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 .
