Author: Soumitra Chatterjee
Debashree Roy/Shilajit
Contributor(s)/Artiste(s): Debajyoti Mishra/ParomaBanerjee/D RamaNaidu at al.
Publisher: Channel B
Year: 2010
Language: Bengali
Pages: N/A
ISBN/UPC (if available): CBDVD 010
Description
Rohini, a popular film star at the height of her career finds dark clouds looming over her private life.
Cloud one: A romance going sour and an impending love triangle. Rohini sees her longtime fiancé Aniruddha falling for a fresh young starlet called Mrittika, whom she herself had earlier befriended.
Cloud Two: Her mother’s sudden illness which eludes diagnosis for a long time and even raises the spectre of Aids.
The two crisis run in parallel and have a devastating impact on her emotional life. As an only child of aging parents and sole bread earner in her family she has a nurturing role to play. As a film star she must continue with her busy schedule and fit in crisis management as best she can. Visits to hospital, consultations with doctors, dealings with newshounds in search of ‘juicy gossip’ occupy much of her time.
Though all this Rohini’s inner turmoil intensifies into a crisis of philosophy. Form a sense of betrayal to a total loss of faith in all human relationships – including the one between her parents which she had always ideal – ized.
This turmoil barely surfaces except as an interior voice which echoes the lyrics of Rabindranath Tagore, the poet – philosopher who has been a powerful influence in her life from childhood, has molded her consciousness. In fact throughout the film, we feel the force of his presence as a major protagonist, although he is no more than a picture on the wall.
COMMENTS:
1. ‘‘This is my personal tribute to parenthood, to the made up of father and mother’’ --- Rituparno Ghosh
2. ‘‘When I heard of this role, my first reaction was ‘Yes, this is my role’’ --- Debashree Roy
3. ‘‘Asookh, in a way, is a sequel to Unishe April with the relationship reversed’’ --- Rediff.Com
4. ‘‘Abhik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography and Arghyakamal Mitra’s editing deliver, as always’’ --- The Telegraph
SPECIFICATIONS:
All Region//NTSC
Sub-Titles English
5.1 Surround Sound
Digitally re-mastered from the original film