With a weak storyline, A Death fails to impress


Posted June 21, 2017 by mayank77

In the 19th century, ‘paschim’ (meaning west, but referring to northern and central Indian locations, and not to be confused with ‘paaschaatya’.

 
In the 19th century, ‘paschim’ (meaning west, but referring to northern and central Indian locations, and not to be confused with ‘paaschaatya’, meaning The Occident) was a common destination for the travelling Bengali. The well-heeled among community members would travel to Deoghar, Jasidih and Ghatshila (all in Jharkhand) for the curative ‘change of air’ (hawabadal) recommended by the family doctor, Varanasi and Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) for study and pilgrimage, and Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Bhopal and Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) to work for the British government. This was even as their less enlightened brethren in the heartlands continued to live by beliefs such as the one that dictated anyone walking nine kos (one kos is a little over three kilometres) away from his village should lose his caste. But the Renaissance had arrived and its message was spreading fast.

In 1933, Irishman Ernest Timothy McCluskie set up McCluskieganj near Ranchi, in the scenic backdrop of the Lohardaga Ghat hills and the Dugadugi river, as a mooluk (homeland) for Anglo-Indians. Just under 475 km from Kolkata, the town soon became a favourite getaway for Bengali holidaymakers who, along with Gujaratis, have traditionally been the most active in the domestic tourism scene. Set in the pre-liberalisation 1970s and depicting the lives of the Bengali jeunesse dorée, A Death in the Gunj is actor Konkona Sensharma’s first directorial venture and is based on a slice-of-life penned by her father, the writer Mukul Sharma. And from context to content, in so many ways, it is a Bengali film in English just as Shoojit Sircar’s Piku is a Bengali film in Hindi.

The film opens with a panoramic shot of the misty jungles of McCluskieganj with hill ranges on the horizon. The camera cuts to two men standing in front of the open boot of a car, discussing how best to fit “a body” inside it. Who died? What led to their demise? The entire story is told in retrospect.
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Last Updated June 21, 2017