Drishtikone| Movie Review| Loving Enough to Let it Go

Image Courtesy: Surinder Films

They say, sometimes the best form of love is the one that’s left unfinished or unrequited or tragically frozen in time. As sadistic it might seem, but often, the most intense and unforgettable love arrives in such forms. And celluloid have always welcomed unconventional love stories with open arms. Irrespective of that fact, Drishtikone stands out as a familiarly unconventional story about love, but not necessarily a love story. The film leaves no stones unturned to register itself as one of the most prominent relationship dramas made in the last couple of years.

I won’t delve much into the storyline because this review is more of an attempt to emotionally decrypt the myriad of emotions that I reeled through while watching the film rather than acting as a voluntary storyteller and spoil the fun for those who are yet to catch the film, because I have always felt, unveiling the story of a film always reflects on the reviewer’s poor insight!

As the title itself has the word “কোণ” in it, which reads “angle” on literal translation, there’s no guessing that the film exhibits and establishes several angles in several means throughout the narrative- different angles of emotions, angles of characters, angles of relationships, angles of thrill and most importantly, the different angles of perceiving the truth. The story follows the lives of Srimoti (played by Rituparna Sengupta), who is on a pursuit of seeking justice for her deceased husband (Kaushik Sen) and Jiyon (Prosenjit Chatterjee), an advocate by profession, who seemingly leads a happy family life with his wife Rumki (Churni Ganguly) and their 2 kids. Director Kaushik Ganguly accumulates all his directorial genius in astutely establishing the changing dynamics of Jiyon, Srimoti and Rumki’s relationships. From capturing the subtle frowns to the hesitant fixation of eyes, Drishtikone soars with brilliance in attesting the qualms, envy, insecurity and helpless of its central characters.

Where we are habituated in seeing flamboyant, melodramatic love triangles, overdone confrontations, impracticable character growths- Drishtikone breaks the popular trend in a commendable way and shows the real struggles of triangular relationships in a much more somber, realistic and relatable manner. The thrill and suspense elements are skillfully blended in the story that, despite getting predictable at times, they do not let you drift away from the core subject line.  The metaphor of “দৃষ্টি”  Or “vision” is beautifully imposed in the film as we see the characters struggle with “light” and “darkness” in both literal and figurative sense. So when Jiyon exclaims, "অন্ধকারটা তোমাদের থেকে একটু বেশিই দেখতে পাই", it hits right in the feels where it makes you ponder how at times, darkness engulfs us all- even the ones with eyesight. The character developments and transformations too, never appear to be rushed. As Jiyon, Srimoti and Rumki gets unknowingly entangled in the eternal battle between light and darkness, love and righteousness, the audience also take a trip to some of their unscathed feelings, unsaid confessions and unexpressed commitments.

Image Courtesy: Surinder Films

The match-winner for Drishtikone is undoubtedly its prodigious cast, their powerhouse performances and definitely the long-standing celebrated on-screen chemistry between Prosenjit and Rituparna that proved once again that 48 films together can still ignite the same fire over and over again. The ‘Prosenjit- Rituparna magic’ which was evidently the primary USP of the film from its inception, unquestionably turns out to be inexplicably magical. It takes a welcome detour from their 90s and early 2000’s collaborations (where Bumbda and Ritu di meant fancy dances, overdramatic dialogues)- to a commendable maturity and composed exchange between the two each time they shared the frame. I think the greatest success mantra for a celebrated pair is the amount of spark and chemistry that flies between them even when they’re not romancing each other. And this is where Kaushik Ganguly and Drishtikone excels. It takes out the best of the chemistry between its lead pairs even in scenes where there is nothing but silence, in moments where there is nothing but aggressive confrontations.

However, for me and I know for many, the biggest treasure of Drishtikone is Churni Ganguly- her impeccable expressions, her unmistakable silence, her minute nuances and her admirable subtleties! I can’t seem to recall the last time since Anirban Bhattacharya in Egoler Chokh, has any actor in a supporting role left me this speechless, until her in this film. Each time she was on screen- she reminded me of Alicia Vikander as Gerda in The Danish Girl, that relentless, indomitable wife who would reach for the impossible for the ones she’s entitled to love and protect. For me, if Drishtikone has a hero, it’s Churni. She wins each scene she is in, she appears the rightful prototype of those of us, who sacrificed immeasurable possibilities and opportunities in life, just for the sake of love, just to protect the ideals of a perfect family but never truly losing herself in the process. The look you have on your face when you see the love of your life becoming the love of someone else’s, the feels you go through when the most important person in your life prioritize someone else over you- I don’t know such looks and feels could have been so incredibly demonstrated on screen if not by Churni.

The only downside of the film, according to me was its dialogues. A film that felt like poem could have been a poetry with just a little crispier and memorable dialogues. Otherwise, Drishtikone is a winner in all true sense. It takes the age-old concept of “love” with all its possibilities and intricacies and presents it in such a convincing and matured form that you cannot help but laud.

To sum it up, Drishtikone succeeds in establishing that yes, the most passionate, the most memorable forms of love are often left unfinished, unaddressed, unacknowledged and in that lies its true attainment. Sometimes the hardest goodbyes are meant to be said for the much needed beginnings, not because the love that was there isn’t there anymore, but because it knows that sometimes “letting go” is the best way to keep that love alive.
So quoting some favorite lines from a Kelly Clarkson song,

“You know that I love you so
I love you enough to let you go”

© Shreya Mitra | From a Whisper to a Scream| Blogpost 2018|