Bagha Jatin

Bagha Jatin is a good watch but could have been much more. For one, the editing leaves ample room to tighten the narrative, and second, a decent pick up in the overall pace could have done wonders to the film. True, it’s a period film, but the pace could have been more contemporary.
Moreover, the lack of a backstory for most of Bagha Jatin’s primary contacts in the planning stage and his team in the execution stage makes the narrative much less engaging than it could have been.
Coming to the positives, Dev and Sudipta as Jatindranath’s elder sister, Binodbala, carry most of the film on their shoulders, while Carl is impressive as Bagha Jatin’s nemesis and British cop Charles Tegart. Frankly speaking, the film never feels lacking when it comes to the acting department — be it the lead actors, including Bagha Jatin’s wife Indubala (Sreeja), or the smaller roles of freedom fighters. But its strength lies in its action sequences — be it Bagha Jatin’s cop thrashing scenes or the gun battles. The use of slow motion and a good background score succeeds in giving one an adrenaline rush. The camera work is good throughout the film but gets better during the action sequences.
The VFX sequence that shows how Jatindranath came to be known as ‘Bagha’ by slaying a tiger is surprisingly good. The tiger is hyper-realistic and the way the sequence has been shot and executed takes the overall quality of the film quite a few notches higher.
Another interesting sequence is the one that shows Bagha Jatin in various avatars, including a Naga Baba, a leper and more, meant to evade arrest while roaming the streets of Calcutta. The make-up is quite impressive.
The film music by Nilayan Chatterjee is impressive, with quite a few patriotism-inducing songs. And the background score keeps injecting that extra touch to the feelings being shown on screen quite successfully.
Bagha Jatin is a film you should go and watch with an open mind. If you go to the hall expecting a patriotic film on the lines of RRR, you’ll be disappointed. But if you want to experience the life and journey of a renowned Bengali freedom fighter, better not miss it.