Abar Basanta Bilap

Story: A publishing house employee, Anadi (Kharaj Mukherjee, is always afraid of losing his job because of his manager, Paranpriyo (Paran Bandyopadhyay). Enter Shakuntala (Moon Moon Sen) and their work schedule goes haywire. She expresses her liking for Anadi, which invites the ire of his boss. But is this all or is Shakuntala connected to Anadi in some other way?

Review: Casting some leading names known for their good comic timing and borrowing from a film title that brings a smile to one’s lips could have been a recipe for churning out a runaway hit. But good comedy is never easy. There are ample chances to err. But sadly, they don’t add on to the plot — comedy of errors. Abar Basanta Bilap, tries hard to bridge this gap but fails miserably.
The only plus point is that there is a good turn of events that build the climax and links two different stories — one, a surplus of middle-aged men’s fantasies and two, a romance without any chemistry between the couple. Though the film boasts of three intertwining love stories, the third one — depicting same-sex relationship and played between Mir and Sumit — seems a bit crass than comic. It’s a force fit in the larger narrative.
Now, for the first tale that has Kharaj, Paran and Moon Moon as part of a triangle is bearable only because of the trio’s screen presence. But this should definitely not be counted among their good performances. They just manage to be better than the rest. Another story, which has Kharaj’s screen son, Anubhav, vying for Devlina’s attention, will leave you confused. It’s neither romantic nor funny. But there’s a bright spot there too. Anubhav gets under the skin of the character so well that the lacklustre guy Shibu is how he will be identified later.
The actors, especially the men — Kharaj, Paran, Mir, Sumit and Anubhav — and their overenthusiasm is rightly balanced with missing expression on Moon Moon and Devlina’s faces.
It’s not that the film will bore you. Rather the fast pace in storytelling will engage you. But you will cringe at the double-meaning jokes, trying hard to separate them from some rare clean comedy scenes like the one where Kharaj keeps his wife standing on the road and rides a taxi to his in-laws.
The film opens with a promise of good laughs. The song, along with the introduction, talks about various kinds of smiles that characterise people. By the time it ends, you are still looking for that highpoint.