I have been a huge fan of Srijit Mukherjee's work since Autograph and I believe that the man has just got better with every film. The fact that he was adapting William Shakespeare's timeless classics Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra into the underworld setting of Kolkata made this movie irresistible. The trailer of Zulfiqar had also made an impact and the movie, a magnum opus in every sense of the word was showing the promise of becoming an all time masterpiece of Bengali cinema.
There is something unique which has time and gain attracted cine-lovers towards the genre of gangster movies. The guns, the suits, the power struggles, the bonds, the betrayals and, most of all, the unfettered violence have made gangsters and the cinema perfect partners in crime. Behind all the grandeur, aesthetics and culture of Kolkata, there lies another facet of the city- a dark underbelly which has remained more or less unexplored in our cinema. The organized crime scenario of Kolkata was earlier depicted in Ringo's System. However, kudos should be given to Srijit Mukherjee for showing a completely different side of Kolkata in Zulfiqar.
The movie starts with a detailed lesson on the history of the underworld in the dock areas of Kolkata and its functioning. Though it is useful to know about the setting since there is an obvious lack of knowledge about those 'unnamed' places, I felt the lesson lasted a tad too long. Even after the main characters are established, the movie fails to pick up the pace in the first half. The tone is uneven and the lack of continuity is apparent in some scenes. However, to be fair to the director, he had to omit some portions and dialogues of the movie at the last moment following objection from a minority group and that might explain the lack of continuity. Stuff like caged fights and bike races are staple in Bollywood action movies but it is a novelty in a Bengali movies. Hats off to DOP Soumik Haldar for shooting these scenes brilliantly. We are all aware about the budget constraints faced by regional filmmakers and so it gives immense pleasure to see action scenes in regional movies which are almost on a par with Bollywood. However, barring few scenes, the first half fails to leave the desired impact. It is post interval, when the movie picks pace and we get to see our chena Srijit. The high point of Julius Caesar- the entire chapter of the assassination of Caesar by Brutus to the 'Friends, Romans and Countrymen' speech by Mark Antony in Caesar's funeral which turns the table is brilliantly done. The movie moves in a breakneck speed after that and culminates in a thrilling albeit shocking climax. There are some minor complaints for the second half also. Like a romantic track interspersed in the narrative in a very crucial moment dilutes the gravity of the movie. Also, some of the chase sequences are half baked where the goons carry guns but don't shoot for some implausible reason.
The best thing about Srijit Mukherjee is that he always tries something new in every movie. While Zulifiqar is not in the same league as Autograph, Baishe Shrabon, Hemlock Society, Chotushkone and Rajkahini, it is still better than most Bengali action movies. Srijit himself said that this is his most mainstream film yet and this is evident from ceetee-taali dialogues like 'Haath gulo ke Madrassa y pathao Parvez, boddo beyadop' (Send your hands to Madrassa Parvez, they need manners), 'Basheer Bhai kabhi galat nahi bolta' and 'Mora haathi lakh taka hole, fokla bagh lakh paachek to hobei' (if the price of a dead elephant is one lakh, then the price of a toothless tiger should be at least 5 lakhs) The high point of the movie is the performances from the multi-starrer cast. Parambrata, who is one of favourite comes up with an expectedly brilliant performance in this movie also. His janaja speech is the high point of the movie. In the first half, I felt that Dev's character didn't have much scope. However, he emerges as the scene stealer in the second half. Dialogues are perhaps the biggest weapon of a mainstream hero and Dev deserves huge applause for his commendable performance despite being robbed of that weapon. This is perhaps his best performance till date, better than even Chander Pahar and Buno Haansh. At this moment, nobody can play a negative role better than Jisshu Sengupta in Tollywood. He does justice to his one-dimensional role. Renowned theatre personality Kaushik Sen, who had adapted Shakespeare numerous times on stage, is brilliant as Basheer Khan Brutus. However, 90% of his dialogues are in Hindi and initially it seems a bit odd to hear him mouth these lines in a modulated voice. Prosenjit, who plays the titular character of Zulfiqar plays his part with panache. However, this performance is not in the same league as his performance in earlier Srijit movies like Baishe Shrabon and Jaatishwar. Among others, Rahul is terrific as the cop Laltu Das. He gets a part with a lot of meat and makes full use of it. Kanchan, is terrific as always in the small role of Chenno Bablu. It is good to see poet Srijato making his debut in the movie. However, among all the big names, the man who takes the cake, according to me is Ankush Hazra, playing the role of Zulfiqar's nephew Akhtar. The transformation of Ankush from the suave but vulnerable singer to the ruthless and cold-hearted mafia kingpin is seen to be believed. In the male dominated world of Zulfiqar, the ladies do not have much to do. Nusrat Jahan, playing the seductress Rani Talapatra based on Cleopatra, looks beautiful but her acting fails to leave the desired impact. Kyra Dutt and June Maliah are apt in the handful of scenes they get. Paoli Dam, however, being the brilliant actress she is, leaves a mark in the few scenes as Zulfiqar's begum Karishma Ahmed.
In this regard, special credit should go to the director again for coming up with such a huge cast and more or less doing justice to most characters in the two and half hour long film. Coming to the music, Anupam Roy is in top form in Zulfiqar. He has never disappointed in a Srijit film and their successful collaboration continues in this movie. Songs like Ami Aajkal Bhalo Achi and Ghawrbaari are typical Anupam melodies which deserved to be heard on the loop. However, for me, the pick of the lot in Qatl-e-Zulfiqar and Ek Purono Masjide. Especially the latter sung by Nachiketa is a terrific composition complemented by some of the most soulful lyrics heard in recent times. Ultimately, Zulfiqar is a still watchable movie for three reasons. Firstly, it gives the audience a chance to watch some of the biggest and most talented names from the Bengali film industry at the price of one ticket. Secondly, because it gives the Tollywood industry a chance to say that- till now we might not have a Godfather, Once Upon a Time in America, Scarface or even a Parinda, Satya or Vaastav, but now we can boast of our very own Zulfiqar. Thirdly, in spite of its many flaws, Zulfiqar is an honourable film because....Srijit bhai kabhi galat nahi bolta.
The movie starts with a detailed lesson on the history of the underworld in the dock areas of Kolkata and its functioning. Though it is useful to know about the setting since there is an obvious lack of knowledge about those 'unnamed' places, I felt the lesson lasted a tad too long. Even after the main characters are established, the movie fails to pick up the pace in the first half. The tone is uneven and the lack of continuity is apparent in some scenes. However, to be fair to the director, he had to omit some portions and dialogues of the movie at the last moment following objection from a minority group and that might explain the lack of continuity. Stuff like caged fights and bike races are staple in Bollywood action movies but it is a novelty in a Bengali movies. Hats off to DOP Soumik Haldar for shooting these scenes brilliantly. We are all aware about the budget constraints faced by regional filmmakers and so it gives immense pleasure to see action scenes in regional movies which are almost on a par with Bollywood. However, barring few scenes, the first half fails to leave the desired impact. It is post interval, when the movie picks pace and we get to see our chena Srijit. The high point of Julius Caesar- the entire chapter of the assassination of Caesar by Brutus to the 'Friends, Romans and Countrymen' speech by Mark Antony in Caesar's funeral which turns the table is brilliantly done. The movie moves in a breakneck speed after that and culminates in a thrilling albeit shocking climax. There are some minor complaints for the second half also. Like a romantic track interspersed in the narrative in a very crucial moment dilutes the gravity of the movie. Also, some of the chase sequences are half baked where the goons carry guns but don't shoot for some implausible reason.
The best thing about Srijit Mukherjee is that he always tries something new in every movie. While Zulifiqar is not in the same league as Autograph, Baishe Shrabon, Hemlock Society, Chotushkone and Rajkahini, it is still better than most Bengali action movies. Srijit himself said that this is his most mainstream film yet and this is evident from ceetee-taali dialogues like 'Haath gulo ke Madrassa y pathao Parvez, boddo beyadop' (Send your hands to Madrassa Parvez, they need manners), 'Basheer Bhai kabhi galat nahi bolta' and 'Mora haathi lakh taka hole, fokla bagh lakh paachek to hobei' (if the price of a dead elephant is one lakh, then the price of a toothless tiger should be at least 5 lakhs) The high point of the movie is the performances from the multi-starrer cast. Parambrata, who is one of favourite comes up with an expectedly brilliant performance in this movie also. His janaja speech is the high point of the movie. In the first half, I felt that Dev's character didn't have much scope. However, he emerges as the scene stealer in the second half. Dialogues are perhaps the biggest weapon of a mainstream hero and Dev deserves huge applause for his commendable performance despite being robbed of that weapon. This is perhaps his best performance till date, better than even Chander Pahar and Buno Haansh. At this moment, nobody can play a negative role better than Jisshu Sengupta in Tollywood. He does justice to his one-dimensional role. Renowned theatre personality Kaushik Sen, who had adapted Shakespeare numerous times on stage, is brilliant as Basheer Khan Brutus. However, 90% of his dialogues are in Hindi and initially it seems a bit odd to hear him mouth these lines in a modulated voice. Prosenjit, who plays the titular character of Zulfiqar plays his part with panache. However, this performance is not in the same league as his performance in earlier Srijit movies like Baishe Shrabon and Jaatishwar. Among others, Rahul is terrific as the cop Laltu Das. He gets a part with a lot of meat and makes full use of it. Kanchan, is terrific as always in the small role of Chenno Bablu. It is good to see poet Srijato making his debut in the movie. However, among all the big names, the man who takes the cake, according to me is Ankush Hazra, playing the role of Zulfiqar's nephew Akhtar. The transformation of Ankush from the suave but vulnerable singer to the ruthless and cold-hearted mafia kingpin is seen to be believed. In the male dominated world of Zulfiqar, the ladies do not have much to do. Nusrat Jahan, playing the seductress Rani Talapatra based on Cleopatra, looks beautiful but her acting fails to leave the desired impact. Kyra Dutt and June Maliah are apt in the handful of scenes they get. Paoli Dam, however, being the brilliant actress she is, leaves a mark in the few scenes as Zulfiqar's begum Karishma Ahmed.
In this regard, special credit should go to the director again for coming up with such a huge cast and more or less doing justice to most characters in the two and half hour long film. Coming to the music, Anupam Roy is in top form in Zulfiqar. He has never disappointed in a Srijit film and their successful collaboration continues in this movie. Songs like Ami Aajkal Bhalo Achi and Ghawrbaari are typical Anupam melodies which deserved to be heard on the loop. However, for me, the pick of the lot in Qatl-e-Zulfiqar and Ek Purono Masjide. Especially the latter sung by Nachiketa is a terrific composition complemented by some of the most soulful lyrics heard in recent times. Ultimately, Zulfiqar is a still watchable movie for three reasons. Firstly, it gives the audience a chance to watch some of the biggest and most talented names from the Bengali film industry at the price of one ticket. Secondly, because it gives the Tollywood industry a chance to say that- till now we might not have a Godfather, Once Upon a Time in America, Scarface or even a Parinda, Satya or Vaastav, but now we can boast of our very own Zulfiqar. Thirdly, in spite of its many flaws, Zulfiqar is an honourable film because....Srijit bhai kabhi galat nahi bolta.
