বেপরোয়া বিভীষণ

একদিকে আইসির মেয়ের বিয়ে সামনে, তাই তিনি ভীষণ ব্যস্ত!

অপরদিকে ওসিও নিজের নাতনির অন্নপ্রাশনের আয়োজন করতে বাড়িতে।

তাই বলাগড় থানাটা সেদিনের মতো চালানোর ভার পেল, এসআই বিধান সেন, যার বাড়িতে আবার স্ত্রী একলা থাকে এবং সে সন্তানসম্ভবা, তাই তারও মনে চিন্তা অনেক!

কিন্তু তা বললে চলবে কেন? চোরডাকাত তো আর বসে থাকবে না! তাই সেদিন দুপুরের দিকে কাছের জঙ্গল থেকে একটা অচেনা লাশ উদ্ধার হলেও খুব একটা বিশেষ রকমের অস্বাভাবিক কিছু লাগেনি কারুর। কিন্তু মুশকিলটা শুরু হল তারপর পুলিশের প্রায় নাকের ডগা দিয়ে যখন সেই লাশের মাথাটা কেউ হাপিস করে দিল। এতেই অবশ্য ব্যাপারটা থামল না! এই লাশের মাথা খুঁজতে বেড়িয়ে বেরোল আরেকটা লাশ, তবে এবার মাথা সমেত! বিধান সেনের এই অবস্থায় নিজের মাথা, মানের নিজের চাকরীটা সামলানোই দায় হয়ে পড়ল। একে জোড়া খুন, তার উপর চুরির কেস তো থানায় লেগেই আছে! সাথে মাথা হারানোর সম্পূর্ণ দায়। আইসি হাত তুলে দিয়েছেন, ওসি অবশ্য সাহায্য করে যাচ্ছেন সাধ্যমতো, আর সাহায্যের ব্যাপারে সাথে আছে সহকর্মীরা, যাদের অবশ্য জিজ্ঞাসাবাদ করার ক্ষমতাটা মোটামুটি গুছিয়ে থার্ড ডিগ্রি প্রয়োগের মধ্যেই সীমাবদ্ধ। এ হেন পুলিশের দল নিয়ে বিধান কি পারবে অপরাধী ধরতে? বলতেই পারতাম যে জানার জন্য দেখতেই হবে.....ইত্যাদি, ইত্যাদি। কিন্ত না, তাহলে বোধহয় খানিকটা ভুলই বলতাম।

মজাটা হল, গল্পটা থ্রিলারধর্মী মনে হলেও, তার আসল রূপটা হলো মনস্তাত্ত্বিক। আর এখানেই পরিচালক, রাজা চন্দের মুন্সিয়ানা, যেখানে অপরাধীকে ধরার থেকে তার মনটার হদিশ পাওয়া ও তারপর তার দখল নেওয়াটা গুরুত্বপূর্ণ হয়ে উঠেছে। একদম প্রথম থেকেই যার মায়াবী মুর্চ্ছনা ধরা পড়েছে রথীজিৎ ভট্টাচার্য রচিত অসাধারণ এক ওপেনিং স্কোরের মাধ্যমে। সুবীর মান্নার পরিমিত মেকআপ ও শর্বরী চক্রবর্তীর সামঞ্জস্যপূর্ণ পোষাক চয়ন, দৃশ্যগুলোকে অস্বাভাবিকরকম স্বাভাবিক করে তুলতে পেরেছে।

অভিনয়ে সোহম মজুমদার ঠিকই আছে, তবে কথাটা খানিক কম চিবিয়ে বললে আর ক্ষেত্র নির্বিশেষে চলনবলনটা আরেকটু কম নরম করলে চরিত্রটা প্রয়োজনীয় পুষ্টি পেত! অবশ্য দেখার মতো অভিনয় করেছেন দেবপ্রিয় মুখার্জ্জী ও অমিত সাহা। চরিত্রের মধ্যে সম্পূর্ণ ঢুকে গিয়েও কি সাবলীল অভিনয় দেখানো যায়, আমার উত্তরোত্তর পছন্দের শিল্পী, এই দেবপ্রিয় মুখার্জ্জী, তাই যেন প্রমাণ করছেন বারবার। অমিত সাহাও লা জবাব! স্রেফ যেন অভিব্যক্তি দিয়েই মাত করে দিলেন।

তাই বলছি, সিরিজটা দেখা দরকার। ভুলত্রুটি হয়তো অল্পবিস্তর হলেও আছে, কিন্তু তারই মাঝে ভাবনার কিছু সূক্ষ্ম খোরাকও যে বিছিয়ে রাখা আছে।

Primarily Paatal Lok

There is a word called 'unputdownable', for books. I don't know any equivalent term for TV shows. But if there had been any, Paatal Lok, Season 2, would fit the bill precisely!

If the Season 1 was great, the 2^nd serving will be felt tremendous! With a surprise pace and a gripping tale, the twists are just too many to be comprehensively penned. But leaving the thrill inherent, what wins the heart is the hope that survives and the honesty that satisfies!

The decapitated remains of a Naga leader in his own restroom at the Nagaland Sadan in Delhi threatens the fate of a political summit bitterly. Obvious ripples are felt in Nagaland where the political situation becomes tense. The Delhi cops are alerted and ACP Imran Ansari is assigned the case. Meanwhile, Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary of the Outer Jamuna Paar PS is on a case to find a trumpeteer of a local band party who was reported to have not come home for days at a stretch. Curiously enough, this apparently ordinary case seemed to hold a significant key to the assassination case. The point was brought to notice by Chaudhary, the man with the eidetic memory, a personal asset that came in handy more than once while both the cases proceeded. However, the authorities were initially reluctant in involving Chaudhary, a mere inspector, in the investigation of a murder, labelled to be immensely sensitive in the political regime. But ACP Ansari, the once junior to Chaudhary while in his 1^st appointment, recommended for his revered mentor and the team of two set sail to crack the case just like old times. But the latest mission seemed to be pitted against varied levels of hurdles with the atmosphere of Nagaland turning increasingly hostile, a feeling of mistrust flowing through the ranks, each of their steps being minutely surveilled upon and to top it all, a lone sniper on the loose, apparently on a killing schedule, erasing witnesses at the slightest of opportunities!

So, the stage is set, the suspense is created but what remains is the flurry of twists that creates all the difference!

A season, rivetingly directed (Avinash Arun), well surpasses the predecessor (directed by Avinash Arun and Prosit Roy) both in thrill and pace! Created by Sudip Sharma, the themes are fabulous and twists, though a few tragic, but are unprecedented. Then there is Jaideep Ahlawat as the indomitable Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary whom you'll just love from the word go! With an appearance as gruff as can be, and gait, visibly clumsy particulary while on a chase, the character will inspire awe with the determination that he showcases. Jaideep Ahlawat is simply magnificent with all the naturalness that he portrays and the naive desperation that he projects. The utter helplessness of the salaried, yet the sense of duty that prevails, the character of Hathiram couldn't be more sincerely portrayed. Gul Panag reprises her role as Renu Chaudhary but surpasses her acting with a presence that commands sympathy and respect. Ishwak Singh as ACP Imran Ansari supports ably in a major way while Nikita Grover also refreshes with her wee bit of presence as Constable Manju Verma. Infact, the season seems to be trimmed to perfection, mainly due to all the artists apparently performing, all too precisely without overdoing anything!

The series, designed to be just a thriller, actually becomes appealing not for the rush of adrenaline but for the maturity of remaining practical, while the underlying theme resonates with the dilemma of choosing the priority when protocol of the assigned job comes in conflict with the moral duty that the responsible heart desires.

Aakhri Sach: the ultimate terror!

Based on true events, the series tries to search for the terrifying truth behind the apparently eerie deaths of all the members of a humble household. With thorough research, the season searches for the ultimate truth behind the apparently bizarre tragedy. Spanning for a gripping length of six episodes, the series delves into the psychology of the individuals to find the rationale behind the incomparably horrific incident.

The neighbourhood of Rajawat family in Delhi suddenly turned to be the focus of the entire country on the fateful morning when the inhabitants were all discovered dead, the only individual living being their chained pet dog. Of the eleven member household, ten were found hanging to death in the courtyard, while the lone eleventh, the eldest, was located strewn dead in her bedroom.

A family, who was reported to have no significant problem with the neighbours, with a business that was gradually prospering and one of their younger members being recently engaged to be married, seemed to be the most improbable candidate for such a catastrophic fate. Police investigations to gather evidence against the primary suspects of the fiancé and the local crime syndicates were drawing blanks till a startling find turned the tides with curiously grim facts. A visit to the ancestral home in the village from where the Rajawats hailed and the discovery of a bundle of regularly maintained logbooks completely changed the course of enquiry. A psychological autopsy seemed to be the demand of the case that required a critical probe to the psyche of the family. The dreadful mystery was not only to be solved but the answers to several baffling questions needed to be firmly established!

Written by Saurav Dey and Ritu Shri and directed by Robbie Grewal, the chillingly compact drama patiently crafts a fiction that retains a true theme. Abhishek Banerjee is not only fascinating as always, but he surely played one of his remarkably critical roles to date with his politely dominating countenance to portray a central character, which remained central to the theme as well. Tamanna Bhatia, with her measured gaits, added the right amount of seriousness to the series while Rahul Bagga supporting the act ably with the added appeal of his signature baritone.

The thrilling drama is worth watching that probes, albeit through fictitiously reconstructed events, a frightening mystery with twists, which had challenged the regular intellect!

Cracking mysteries with The Mentalist

The acute interpreter of human behaviour and gestures will keep you engrossed in this thrilling drama by the risks he takes, the traps he sets and the antics he plays. Just completed watching the thrill laced adventure, which, on the one hand, has mystery as the central element, while on the other, has a fair share of drama as well. Essentially a police procedural, but as the name suggests, the theme is focussed on the single investigator. Once, a con artist, the alleged psychic with a keen insight into behaviours, turned into a consultant to the authorities in nabbing the scariest of criminals, solving the strangest of crimes, while secretly harbouring his chief agenda of avenging the murder of his wife and daughter.

Created by Bruno Heller, the seven part series is a study of human psychology that reveals the various shades of human emotions in the grimmest of circumstances. Simon Baker plays the sauve protagonist with keen observational power in Patrick Jane who is kind on the one hand, while opportunistic in the other, but alway maintaining a principle of striking the bad while defending his own, though at times, his actions will raise serious doubts as to his courage. Complimenting him with a predictable yet assured stance is Robin Tunney as Teresa Lisbon, introduced very early as the boss of Jane, balancing her colleagues with a smiling face and a professional astuteness. The natural interrogator in Kimbal Cho is trimmed to perfection by the impassive Tim Kang. The cheerful Owain Yeoman as the optimistic Wayne Rigsby and the naive countenance of Amanda Righetti as the sweetly sentimental Grace Van Pelt, who were regular in the initial few seasons but appeared intermittently as the show gradually converged, complimented the serious tone by their spontaneous romance, blended quite happily with the correct measure of humour.

The investigative methods are really thrilling to watch but the protagonist possessing the mental ability that stretches the limits of imagination, keeps reality at bay and though the suspense and mystery are retained but it is intense drama that ultimately entertains.