Bengali Movie Chatrak Review
Visually, Chatrak is a masterpiece of discomfort. Cinematographer Chintan Rajkumar shoots Kolkata in washed-out grays and sickly yellows, contrasting it with the eerie, phosphorescent glow of the mushroom caves. The pacing is deliberately slow, almost meditative, forcing the viewer to sit with the stench and sweat of the city.
Upon release, Chatrak polarized audiences. Mainstream Bengali viewers expecting a traditional narrative found it “bizarre” and “pretentious.” Critics, however, praised its audacity. It traveled to several international film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and the London Film Festival. Bengali Movie Chatrak
The film follows two half-brothers returning to Kolkata for very different reasons. The first, a successful architect named Sonny (played by Paoli Dam), has returned from Paris to oversee a massive real estate project. The second, an alcoholic vagabond named Tunny (played by Samrat Chakrabarti), has returned to the city to die. Visually, Chatrak is a masterpiece of discomfort