Shotyi Bole Shotyi Kichhu Nei is vintage Srijit Mukherji! This is easily his best work since Chotushkone. Terrific dialogues, landed through tremendous performances by the entire cast, make this a super intriguing watch. Also, it’s a rare multi-starrer where each cast member gets almost equal prominence and ample moments to shine. The film is funny, emotional, and intense at the same time, and is also highly relevant socio-politically. I have not seen the earlier films or drama adaptations of the same subject (Shotyi Bole Shotyi Kichhu Nei is adapted from Basu Chatterjee’s film Ek Ruka Hua Faisla); hence, for me, this was a standalone, completely neutral movie-watching experience.
Initially, after seeing the trailer, I had feared that the film would be too surreal and cater to intellectual, niche audiences only. But the film’s sheer entertainment value took me by surprise. Yes, the film’s narrative is a bit surreal, and entering the world of the film takes a bit of getting used to, leading to a slow burn first half. But once things get rolling, you get an edge-of-the-seat and super-intense second half. The superb dialogues, laced with sharp wit, along with terrific character conflicts, make this a super engaging watch. There is no doubt that no one writes better dialogues than Srijit in Bengal at the moment. In Shotyi Bole Shotyi Kichhu Nei, he does not go overboard with his trademark wordplays and puns; rather, he creates real, relatable characters and gives them recognisable, familiar behaviours. This ensures that audiences can easily connect with the characters.
Srijit has always been exemplary in his multi-starrer casting choices and in this film too, he gets a dream cast, full of experienced as well as new talents. But just getting a great cast on board is not enough. Giving each character effective moments and extracting superb performances from them is a herculean task. This is a rare film, where Srijit has masterfully created intense, yet funny, conflicts and arguments between the different characters. It is not easy to establish relatable and engaging conflicts between 12 characters.
There are multiple scenes where the audiences are bound to be amazed by the sheer quality of drama executed beautifully between the 12 leads. Throughout the runtime of the film, Srijit takes you on a journey through the human mind. As the characters mock each other, abuse, argue constantly, take sides, stand up for each other and also for themselves, the audiences go along on a roller-coaster ride.
The film takes you on an inward journey that can help you identify yourself and your behavioural patterns better. You are bound to relate personally to one or more of the 12 characters at play here. As these characters reveal their flaws, prejudices, biases and toxic traits, audiences are bound to reflect upon themselves. As the characters find redemption and closure, audiences too are bound to find catharsis. The film is a hunt for the truth, but, as the title suggests, the concept of truth is not important here. How the characters find themselves on this hunt is more important. Audiences too are sure to find themselves on a journey of self-discovery through the runtime of the film.
Another important aspect of the film is its subtle inclusion of topics that are socio-politically highly relevant at the moment. In current times, where most filmmakers shy away from making any political statements, this film not only shows certain brutal, harsh truths, but also manages to maintain an unbiased stance and refuses to take sides. Even the characters which seem almost evil and hateful, have a clear justification and even their biases and arguments make a certain degree of sense. Shotyi Bole Shotyi Kichhu Nei depicts reality through a stylised, surreal lens, but does not judge its characters. This is definitely very brave filmmaking in the current state of things.
All this talk of self-discovery and finding oneself may make it seem like this is a very serious, grim film. Well though the core subject matter is quite dark, the film has tremendous entertainment value to ensure that audiences have a great time at the theaters. There are multiple hilarious moments and endless funny one-liners. The fact that each actor in the cast has legendary comic timing has elevated the film to another level. The film is also deeply moving emotionally. While the core murder case does not invoke much emotion or sympathy for the victim or the accused, there are enough moments that make you feel for the different characters.
Writing and runtime-wise, it is obviously very difficult to give emotional core and significant backstories to all 12 characters. Yet, through the conversations and arguments, and short but effective flashbacks, we get a clear picture of the worldview of most of the characters.
Some of the backstories add terrific emotional depth. For example, Phalguni Chatterjee’s character’s backstory, and his resonance with the motive behind a witness’ fake testimony, is highly relatable and heart-touching. Similarly, Sauraseni Maitra’s character’s past trauma is downright scary and makes you understand the character’s current behavioural traits and decisions effectively. The characters go through their own journeys in a big way. Suhotra Mukhopadhyay’s character goes from being repressed and humiliated to standing up for himself and others in the third act.
Anirban Chakrabarti finds voice and courage to stop a bully and helps another character confront her own trauma and find closure. The history between two characters creates a superb emotional twist in the climax. Also, watch out for a climactic emotional breakdown sequence of Ritwick Chakraborty. It is totally goosebump-inducing stuff. These are but only a few of the great moments in the film.
The entire cast goes all out and delivers one of the most intense ensemble performances ever to be depicted in Bengali cinema. They all play off each other and have tremendous chemistry. Srijit has also made things interesting by creating odd combinations in the character conflicts. For example, you will not expect the characters played by Sauraseni and Anirban to have a face-off, but when this moment happens, it makes for one of the most intense and heartbreaking sequences of the film.
Odd character conflicts make for high-tension, nail-biting drama, which keeps audiences guessing due to the constant surprises. Prosenjit Chowdhury’s cinematography is terrific and he captures the different set-up effectively, changing the tonality and light scheme in sync with the changing mind space of the characters. Sanglap Bhowmik’s precise, yet stylised editing, adds to the visual flair of the film and also boosts tension. Overall, Shotyi Bole Shotyi Kichhu Nei is Srijit’s return to peak form.