Basu Poribar (2019)

Basu Poribar: Directed by Suman Ghosh. With Soumitra Chatterjee, Aparna Sen, Rituparna Sengupta, Saswata Chatterjee. Legendary figures of Indian cinema Aparna Sen and Soumitra Chatterjee head up the ensemble cast of this bittersweet tale of family ties and disillusionment. An elderly couple is celebrating their 50th anniversary, and family members gather at their once magnificent, now largely decrepit mansion, where they married a half-century before. As relatives young and old arrive and reminisce about their lives, stories are exchanged about the great family’s past. But it does not take long to see that reality is more complicated than family myth. Long-buried family secrets inevitably arise as do secrets that may have been better kept locked away. To face the “fading pride of a nebulous past,” family closeness is needed now more than ever. Suman Ghosh directs with a fine eye for the pretensions and wrongdoings of the upper middle class as well as its underlying strength and pain.

“Basu Paribar – You are invited to attend the celebration of the 50th marriage anniversary of Pranabendu (Soumitra Chatterjee) and Manjari (Aparna Sen) Basu, at their old, ancestral, palatial abode. The family will be there – their two children (played by Rituparna and Jisshu), the formeru0026#39;s nephews Tonu (Kaushik Sen) and Tublu (Shashwata Chatterjee), and significant other few. A feast is planned in the evening and the family is bound to reminisce upon the past fifty years of the couple, lovingly and with respect.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut the palace has a few deep, dark secrets that are best buried in the past. There are certain individuals in the gathering who have an inkling of a seething rage thatu0026#39;s shackled somewhere within the sprawling premises, releasing which may disturb the equilibrium and rattle the peaceful existence of the royal lineage. The fragile pride of the royal blood will not be strong enough to hide the uncomfortable tale of an unrequited love story thatu0026#39;s best kept secret. Several other revelations are made during the course of the film that crack open wounds that may never heal again, though.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBasu Paribar could we have been a classic akin to D. H. Lawrenceu0026#39;s Lady Chatterleyu0026#39;s Lover, but falls short of being bold and outspoken, perhaps in an attempt to steer clear of controversy and to allow the royal pride to remain intact. There are a few mature performances, Aparna Senu0026#39;s being outstanding, followed by that of Shashwata and Soumitra Chatterjee. Itu0026#39;s an ensemble cast, but Sreenanda Shankar still makes her presence felt on her debut among the stalwarts.”