Starring Koel Mallick and Koushik Sen in the lead as a brother-sister duo engaged in a legal battle over their parents’ property, the social drama Sharthopor draws attention to a deep-seated sociological problem that has its roots embedded in patriarchy. The first song from the film which was dropped recently, offers an insight into the temperaments of the two lead characters, besides summing up the mood of this film based on family relationships.
Titled Bhenge jay, the song expresses the multitudinous thoughts that race through Koel’s character Aparna’s mind when she realises that her reaction to her elder brother’s decision to sell the house may wreck their relationship irreparably. It expresses her feeling of pain, shock and anguish as she tries to accept the truth of her situation. Her brother Saurav’s response to the situation appears to be somewhat different as the music video finds him expressing a restrained anger and frustration, implicitly blaming his younger sister for the impasse and for her inability to see the problem from his point of view. The lyrics of the song, which articulate Aparna’s sorrow, are juxtaposed with a collage of scenes that depict happy times from the past, making the song all the more poignant and heartbreaking.
Her memories of the many joyous occasions she spent in her parents’ home in the company of her loved ones crowd her mind — birthdays, religious festivals and rituals, which were celebrated with so much warmth, love and laughter. Old photographs, brightly-coloured palm-prints of the siblings on a wall, a rusty pencil-box full of assorted priceless treasures of her schooldays, and many other such forgotten relics of the past make her smile in spite of herself. But she lapses into despair when she realises that the golden days of the past are well and truly over and will never come back. She feels helpless and devastated when she cannot connect the innocent happiness of the past with the bitterness of the present.
In Bhenge jay, the beautiful moments of her past are compared to a child’s toys, which give unbounded joy to a child when he or she plays with them, but can also bring tears into the child’s eyes when they get damaged or broken.
The past is described as a colourful and wonderful playtime that must inevitably come to an end when the reality of adulthood strikes. The song, however, also bears a trace of the sister’s tender heart who wishes her brother well despite their ruptured relationship. With lyrics by Prasen and sung in the rich and soulful voice of Lagnajita Chakraborty, Bhenge jay is the first playback number voiced by her that has been set to tune by composer Jeet Gannguli. Sharthopor, directed by Annapurna Basu, releases in theatres today.