Bhootpori review: Ghostly Jaya Ahsan, curious Bishantak and mysterious Ritwick Chakraborty make the film a magical watch

3.5/5

Bhootpori story: Surjo (Bishantak Mukherjee) walks in his sleep. He plays the violin without technically knowing how to play it. After seeing his mysterious movements, a scared mother Shilalipi (Sudipta Chakraborty), and father take him to her ancestral home – Kalo Thakurer bari. Shilalipi is Kalo Thakur’s (Shantilal Mukherjee) great great grand daughter. Surjo meets Bonolota (Jaya Ahsan) – an ornate ghost who can’t sleep. He also meets his guiding star, Makhon (Ritwick Chakraborty). Will there be a death? Or Surjo can manage to become the boy who survived?

Bhootpori review: Soukarya Ghoshal tells stories of a district flavour and style. He lets his imagination fly and takes us aboard. There are children in his films and they end up bowling you over. Bhootpori is one such film that poses as a horror film and makes you fall in love with the ghost, the boy, and Makhon.

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In the film, Soukarya draws inspiration from the ghost stories from our Bengali literature where ghosts are mostly friendly. Take Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay’s Gosaibaganer Bhoot for example. Young Burun refuses to be scared of the ghosts and the latter tease him for his Math paper score. These ghosts are chatty and often develop a bond with the mini protagonists. Bhootpori is that and more! Like many children's literature, there is a little boy who sees the world with wide-eyed wonder and has a well of curiosity in his belly. Surjo is ghost agnostic. But when he meets Bonolota, they develop a bond, the film does not deprive you of some amount of thrill and eerie chills down your spine. The bad man here has grey shades. The good ghost becomes unpredictable, and finally, the mysterious Makhon comes and goes without owing any explanation to the audience. Now, that is smart!

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Writing is the forte of the film. It tells a unique story with a lot of care. Through the veil of Bonolota’s ghostliness, the writer passes on a bit of the social idea of feminism and untouchability. That is interesting. The characters are real. Costumes and sets are not hideous. And finally, the VFX used is largely convincing.

However, you will love the film for its outstanding performances. Ritwick as Makhon is delectable. Besides the way his character is written, the actor too becomes the custodian of dungeons with authority. What would Sujo do without Makhon, one wonders. Jaya is also as splendid as Bonolota – the ghost. The enigma around the character comes naturally to us. Her interactions with Surjo are engaging, while her constant plea to make her voice heard is heartbreaking. Shantilal impresses with his brief appearance and Sudipta plays the perfect mother of the remarkable child.

Surjo is the lifeline of the film and Bishantok emerges as a star. He is outstanding as the protagonist. It seems to be a child’s play for Soukarya to bring the best out of a young actor.

While the overall background score in the film is fitting, the voice of the folk song by Bonolota’s father seems way too modern for the setting. Meanwhile, you might feel the ending could have been more ironed out. Even without explaining every answer to the possible questions, the film could have taken a bit more time to draw its curtain.

Bhootpori verdict: It is a must-watch not only for the beautiful story that Soukarya wishes to tell but also because of Jaya, Ritwick, and Bishantak. A true-blue Bangaliana is painted all over the film as it keeps us glued to the screen.