Baishe Srabon

Srijit Mukherji's 2011 Bengali film follows a series of murders in Kolkata. The killer leaves lines of Bengali poetry after each one, and the police turn for help to a former detective who was removed from duty. At the centre is the tension between these two officers: one bound by rules, the other having used violence as a method and paid for it. What is interesting is the connection drawn to the Hungryalist movement in Bengali literature; bringing poetry and forgotten poets into the story adds a layer unusual in the serial killer genre. Prosenjit Chatterjee's performance carries the film. Its weakness is that the woman journalist finds too little room in the story, and that the ending feels over-arranged. Who it's for: viewers interested in Bengali cinema and crime films with literary reference. Who it's not for: anyone uncomfortable with graphic murder scenes, or unfamiliar with the Bengali literary context who will miss the references.