Kedara is not just a film but a complete sequence of how boredom, stagnancy and transformation can be depicted in a beautiful way. Directed by Indradip Dasgupta and scripted by Srijato Bandhopadhay this movie pays a eulogic tribute to a dying art form, Ventriloquism.
The film narrates the story of a feeble and supressed man Narasingha (Kausik Ganguly) who lives in a decrepit ancestral home but whose life is nothing but eloped in solitude and darkness. The protagonist is seen walking through uncharted path of his desires and passions. The man is alone in the world without a kin and whose wife has left him years back due to their differences. Narasingha has a powerful imagination as we see him overcoming his loneliness by mimicking the voice of his aunt, grandmother whom he loved dearly.
His grandmother had passed away when he was too young and we find him dearly longing for her love and it breaks ones heart to see how he mimics her voice so that he gets some company and solace. The skill of cinematography used here makes it nostalgic because the film beautifully connects the past and present of a man’s life. Though his house his gloomy and silent, but Narasingha finds solace there.
We find the man’s deep longing to go back to past and his utter dismal of not being able to go reflected wonderfully in the movie. Though scorned, shunned and ill treat by the world we find our docile protagonist having only one person as his close friend called Khesto, the junk dealer with whom he shared his feelings.
For Khesto , Narasingha babu was more like his elder brother and thus once presented him with an armchair and a mirror that he got from an ancestral palace. The wooden armchair not only restores his lost confidence but also brings about a series of drastic change in his personality at the cost of his sanity. In the end we find that Narasingha submerges deep in his own world so hard that he becomes silent to the world’s chaos.
Kaushik Ganguly’s wonderful acting and the beautiful setups and cinematography are definitely praiseworthy. The movie is worth a watch. However, it is quite serious and grim that may stir some unanswered questions in the viewer’s heart and make them a little uneasy.The direction and script should be looked upon as example by the recent Bengali moviemakers.
(Author is a coordinator, Class XI, South Point High School)