Directed by renowned Bengali director Raj Chakrabarty, Babli got released on August 15, 2024, on the occasion of Independence Day of India. Babli chronicles the story of the eponymous character played by Subhashree Ganguly.
Review of 'Babli':
- Cast: Subhasree Ganguly, Abir Chatterjee, Sauraseni Maitra, Sohini Sengupta, Kaushik Sen, Reshmi Sen
- Director: Raj Chakraborty
- Music: Indradeep Dasgupta
- Dialogues: Souvik Bhattacharya
- Runtime: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Genre: Romance, Drama
- Based on: The novel Babli written by Buddhadeb Guha
Story:
The story of the movie is about a sweet, chubby, outspoken girl named Damayanti, also known as Babli (played by Subhashree). She is escorted by a handsome, humble, foreign-educated man named Abhirup Sen (played by Abir) on her journey from Imphal to Dimapur by car. On the way, he befriends with Babli, a relative of his boss. On the way, their car breaks down and they are forced to live the night at a wooden house in the nearby jungle. Meanwhile, their friendship reaches a new dimension.
Later, Babli meets her school friend Jhuma Bose (played by Sauraseni) at the Kolkata Airport. Jhuma, a smart and attractive air-hostess also falls for Abhirup. Realizing this, Babli starts to feel vulnerable. Do Babli and Abhi become together again? What happens to Jhuma? Well, to know the climax, you will have watch the movie.
Strength:
The movie is set in and around 1995, and the recreation of the era is absolutely to the point. By and large, the first half is rom-com, and second half is drama, and these two elements are balanced well in this movie. The performances of Subhashree and Abir are stellar throughout the film. Subhashree acted brilliantly in emotional scenes. Abir Chatterjee naturally looks like a man of manners, so he as Abhirup Sen appears to be very credible. The performances of Kaushik Sen, Sauraseni are also praiseworthy, in their limited roles.
Weakness:
Viewers should feel attached to the protagonist, and this is somewhat missing in this film. That is why, viewers may find Babli’s activities and behaviour quite irritating in a few scenes. In order to emphasize the character Babli, other characters have been undermined to some extent. For example, the character of Jhuma has remained under-developed. Sauraseni Maitra has not got sufficient exposure in this movie.
