Anjan Dutt reviews 'Hawa', has both praise and criticism
Renowned actor, director and singer Anjan Dutt finally got to watch "Hawa" on Sony LIV, yesterday.
The "Mon Bhalo Nei" singer posted a critical review of the film on his Facebook post. He shared his disappointment as the film didn't leave up to its expectations.
"This rather extravagant Bangladeshi film by Mejbaur Rahman Sumon did not live up to my expectations, considering the highly volatile concept and big budget. What could have been a truly modern and cinematically exciting film on male-dominated world of possessiveness leading to destruction, became a petty revenge drama," read his post.
He was looking forward to a strong female protagonist but he couldn't comprehend the bad back story of 'Gulti'.
"Mejbaur Rahman Sumon's tale deals with the same issue as Samaresh Bose's Uratia (previously made into films by masters) and had his setting bang on. He had all his characters in place. He had built up a brilliant male world of greed and power with absolute naturalism. I waited for a woman to appear and destroy this rather sad, lonely world of macho power. She appeared just in time. She or Gulti is the most carelessly built up character, including her simplistic acting and a very bad back story that doesn't go with the rest of the film," said Anjan Dutt.
The noted director believes Gulti's character could have been portrayed as a 'metaphor' but sadly it turned out to be some weird snake story which didn't go well with him.
"She could have remained as a metaphor without disturbing the narrative power. Making her into an actual snake is a weird concoction, often found in Korean films, is a disaster to an otherwise great concept," added the singer.
Despite stating the negative; Anjan Dutt also highlighted the beautiful cinematography and how he was blown away by the indomitable acting by Chanchal Chowdhury.
"Absolutely brilliantly shot, Hawa is a film that captures the suffocating environment of a boat filled with complex men in the middle of a beautiful yet dangerous sea. Almost all frames are well thought out and a treat. Brilliantly acted by all the male characters, namely the subtle yet superbly lonely villian Majhi portrayed stunningly by Chanchal Chowdhury. This is his most commendable, effortless performance to date. At least among whatever I have seen of him. I have seen quite a few. Hats off Chanchal," stated the actor.
He also mentioned other actors who impressed him including Sohel, Sariful Razz, Sumon Anowar, Nasir Uddin Khan, Rizvi Rizu, Mahmud Alam, and Bablu Bose.
"I say this without any malice and respect for Sumon, who knows how to control tension. Knows how to create the sad loneliness of the villain. Then why play in the cheap gallery? With a snake squirming around her lover's corpse? It is too long a film. It could have been ruthlessly edited. I will surely look forward to his next work, which will be more uncompromising. Yet, everyone needs to see it, now that it's available on Sony Liv. Despite its tedious length, it sets a high standard," concluded the post.