Pariah Volume 1: Every Street Dog Has a Name

First of all congratulations to Tathagata for presenting a commercial movie to the Bengali audience. But when Tathagata movie, I expected a touch of art from him. But disappointed.

Concept and storyline are good. Everyone's acting is good. Especially new faces. The most notable among them is Vikram's friend. He acted very fluently. Such actors should be given more opportunities. Hope to see Vikram more in commercial movies. It was very good to see Ambarish in a negative role. Many thanks to the director for removing him from the shell of the comedy and presenting him to the audience in a different role.

Cold room has a view it is made in very small scale. It could have been shot better. The VFX work is very poor.

When it comes to a real mass entertainer with a gripping storyline that hooks audience till the end , Bengali movies somehow fall short. Back to back copy paste of South Indian movies with more or less same cliche plot almost destroyed the main stream cinema. As an alternative, detective franchise, treasure hunt and family/ relationship drama came in, and was able to pull a certain section of the audience to theater. But again, repeatation couldn't be avoided and those movies too , started loosing audience slowly. In such a scenario Pariah is a much needed movie that had to be done here.

It's a story of a man with a mysterious past who works in a factory and lives a quiet life somewhere in Kolkata. Very soon he will go to any length to destroy inhumane brutality on street dogs after a violent incident happened one night.

The treatment is completely new in Bengali cinema, given the movies we have been watching decades after decades. It's dark , scary and violent. The degree of violence is extremely high. For a faint hearted audience it might be difficult to watch some of the scene but for most of the fans of John Wick franchise, Kill Bill ( vol 1&2) , The Raid and it's sequel and other South Korean raw action films , this movie is a treat to watch. This movie is something we have been waiting for a long time, a long long time and finally we got it in 2024. What a vission from director Tathagata Mukherjee !!

Storyline draws empathy for the voiceless and a real dog lover can relate with every single moment more precisely. Screenplay is almost perfect, gripping and hold your attention till the end. Some scenes could have been much better but that's not a big issue, nothing is absolutely perfect in this world.

Vikram Chatterjee has delivered his career best performance so does Soumya Mukherjee the lead antagonist. The tussle between the two will leave you speechless. Vikram shines brilliantly while portraying his grudge , loneliness and breathes fire in action sequences and we must say that our next real action hero has arrived. And Soumya, what a performance!! I don't remember the last time I got really scared watching a villain in a Bengali film. Sreelekha Mitra , Angana Roy and especially Ambarish Bhattacharya have also done a fine job.

Action sequences are terrific. It's raw and brutal. You see blood all over. It's a blood bath and yes it's not something copied from a South film. Action sequences will haunt you for ever. It's not taking place in a foreign location with many stylish cars, guns and gadgets but rather in a grim and scary meat butchering shop with chopper and electric saw. Could you remember ,you have ever seen anything like this in a Bengali movie ?

Background score, cinematography and other technical aspects also heightened the tension of thie film. The bgm that comes at every scene where Vikram thrashes the bad guys will give you real high.

Pariah is a movie you should not miss if you are a fan of brutal action movies. Hope this will be a trend setter for how mass movie should be made here. Highly recommended!!

N. B. This movie has given homage to John Wick perfectly. It's not a copy paste of neither John Wick nor Lakadbagdha. Simply ignore those who are spreading this sort of negativity and watch it in theater. It's worth every penny .

Pariah is a great example to show that the Bengal film industry also has capabilities. The storyline of the film holds the strongest plus point where it has maintained a serious tone throughout the movie also including an epic twist at the end. Not forgetting about Vikram's performance here, he completely proves himself as an action star rather than just some small serial actors. I would this is his best performance so far, that grumpy and intense look in his face, his body transformation, everything was in a different level. Considering the low budget, the VFX and CGI could be laid off. However, the execution of the story could have been improved. Other than that it was a top-notch experience. Loved the violence.

The intention and the action displayed are appreciable, however, the execution fell short, leaving me quite shocked to be honest, as the overwhelmingly positive reception led me to bear much higher expectations.

The script is devoid of depth, especially in terms of character buildups and the emotions they carry. It's a technical misfire as well.

The editing is subpar, with noticeable 'frame' repetitions. The visual effects are not up to par, as evident in the looped footage of caged dogs in the climax. The background score, while suitable for the setting, ultimately became monotonous, deprived of variations!

Thankfully the performances hit the notes well, especially that of Soumya's. He had the most amounts of dialogue to throw and he did not disappoint in his deliveries! Vikram was competent in doing action but needed to better in dramatic portions.

Brutal, honest and emotional- this film is a brilliant attempt at something new. I would have loved to see a stronger bond between the little black puppy and the protagonist but I think that's being saved for the later instalments. The grisly tone of the film perfectly depicts the plight that stray dogs go through. I myself feed them each night and I know the ordeals. I could see myself in the chainsaw-wielding, blood-soaked Lubdhak. It'd be amazing if the director can bring in Kaal Bhairav, Dharma and other elements from our shastras / pauranik kathas to this heady mix and make it all the more epic. Bibek Debroy's book Sarama would be a good repository to draw from. I loved how the director brought in the murky realism of Nabarun Bhattacharya (ode to his Bangla novel Lubdhak) and blended it with the gory aesthetic of Doga (the dog-faced vigilante from Raj Comics). Wonderful, wonderful attempt.

Bhairava is an avatar of Shiva. His blessings will be with the director. No matter what detractors may say.