Abhijit Sen directorial Tonic eyes a Durga Puja release

Tonic, the latest directorial by Abhijit Sen will finally release on Durga Puja this year.

Director Abhijit Sen’s family drama Tonic, which was delayed due to the pandemic, is finally set to release on Durga Puja this year. 

The movie, which has Dev in the lead,touches upon the barriers of age, circumstances, and troubles in life. Paran Bandopadhyay, Dev, Tnushree, Koneenica Banerjee, Shakuntala Barua, and Sujan Neel are the lead cast.

Dev plays a travel agent named ‘Tonic’, who becomes the positive force of life, or the tonic, for the septuagenarian protagonist Jaladhar Sen, played by Paran Bandopadhyay. In the movie, the retired Jaladhar Sen is looking to usher in his 46th wedding anniversary celebrations with his wife after an underwhelming celebration by his son and daughter-in-law. 

He meets the travel agent while making plans for a foreign trip, which gets cancelled. The Darjeeling trip he plans gets cancelled too due to his ailing health. Despite it all, the travel agent Tonic, like a miracle worker, helps Jaladhar piece back the joys, love, and togetherness in his family.

In a press conference during the poster launch of the film last year, Dev told Just News, “Tonic is a cheerful guy who always keeps happy and makes others happy around him. He meets the old couple in the film when they are in trouble, and brings changes to their lives.” 

Director Abhijit Sen traced the significance of the title through its literal meaning- - an antidote for illness, and also its figurative meaning as a tonic for our difficulties and despair, and the spur to follow our heart’s dearest wishes.

The teaser of the film stands out by dint of the palpable camaraderie between Dev and Paran Bandopadhyay. “Age is in the body, not the mind”,” said Dev in the teaser that came out last year, squarely bringing in and subverting the concept of ageism. Age-defying dreams and the very spirit of wish-fulfilment that drives us through the crests and troughs of life even as the age increases with passing years lies at its heart.

 Tonic was held back from a theatrical release until late due to the urgency of the pandemic situation. However, as cinemas are slowly inching back to resumption, film buffs can be hopeful of catching the much-anticipated films in theatres.

 With celebrated Bengali music director Jeet Ganguli scoring the music for the film, you could also expect a few tuneful numbers.