Palan review: Anjan Dutt is at his best in this tale of pride and declining space in this city

3.5/5

Story: An old building crumbles and a person gets killed. Civic authorities mark the building ‘unsafe’ for the residents and order them to vacate. Elderly couple Anjan (Dutt) and Mamata (Mamata Shankar) Sen live in that house. Their son Pupai (Jisshu U Sengupta) and his wife Paoli (Paoli Dam) rush to check on them after the accident. The promoter Samir (Buddhadev Bhattacharya) is their friend Srila’s (Sreela Majumder) husband. Samir is expected to rehabilitate the tenants but he fails to do so. The family sees another accident. 

Review: It is an old house, the sensibility of Kaushik Ganguly, and out-of-the-world performances by the protagonists that have made Palan a treat to watch. Keeping a crumbling old building in the backdrop, Kaushik weaves a tale of crisis, sentiment, and pride that is quintessentially associated with Bengali middle-class families. He seems to know these people and understands their pathos well. Through his story of Anjan and Mamata’s family, Kaushik also deals with the shrinking space in the city. 

The strength of the film lies in its performances. Anjan Dutt seems to have put in his best performance in recent times. The character Anjan is irritable, yet compassionate. He is helpless, yet proud, and most importantly, he is unstable and yet uncompromising. One cannot take their eyes off Anjan Dutt’s stellar performance. At times, it feels like the actor is also paying his share of tribute to his mentor – Mrinal Sen – through this film.

It is not Anjan Dutt alone. Mamata Shankar, Jisshu, Paoli, even Debapratimm Dasgupta, and Sreela Majumder present outstanding performances. Mamata Shankar has indomitable chemistry with Anjan and that shows. Mamata Shankar doesn’t look like she is acting. She is effortless as the backbone of Anjan’s life.   

Right from the beginning, Paoli catches the attention and doesn’t let it go. Jisshu captures Pupai’s helplessness in no time. The more Pupai advances to make things better, the more complicated it gets and Jisshu presents it delectably. In fact, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, as Samir, deserves a mention. His character has very little dialogue and yet his performance, especially in the last scene, leaves a lasting impact. 

There are a few unforgettable moments in the film. While packing their luggage, Anjan asks his son to bring out a sketch from his bookshelf. As Pupai gets a pleasant surprise after discovering the sketch, Anjan looks at his wife and that intense gaze is heart-wrenchingly beautiful. There is a contrasting scene of Pupai and Paoli’s lovemaking and Anjan’s feeble walk on a dangerous corridor that is intense.  

Then there is a sequence where Paoli and Mamata talk and work in the kitchen. The two characters are seen from the outside through two windows. The camaraderie between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law fills up the heart. And then there is a cat that meows. That peril and insecurities of a dangerous house is momentarily captured in the eyes of that trembling cat and that breaks our hearts into pieces. It is not a film that uses large landscapes but that disintegrating house, its fragmented plasters, and thinning tenants have become different characters in the film. 

Palan also uses the background music well. It develops tension from the first scene and takes us through the nooks and corners of the building. 

Palan is a strong standalone film, with or without its connection with Mrinal Sen’s Kharij. Kaushik’s film has the same characters, who aged over a period of time, along with a few new characters. However, the core sentiment of Kaushik’s film is independent of Sen’s Kharij. Kaushik vindicates the pride and self-respect of Anjan, who refuses to abide by the scarcity of space in a house where young Palan died due to space constraints 40 years ago.  

Verdict: In a time when Bengali film viewers are inundated with thrillers and regressive family dramas, Palan is a refreshing watch. It is made with care and the sensibility portrayed in the film is fulfilling. It is a must-watch. Also, watch it for Anjan Dutt. It will be a crime to miss him in Kaushik Ganguly's Palan.