Sreelekha Mitra left the premiere show with tears in her eyes and shot off her snap review to t2:
The movie opens at a French restaurant in Paris, where we meet our protagonist Dev D (Ritwick). Oh boy, he is owner and chief chef. Dev’s mother, played by the ethereal, dignified Mamata Shankar brought tears to my eyes as she reminded me of my mother. Wish I could go back and cuddle her. I bet the mother-son scenes would evoke some very strong emotions. In these scenes Pratim scores a sixer! Being neither preachy nor stark, Pratim rebukes patriarchy. Sumanta Mukherjee (Dev D’s father) deftly makes it believable. Sauraseni is an absolute delight to watch. Paoli’s eyes are so expressive and she delivers so well. Arjun, you are good dude! RITWICK, you engulfed me and enthralled me with another masterstroke in the form of Dev D. Cinematographer Subhankar Bhar plays havoc with his lenses, creating a visual riot on screen. Coupled with Anupam’s soulful music, Shaheb’s rendition, apt usage of background score and sharp editing, the film transported me into a different world altogether, where I could smell, taste and savour my mother’s and grandmother’s maachher jhol. And so would you readers. See it to taste it. You would exit the hall licking your fingers, wishing for more jhol on your platter. And yes, the appeal of Maacher Jhol seems universal.
