Chokher Balee- The movie

[TigerFan]

I just finished watching it. Good, very good! It has enough depth to make my mind jingle. I have few questions though.

1. What is this Chokher Balee about?
2. What is this main character Chokher Balee?
3. Why did she leave even after Bihaar baby proposed her?
4. Where could she go?
5. What is the conclusion?
6. What is the meaning of the conclusion?

I know to many questions.oops:, but I know someone will manage to answer and I hope someone will answer. Thanks!

Edited on, December 30, 2004, 11:52 AM GMT, by TigerFan.

[fab]

Read the book. Apparently it is much better and it will probably answer your questions. I saw this movie in London, but since it was in Hindi, with no subtitles and a Bangladeshi man was loudly explaining the ENTIRE movie on his mobile phone to his wife (in a dialect I couldn't comprehend; my cousin tells me it was Sylheti), I didn't really understand what was going on in the movie.

But Suchitra Sen's grand-daughter played her part perfectly.

[rafiq]

It's a great tragedy to watch this movie in Hindi. Just awful.

[Ahmed_B]

This movie has got 'Bangla-Version' too.

[Mr-khan]

I saw the 'Bangla-Version' and it was nice.Specially dialouge.
Some information abt this movie.
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0366304/

Edited on, December 31, 2004, 7:14 PM GMT, by mr-khan.

[Tehsin]

I had the movie, didn't watch it as not a big fan of desi movies (yet i do watch and have seen millions of them). Those who have seen it and READ the book tells me that the movie is ok but not half as good as the book. Figures.

Read the book first and than watch the movie.

[TigerFan]

Originally posted by tehsin
Read the book first and than watch the movie.

Good advice, thanks.

[rafiq]

in case the point was missed, this WAS a bangla movie, dubbed in Hindi for the DVD release. The version played at film festivals (inc. the one where i first saw it) was in Bangla. And the story does differ a bit from the original, there are reasons for that.

[reinausagi]

Good movie. For those younger folks who haven't seen any of the 'older' movies (when bangladeshi film-making was in it's infancy) if you can dig up a copy of Ononto-Prem, or Shimana-Periye you'll find a working marriage of cinematographic competency and a commercialy viable product.

[Shubho]

I am sick and tired of these lame-a$$ Bangla movies that people want to pass off as classy art films. They are boring. Period. Yes, they touch on important themes, but the presentational quality is a joke. I guess one can't really fault the actors, it is the directors that are truly to blame. Satyajit Ray, for example, might have won a lot of accolades, but the fact is that he and all other Bangali directors of his ilk have produced nothing but o'er-long movies that have absolutely no entertainment value. Pather Pachali, Gopi Gyne Bagha Byne and a whole host of others come to mind.

I can already hear you Bangalee forum members growling in anger at my comments, but the fact remains that most of us have seen more Hindi movies in our lifetimes than Bangla ones. The reason, of course, is that we value Hindi cinema's entertainment value more. That's a fact. No matter how much you beat the Bangla drum, it ain't gonna help. Sorry, but you'll still find 5-10 year olds in B'Desh humming along to Dil To Pagal Hai. You won't find them putting up big, glossy pictures of Uttam Kumar.

[Arnab]

Haha! Where did Shubho come from?

[fab]

I don't think this movie classifies as an Art Film.

Satyajit Ray, for example, might have won a lot of accolades, but the fact is that he and all other Bangali directors of his ilk have produced nothing but o'er-long movies that have absolutely no entertainment value.

Speak for yourself! They have no entertainment value for those with the attention span of a fish and who need nothing more than eye candy to satisfy. :P

[Zunaid]

Originally posted by Arnab
Haha! Where did Shubho come from?

Yeah... Welcome back btw. Missed your Lord's Prayer.

[Tehsin]

Wow, we finally hear from shubho. Atleast we know that he is passionate about his movies as well.

[Shubho]

Thank you very much for the welcome back. After a prolonged period of abstinence (obsession over one thing is never good), I've decided to return from my self-imposed exile.

Now, about Bangla movies...they're plain horrible (with a few exceptions). Yes, I enjoyed Chadda Beshi, Shashi Babur Shangshar and Shesh Porjanta, but that's about it. Everything is a heap of rubbish dressed up as "high-thought", "super-intelligent", "ATELectual" bullcrap.

I think I actually prefer the rickshawallah trash that Bangladeshi cinema produces these days because they're our version of slapstick comedy. Instant classics are the following:

Baba Keno Chakor
Shami Keno Ashami
Lompot
Bidrohi Bodhu
Chair Keno Table (okay, so I made that one up; but you get my point.)

And modern Bangladeshi movies have excellent musical numbers like that favourite of every tokai in Dhaka:

Bhalobashiya gelam fashiya
korte hobe ebar biya
shonali chand
*something something* ghugu
tun tuna tun, tun tuna tun, tun tuna tun tun
(sorry I forgot the lyrics...):embaressed:

So, Chokher Balee can kiss my fat, brown, wobbly ___ (fill in the blanks).

[Tehsin]

Shubho, a little dissapointed with you. You got me all hooked with the first two lines of the songs (i started to day dream about me and Moushumi running around in the park - Gaach er daal dhore dhore) and then the something something brought me back to painful reality. I neither have the BHURI, nor the strength to carry the likes of moushumi.

[Spitfire_x86]

Originally posted by Shubho
I am sick and tired of these lame-a$$ Bangla movies that people want to pass off as classy art films. They are boring. Period. Yes, they touch on important themes, but the presentational quality is a joke. I guess one can't really fault the actors, it is the directors that are truly to blame. Satyajit Ray, for example, might have won a lot of accolades, but the fact is that he and all other Bangali directors of his ilk have produced nothing but o'er-long movies that have absolutely no entertainment value. Pather Pachali, Gopi Gyne Bagha Byne and a whole host of others come to mind.

What the .... is "Art Film" and "Commercial Film"?? This has been the main problem for Subcontinent movies. You won't find these 2 genres in any film catalogue.

I've seen many Satyajit Ray's films. Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, Hirok Rajar Deshe were excellent Musical/Comedy, if you forgive the technical limitations, then they can easlily join the rank of classics in this genre. For Apu trilogy, I've seen 2 of them, both sucked big time, people like me who are fan of the Original book Pather Pachali and Aporajito should hate this trilogy, Satyajit ruthlessly murdered these novels for his movie. Luckily, the original writer of those books died before Satyajit made those movies, he surely wouldn't like to see his stories deformed by Satyajit. Satyajit movies usually lack good pacing, otherwise he could've made more classsics like Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, Hirok Rajar Deshe. I give Satyajit for trying to make real movies, he used scores though most of them are ordinary, I don't think anybody before him thought about using unique scores for movies.

Hindi mainstream movie makers are as bad as typical Bangla movie makers, they just have better techical capability and better skilled at the art of ripping off good movies. Both of them share many stupidities. Many characters, especially main characters can "sing" the movies, actors dancing like mad man are couple of very noticable things. Almost every mainstream Hindi/Bangla movies look more "Jatra Pala" type melodrama rather than a real movie.

My advice to subcontinent movie makers: First get rid of the so called "Musicals" from movie. Then there's room for improvement in other areas.


Edited on, January 4, 2005, 2:24 PM GMT, by Spitfire_x86.

[TigerFan]

Originally posted by Spitfire_x86
My advice to subcontinent movie makers: First get rid of the so called "Musicals" from movie. Then there's room for improvement in other areas.

I also do agree that musics has to be out of the film. Film should be practical.