Chittagong

Chittagong doesn't portray the Britishers as only ogres and sadists. Thank Goodness for some restraint in the conflict. For cinema to accommodate history, there must be a sense of balance between drama and authenticity. Chittagong manages that balance quite well. One misses the sharp high points of drama that constitute the historical epics in Holywood by, say, David Lean. Bedabrata Pain. I suspect, doesn't strive to create history, he recreates it.

Bedabrata Pain's Chittagong is a fitting tribute to one of the most important chapters in Indian history. This delightfully intense film makes you believe that one doesn't need a thumping background score and over-the-top melodrama to portray patriotism. All you need is a heart that beats for your nation and a fire within.

What makes Chittagong particularly special is the way it depicts heroism not as muscle-flexing, chest-thumping, rhetoric-driven bravado (as in standard 'war' films) but simply as audacious acts of defiance by ordinary people in the face of grave risk and the prospect of inevitable failure.

On the whole, CHITTAGONG is a film of immense significance. Much like some of the hi-concept films that left an indelible impression on the minds of viewers, CHITTAGONG should also last longer in the hearts of cineastes. Not to be missed!

This is a serious film - but far from somber, a tongue-tied Nirmal blushingly telling Priti, "Mujhe tumhare pyaar karne ki - matlab, larne ki shiddat bahut pasand hai," the brigade's youthful high spirits including stripping British guards and making them do utthak-baithak, and finally, the real 'Jhunku' or Subodh Roy talking about his life's most amazing experience. Like a Chittagong orchid, the movie takes time to blossom - but when it does, it's beautiful. And pleases a certain master.

Well-crafted and compelling.