Chowrasta Review

The film weaves together four different tales that run parallel to each other. Nandana (Roopa Ganguly) is a fading Bollywood star who discovers she is living on borrowed time, so she is desperately in search of someone who will look after her 12 year old son. Rita (Aparajita) and Sunny (Naved Aslam) have eloped and got married but now on their honeymoon they realize their marriage isn"t really a bed of roses.

Jimmy (Victor) is a planter in Darjeeling who is unable to get over his wife"s death. He keeps writing emotional letters to his already deceased wife. The loneliness is out to kill him and he even contemplates suicide. Kenny (Atul Kulkarni) is a terrorist who is on the run from police realizes all that he has been doing till now, the cause that he was fighting for is all worthless as no one is really interested whether he remains alive or dead. All the characters are in Darjeeling seeking something. What happens when their paths cross and what they end up achieving which leads to a major change in their lives forms the rest of the film.

Anjan Dutta is not new to viewing multiplex narrative tales. He did it earlier with Bong Connection and Bow Barracks Forever. What make this film interesting are the characterizations, of especially those of Victor Bannerjee, Roopa Ganguly and Atul Kulkarni. It further helps that these actors take the film to a higher level with their good acting. Rest all actors do a commendable job too. The film"s plotline isn"t as complicated as it appears but is actually wonderfully multilayered.

The symbolic title is another master stroke that works well as it gels perfectly with what the characters in the film end up with. The film is a little lethargically paced, unfolding the events taking its own sweet time but then actually it works because of the scenic setting of the Darjeeling hills. Cinematographer Indraneel Mukherjee has done a splendid job in capturing the beauty of the famous North Eastern hill station. The background music deserves special mention as well.

The film makes for a good watch if you want to see something really sensible in these days of mindless entertainers or high pitched melodramas. With its just 90 minutes running time, you won't end up losing much.