Lokkhi Chele review: Kaushik Ganguly creates a deeply disturbing saga that holds a mirror up to society

3.5/5

Story: Little Lokkhi – the miracle child with a rare condition giving him four arms – has become the “god child” – reincarnation of Ma Lokkhi – in a village that is situated light-years away from the enlightened campuses of Kolkata. It is a village of Dalits, where Lokkhi’s ancestors have lived and endured much racism, injustice, and humiliation. Rajat Narayan Roy (Indrasis Roy), the high-caste landlord and their local and moral guardian, and his associates see this as a means to make the village a popular destination, and also an opportunity to make money. Amir Hussain (Ujaan Ganguly), Shibnath (Purab Seal Acharya) and Gayatri (Ritwika Pal) – three junior doctors – see through the deception of superstitions and blind faith and identify the clinical condition of Lokkhi. The baby was born with a rare condition where a conjoined twin did not fully form. In pursuit of treating Lokkhi, Amir and his friends take extraordinary steps. Finally, however, they realise that treating superstition and blind faith is beyond their reach.

Review: Durga Puja is around the corner. As we gear up to celebrate and worship Mohisasuramardini – a deity with 10 hands – Kaushik Ganguly offers us a small reality check on where our society really stands vis-a-vis our girl children, caste system and blind reactionary faith even in today’s world. Inspired by the true story of Lakshmi Tatma – a baby who was born with eight limbs in Bihar in 2005 – Lokkhi Chele is a realistic fiction that tears hearts into pieces.

This powerful and realistic film definitely reminds us of Ray’s Ganashatru, Devi and more importantly, Utpalendu Chakraborty’s Debsishu. The first half of the film is almost flawless. Like his Cinemawala and Shabdo, Kaushik seamlessly captures the life and struggle of marginal people of rural Bengal. Never does it appear to be out of place, or imposed. Their poverty, their festivals, worship, blind faith in destiny, their compromises with the upper caste and the rest of the world – everything looks so real that it transcends the borders of Bengal and also becomes a reflection of India’s social life at the margins.

The film somewhat loses its grip by the beginning of the second half. It not only becomes verbose but the comfort of an affluent household of Dr Mitali Sen (Churni Ganguly), the arrogance of Rwitobroto (Babul Supriyo) and the clockwork string-pulling look imposed and unconvincing. The preachy lectures of Amir, Mitali and Rwitobroto mess up the flow. In fact, dialogue is one of the weakest links in the film. It sounds flowery at times, especially when different characters narrate their version of the story.

Furthermore, the film’s logical structure has major cracks at some places. Three experienced established people of the society letting three young boys (junior doctors) and an aspiring journalist venture into a superstitious village on a noble mission is trifle unrealistic.

Meanwhile, the film excels in the acting department. This is undoubtedly Ujaan’s film and he has done a very good job. He has matured as an actor. He practically steals the show in the last 10 minutes. He is duly supported by Ritwika and Purab. Purab is natural while Ritwika brings a sense of serenity to the screen. However, a little more exploration of Purab’s character as Amir’s friend Shibnath could have been entertaining. Meanwhile, the showstopper remains Indrasis. He overpowers with his entry, rustic swag, arrogance and dialect. In a word, he is brilliant in the film. Churni and Joydeep Mukherjee (as Anwar Hussain, Amir's father) are fairly convincing. The weakest part is Babul Supriyo as Rwitobrito. His Bengali pronunciation is problematic and his performance cannot match the rest.

Verdict: Lokhi Chele is a must-watch. Besides the issue that the film deals with, its treatment, violence, disturbance and subtle non-linear storytelling are something that we have not seen in Bengali films for a while. There are problems in the film and yet we must encourage our friends, family members and colleagues to watch it just for the sake of the issue it deals with. Lokkhi Chele is an unsettling film that should be watched and rewatched until we see an end to the dark reality of superstitions in India.