (Ayon). The guy tries to blackmail her and the film star keeps threatening him. That's the synopsis of the film. The plot line was interesting and could have been an interesting film but at the end of the day, it was more like an unresolved television drama with no subplot, conclusion and clarity. Let me tell the pros and cons of the film separately.

Pros: the main male character is a fresh new face. It was interesting watching him acting with a strange type of vulnerability. His dialogues are mixed with urban and local dialect which at some points created unintentional humor which was subtle and pleasing. Some dialogues were funny which I enjoyed. I think that's all about the good thing about the film.

Cons: first of all, the script seems to be empty. What things do you expect in this type of situation? If the guy wants to blackmail the film star, either he would have seduced her brains out over and over again or, ask for money over and over again. Or both can happen. In a real life scenario, if there is a blackmail, one of these two happens. But here, nothing happens. The seduction never happened and there was no money asked. There was sexual teasing all over the scenes but no sex. My guess is, the director didn't want to show any visual or conceptual disturbance. Or, the character is too dumbly written not to desire anything or achieving anything he wants. In these perspectives, the script wasn't true to the characters. The Film was short yet seemed painfully long after one hour because there was no subplot. No other character had the slightest importance on screen apart from the main two. There was a character (Redwan) playing the husband of the main character's ex-girlfriend, who has nothing to do with the script and story, comes from nowhere and fills up near about 10-15 minutes of the screen time with unbelievably meaningless dialogue and activities. The director wanted to fill up some screen time so that he invented an unbearably stupid character to get it through to one and half hour. And let alone the unnecessary surrealistic dream sequences of being eaten or attacked by ants. (Now we call him Bunuel of Bengal…lol) Director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki invited our friends and family to the cinema hall to watch an hour and half long film about a stolen porn clip and pathetically failed physical desire. Now that's a fantastic plot of a film to watch with my family. As the director is an avid fan of Abbas Kiarostami and Iranian films, I want him to remind that you don't have to do these. If you want to tell this type of story, please do it right, do the justice to your plot. Don't do this for a few cheap laughs. You might get some but your educated audience who watch movies like you do, can't be fooled. After making four feature films, the fifth one is the worst of all. Even though the previous one was a rip off, it was better.

Last point: there was no interval time in the movie….that was a smart move…Because if there was any, some of the audiences would have never get back in.

Faruki did this again

[mahmudul96 · 8/10 · 24 October 2014]

Every director got their own style of story telling. Faruki created his own style. He does not choose a highly dramatic story to tell. Rather he always chooses the stories of common people. The ant story is one of them.

In an interview he informed us that the hero (Mithu) did very well in the movie. That is why he calls him (the hero) 840 :p. Mithu actually did great. Mithu represents the common youth in Bangladesh who struggles to get rich and get established in the society. Cinematography and screenplay are done stunningly. Overall the ant story is very much enjoyable. There is something that will make you think, make you laugh and (may be) upset also :)

Don't waste your time

[ctgtalk · 2/10 · 19 August 2015]

I simply don't understand why Faruki is so much credited for. As I have watched two of his movies: Made in Bangladesh and Pipra Bidya, I know one thing now, he is a lame storyteller. By the way, pipra bidya has no story to go forward, It just stucks with single scene. Sometimes camera work is so bad that, video doesn't sync with audio.Well one thing this movie gets right is acting. Yes, acting is much better than than Faruki's previous films. Though better acting doesn't help the story gets better since direction is awful. So, my opinion is that, don't waste your valuable time by watching this junk, forgettable movie. Well if you want to enjoy some great Bangladeshi movies, then I recommend you: Monpura

>> I know, my English is like sh*t :p and my writing style too. Maybe it's because this is my first review ever. Thanks.

A Mind Blowing Movie

[logicman-legend · 10/10 · 3 November 2014]

A mind-blowing movie, an eye opener.It's a must watch but watch the movie patiently.Though it is a Halloween day as rather than being in a traditional festive mode, we would like to be a little altered to be aware of the serious situations. We all have to be known about the people around rather than staying in oneself. As for sure, understand others' perspectives. The story about self destruction, unemployed people from the Bangladeshi youths and psychological phenomenon. The way Mithu and Sheena Chohan has acted was superb in many ways as some people got scared by it. The dialogues are worth best and helps to learn about the harsh part of the world. A milestone by Mostafa Sarwar Farooki from Third Person Singular Number and Television. Must watch!

Another masterwork by Farooki

[FaizMomen · 9/10 · 12 January 2015]

A true art film with a deep story. Based upon contemporary social issues, the movie reveals a radical transformation of the main character, specially with his habitual lying. Performance of the actors were all natural and praiseworthy. The transition of the main character's habit of lying was implied by few probable different shots of a situation: a signature of an art film. One particular scene is really remarkable: showing only the ears of the chauffeur, while the back-seat passengers were talking.

However, viewers might lose interest quickly, unless they view it from a non-conventional angle. Specially, they might feel little bizarre because of the unfamiliar faces of the actors. No doubt that this is another appreciable work by Mr. Farooki. He once again proved his masterly skills to talk about concurrent burning issues with ample sense of humor and wits. Looking forward to his next film.