Hemlock Society

The dark, morbid undertone of the movie notwithstanding, this movie was a different kind of experience. At the outset, it starts on a happy note, a musical performance in a bar, a happy girl listening to the song and enjoying the moment. Suddenly, in the span of 2 minutes, the entire atmosphere takes a 180 degree turn. And thus, starts Hemlock Society.

The female lead was a big no for this kind of film. She was overacting for the most part and her entire performance looked like it needed a great deal of effort on her part to even say an entire sentence and emote at the same time. In the presence of such natural actors like Parambrata Chatterjee, Rupa Ganguly, and Dipankar De; Koel Mallick fails to live up to expectations, especially since her role was supposed to carry the film.

Instead, Parambrata Chatterjee does the job for her. A shorter role, yes, but definitely much more impactful. He was brilliant in his role and brought a different kind of vibe to this bordering-on-being-depressing kind of film. His natural dialog delivery and his expressions were perfect for his role as the slightly-mischievous, super-sarcastic Ananda Kar. The supporting cast was great and the film also featured a host of cameos by popular faces of the Bengali film industry.

At the heart of the film and its biggest asset, is the story and the way it was allowed to blossom on its own. Kudos to the director on that part because the message that was delivered was both hard-hitting, and also, easy-to-grasp. This film could have really gone out of hand but Srijit Mukherji steered the ship in the right direction and Parambrata and the supporting cast did the rest. This movie will not be appreciated by everyone but still deserves a watch if only for the message it means to put forward. Great film!