Dabaru review: Surya Sekhar Ganguly’s biopic deserves more than just melodrama
Surya Sekhar Ganguly is not just Bengal’s pride but glory for the entire nation. His biopic obviously deserved better treatment. Dabaru has failed to capture and represent them up to their merit.
2.5/5
May 12, 2024
Kaushik Sen and Argha Basu Roy in Dabaru
Dabaru story:
Dabaru is Surya Sekhar Ganguly’s initial journey of becoming a grandmaster. Nabin (Dipankar De) and his daughter Karuna (Rituparna Sengupta) realise that her son Souro (Samadarshi Sarkar) is a child prodigy when he defeats a seasoned chess player in their neighbourhood. Nabin, Karuna, and the chess coach Rathindra Chakraborty (Chiranjit Chakraborty) together help Souro become one of the youngest grandmasters in the world.
Dabaru review:
Dabaru had the potential to be a smart and gripping sports biopic. We barely get to watch a sports biopic in Bangla. This one could have pioneered the genre. However, it gets lost in crass sentimentality.
Also read: Dabaru: Pathikrit Basu to present a biopic of an Indian grandmaster
The weakest bit of the film is its writing and its skewed storyline. The perpetual unexplained poverty that chases Souro’s family, his brief love story that gets no resolution, the goon moneylender (Kharaj Mukherjee) being metamorphosed into something else, the peevish couple (Biswanath Basu and Sanghasri Sinha Mitra) – do not add anything substantial to the storyline. Furthermore, strategic tearjerker scenes weaken the spirit and spontaneity of the film.
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Chess chooses Souro, not the other way around. This unusual chemistry between an uncommon sport and a young North Kolkata boy could offer a fascinating drama. Instead, it gets limited by typical tropes of mushy melodrama. Dialogues are often unnecessarily loud and boring making the conversations seem unreal and imposed.
Rituparna, Shankar Chakraborty (Souro’s father), and Kaushik Sen (Samiran – Souro’s arrogant and egotistical coach) are the highest points of the film. Samadarshi steals hearts with his performance. Argha Basu Roy (teenager Souro) rises occasionally and falters sometimes. Dipankar De is satisfactory as Nabin. In fact, the bond between the grandfather and Souro is something that one can cherish. Chiranjeet’s character, on the other hand, suffers from weak dialogues and poor delivery.
The entire film is bombarded with music. Not just the essence of the film but the music is so loud that the songs are often overpowered by the music. Some of the songs are nice but the lyrics of those songs remain inaudible.
Dabaru verdict:
Surya Sekhar Ganguly is not just Bengal’s pride but glory for the entire nation. His biopic obviously deserved better treatment. Evidently, his life has chronicled outstanding drama. The film has failed to capture and represent them up to their merit.
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