REASON, DEBATE AND A STORY

FILM: REASON, DEBATE AND A STORY

DIRECTOR: RITWIK GHATAK

THE ACTS

ACT ONE:

The incident that really can be considered as act one in the film is when Nilkantha Bagchi (played by Ghatak himself) is left alone by his wife Durga and his son (Satya) due to his alcoholic nature and friends. He soon finds himself without shelter and sets out on a journey to find a place for himself and a woman (Bangabala) who enters his room while looking for a place.

ACT TWO:

When Nilkantha embarks on the journey to reconcile with his wife and observes the conditions arounf him, he turns into a wanderer. The scene in which he talks about how he was also young and fresh like the youth of Bangladesh until he fell in love, may also be perceived as act two by the audience.

CHARACTER ELEMENTS:

Set in a time of after-partition, Nilkintha portrays role of a man who had tried thirty years for the reunion but ended up in a sea of alcohol, according to his old friend Basu.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ATTRIBUTES:

Ghatak plays the role of an alcoholic man whose family leaves him due to his drinking habits. However, he is a helpful person who is left without a shelter but agrees to help a woman who came to him in search of shelter.

Nilkintha is a hopeful yet disappointed character who wants to experience the youth of Bangladesh and get rid of the scars left on the younger generation by the separation of West Bengal.

APPEARANCE:

With a casual kurta and thick glasses, the protagonist in this film reflects the role of a man who seems intellectual yet care-free but in reality, he is concerned about the situation of the people around him.

Leading life of a drunkard, Nilkintha actually is a character portrayed metaphorically. It is the name of Hindu god Shiva, who drank poison that emerged from the oceans to prevent it from destroying everything in the world.

FEAR AND SECRETS:

Nilkintha is afraid that he might not be able to find a place for the people around him who had now hopes due to him, and it might be possible that Bangladesh would not be able to bloom like he did, in his youth.

BACKSTORY:

It is obvious that the film represents the time when Nilkintha’s state is disturbed by political incidents.

The film actually is Ghatak’s way to find some hope while the political and cultural turbulence overtook his nation.

It narrates the story of thousands of people affected by the 1971 separation and those who found refuge in Calcutta. Ghatak had explained that the story does not represent any political ideology. Rather, it is a portrayal of a common man’s eye.

ELEMENTS OF CONFLICT

INVINCIBLE VILLAIN:

It would be right to regard the political conditions as the invincible villain as Nilkintha was seen concerned about the after-partition conditions throughout the film.

UNLIKELY HERO:

Nilkintha is one of the most bizarre heroes I have come across in the world of cinema. With no respect left in the society due to his gathering and alcohol addiction, Nilkintha still represents the role of a wise, concerned man who hopes to see the circumstances get better again.

IMPOSSIBLE GOAL:

The protagonist hopes to reconcile with his wife and his son, Satya. On his journey to find shelter, he meets different people who are the victims of the political fiasco.