Shobdo Jobdo: available on Hoichoi
An intelligently crafted psychological thriller helmed by Sourav Chakraborty is good news for Bengali cinema. The seven episodes can be binge watched without guilt as they promise total suspense and a significant concern for Saugata (Rajat Kapoor, in his first Bengali outing), an author based in the US, who is facing an existential crisis.
Often accused of plagiarism, Saugata is hurtling down a psychological collapse, plagued by hallucinations, nightmares and an onset of Alzheimer's disease. Realizing that he has started forgetting parts of his past life, he is distraught and the situation is exacerbated by the accusation of a murder in his youth, levelled by a woman only he can visualise. The situation drives him to the point of desperation and schizophrenia whilst his hapless wife Aditi (Payel Sarkar) and daughter Raka are at best, a couple of mute spectators to. A trip to the North Bengal mountains for a health break is his psychologist's prescription. Whether he will recover from the brink of disaster with or without the help of his family is the crux of Shobdo Jobdo.
Rajat Kapoor is utterly believable and convincing in the complex and rich role of the author battling multiple issues including his past. Payel Sarkar is good, but suffers from a weakly written role. Shobdo Jobdo is content rich and immensely gripping, although the climax is somewhat amateurish and prolonged. But it doesn't diminish the professional execution of the script that compels us to hold the interest until the very end.
