22 SHEY SHRABAN

22 Shey Shraban is a 2011 Bengali psychological thriller written & directed by Srijit Mukherjee starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Raima Sen, Abir Chatterjee and actor/director Gautam Ghosh who makes a comeback after a hiatus of 29 years. The movie is based on the Stoneman murders which took place from 1985 to 1989 in Bombay and subsequently in Calcutta in 1989. It is suspected that the murders were the handiwork of a single serial killer who used to crush the skull of the homeless people with a single piece of heavy stone. More than 20 murders have been attributed to the Stoneman. These cases still remain unsolved.

The story is set in modern day Kolkata of 2010. 4 murders have been committed by a serial killer over the past 8 months. All the victims belong to the lowest strata of society, a madman, a prostitute, a gravedigger and a goon. The only thing connecting these crimes is that beside the bodies are found a piece of paper quoting verses from various bengali poets from Sukumar Ray to Jibananada Das. The Kolkata police are all at sea. The investigating officer Abhijit Pakrashi (Parambrata) is directed to rope in the services of Prabir Roy Chowdhury (Prosenjit) an ex IPS officer who in the past has worked on four such cases of serial killings. Prabir is a disturbed soul who is tormented by a tortured past. He has been dishonourably discharged form duty due to his extreme hatred for criminals resulting in encounters and custodial deaths. He is now a drunkard, extremely ill tempered and foul mouthed who can hardly complete a sentence without the profound use of expletives. Meanwhile a fifth murder takes place and thus begins a cat and mouse game between the serial killer on one hand and the two sleuths Abhijit and Prabir Roy Chowdhury on the other.

There is another parallel track involving the love triangle between Abhijit, his girlfriend Amrita Mukherjee (Raima Sen), and her best friend Surjo Sinha (Abir Chaterjee). Abhijit and Amrita have broken up many times during the past year. Amrita’s best friend Surjo who is in love with her is always beside her when needed. They are both professional journalists and work for the same news channel. The news channel is planning a 13 part series on serial killers with the 13th episode being a live interview with a serial kiiller. Amrita and Surjo’s investigation leads them to Nibaron Chakraborty (Goutam Ghose) who  has spent jail time with a notorious serial killer Rafiq Ahmed. Nibaron is a would be poet who claims to be the last surviving relic of the anti  establishment Hungry Movement in literature which rocked Bengal during the  1960s. He is desperate to publish his poetry and claims that there will be consequences if the establishment tries to silence his pen. He is a frenzied madman who roams the streets during night carrying his bag of poetry. For Abhijit and Prabir he seems to perfectly fit the profile of the serial killer and they start tracking him. But there is more than meets the eye.

What elevates the movie is the performance of its lead actors. Prosenjit (Bumba da, as he is being affectionately called by his fans) delivers a stellar performance. He is one of the finest actors of his generation not only in Bengal but the whole of India. Though he has played some minor roles like the one in Shanghai, its time that Bollywood wakes up and utilises his potentential to the full. Parambrata is a very underrated actor. Goutam Ghose excels as the anti establishment eccentric poet. Raima and Abir play their parts well.

The lead pair of Prosenjit and Parambrata share a terrific chemistry. Sparks fly every time they meet. Much of the finest dialogues of the movie occurs when they interact. Abhijit (Parambrata) arrives twelve minutes late when he meets Prabir (Prosenjit) for the first time:

Prabir : You’re late.

Abhijit : I just missed the lane.

Prabir : You’re late by 12 minutes.. In the last 12 minutes light has travelled the earth one and a half times, the little hummingbird has flapped it’s wings 72,000 times, according to reports there have been eight rape cases in India in the last 12 minutes, and you just missed the lane Abhijit.

Then again,

Prabir : Do you drink whiskey?

Abhijit : No.

Prabir : Bournvita ???

When Abhijit addresses Prabir as Prabir Babu, he retorts

Prabir : Sir

Abhijit : Sorry

Prabir : Address me as Sir. I don’t run grocery store here.

Dialogues like these abound, and the dark humour adds to the overall gloomy atmosphere of the movie .

The music of the movie is composed by Anupam Roy and it is one of his finest till date. The track “Je kota din “ brings out the intimacy, the physical aspect of the relationship between the two lovers Abhijit and Amrita.  “Ekbar Bol “ brings out the loneliness and pain in the lives of Abhijit and Prabir.The tracks “Ei Srabon“ and “Gobhire Jao“ brings out the central theme of the movie. Though the love triangle and the songs slow down the pace of the movie and adds to its length (run time of 140 minutes), but they are organically integrated into the scheme of the movie and do not look out of place.

Director Srijit Mukherjee has drawn inspiration from a number of sources. Influence of movies like 2008 thriller Righteous Kill and Agatha Christie’s novel The ABC Murders can be discerned. But like Shakespeare the director has turned the borrowed materials into pure gold dust. As a psychologial thriller 22 Shey Shraban is unparalled in Indian cinema. Only other movie which comes to mind is Sujoy Ghosh’s 2012 thriller Kahaani. If you can overcome the language barrier then 22 Shey Shraban is worth your every penny. It is the best that Indian cinema has to offer.

P.S.- 22 Shey Shraban means the 22^nd day of the bengali month of Shraban. It marks the death anniversary of Kabi Guru Rabindranath Tagore, the greatest poet of the land. The movie pays a tribute to the rich literary culture of Bengal and like the verses the killer leaves beside the bodies the movie feels like poetry in motion.