Kaalpurush
Encyclopedia
Kaalpurush or Kalpurush (English name: Memories in the Mist) is a 2008 Indian Bengali
drama film
directed and written by Buddhadev Dasgupta. The film stars Mithun Chakraborty
and Rahul Bose
in lead roles.
The 120 minute version of the film screened at the Toronto International Film Festival
. Although the film was completed in 2005, it was released in India in 2008. The film won National Film Award for Best Film
in 2006 and Mithun being nominated for best actor category.
has a dysfunctional marriage with Sameera Reddy
who has an extra-marital affair. Rahul tries to reconnect with his long-lost father (played by Mithun Chakraborty
), while Sameera dreams of breaking free of her stifling domestic life. Rahul is considered as a failure both in professional and personal lives. However, an honest and simple man, he clings to simple joys of life and memories of his childhood. The back-and-forth movement of the story between two timelines (the present day and Rahul's childhood) and the arrangement of the sequences make Mithun a mystery man—he could be dead, alive, or, just a figment of Rahul's imagination.
The film begins as Mithun follows Rahul as the later returns home from a day's work. Rahul is shown to be a doting father, but a failed husband. Mithun then starts to tell his own story. He had a happy family with wife (Laboni Sarkar) and the adolescent son Sumanata. A past flame of Mithun, played by Sudipta Chakraborty, incidentally arrives in the village (as a part of a masked dance troup) and meets Mithun. At one unrestrained moment, she tries to seduce Mithun. Mithun tries to resist. However, Mithun's wife, Laboni, sees a glimpse of them in a compromising situation. Laboni, pained by the betrayal, decides to leave Mithun, with their son in tow. While a devastated Mithun becomes a footloose traveller, their son bears the scar for the rest of his life. Back to the present, father and son come face to face to heal old wounds.
Battling the brunts of a society that defines success too materialistically, Rahul also continues to relive his childhood memories. His wife, Sameera, meanwhile flies to the United States to spend an extended holiday with her brother's family settled there. She writes several travelogues. Rahul suddenly meets his father one day in a Calcutta street. He spends a memorable day with his father, reliving their memories, as well as discussing many aspects of life. Suddenly, Mithun disappears.
Rahul's wife returns from USA, and tells him that she has been in an extra-marital relationship for long, and their children are actually not fathered by Rahul. Rahul says he knows everything, and still love their children. Soon, Sameera leaves Rahul. Rahul continues to live with their children.
Towards the end of the film, Rahul again has a talk with his father, Mithun. Mithun tells him that many things in life remain unsaid, untouched. Mithun goes on to tell that after Mithun's wife, Laboni, left him, he wandered off to many places, finally one day, committing suicide. So, at the end, viewers understand that their suspicion was true that Mithun and all the talks between Rahul and Mithun were nothing but the imagination of Rahul's sensitive mind. Rahul continues to be a doting father.
The film has several fantasy-like characters appearing several times. The old flute-seller, Idrish, and his son, Abdul, are such a pair of characters. Rahul once met them in his childhood. However, the duo appears several times in the film, especially in the moments when there is a voice-over of Mithun, or when Rahul is reliving some old memories. Masked troupes of village dancers also make several appearances.
Bengali cinema
Bengali cinema refers to the Bengali language filmmaking industries in the Bengal region of South Asia. There are two major film-making hubs in the region: one in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and the other in Dhaka, Bangladesh .The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed and written by Buddhadev Dasgupta. The film stars Mithun Chakraborty
Mithun Chakraborty
Mithun Chakraborty is an Indian film actor, social activist, and entrepreneur, who has won three National Film Awards. He made his acting debut with the arthouse drama Mrigaya , for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Actor....
and Rahul Bose
Rahul Bose
Rahul Bose is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English,...
in lead roles.
The 120 minute version of the film screened at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
. Although the film was completed in 2005, it was released in India in 2008. The film won National Film Award for Best Film
National Film Award for Best Film
The National Award for Best Feature film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, India, and was constituted in the year 1954. This is one of the Golden Lotus Awards given among National Film Awards...
in 2006 and Mithun being nominated for best actor category.
Plot
The film tells the story in a non-linear fashion, with two timelines being depicted simultaneously. Rahul BoseRahul Bose
Rahul Bose is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English,...
has a dysfunctional marriage with Sameera Reddy
Sameera Reddy
Sameera Reddy is an Indian film actress, primarily working in the Hindi film industry and Tamil industry. Apart from Bollywood, Reddy has also appeared in a number of Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam films.-Early life:...
who has an extra-marital affair. Rahul tries to reconnect with his long-lost father (played by Mithun Chakraborty
Mithun Chakraborty
Mithun Chakraborty is an Indian film actor, social activist, and entrepreneur, who has won three National Film Awards. He made his acting debut with the arthouse drama Mrigaya , for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Actor....
), while Sameera dreams of breaking free of her stifling domestic life. Rahul is considered as a failure both in professional and personal lives. However, an honest and simple man, he clings to simple joys of life and memories of his childhood. The back-and-forth movement of the story between two timelines (the present day and Rahul's childhood) and the arrangement of the sequences make Mithun a mystery man—he could be dead, alive, or, just a figment of Rahul's imagination.
Battling the brunts of a society that defines success too materialistically, Rahul also continues to relive his childhood memories. His wife, Sameera, meanwhile flies to the United States to spend an extended holiday with her brother's family settled there. She writes several travelogues. Rahul suddenly meets his father one day in a Calcutta street. He spends a memorable day with his father, reliving their memories, as well as discussing many aspects of life. Suddenly, Mithun disappears.
Rahul's wife returns from USA, and tells him that she has been in an extra-marital relationship for long, and their children are actually not fathered by Rahul. Rahul says he knows everything, and still love their children. Soon, Sameera leaves Rahul. Rahul continues to live with their children.
Towards the end of the film, Rahul again has a talk with his father, Mithun. Mithun tells him that many things in life remain unsaid, untouched. Mithun goes on to tell that after Mithun's wife, Laboni, left him, he wandered off to many places, finally one day, committing suicide. So, at the end, viewers understand that their suspicion was true that Mithun and all the talks between Rahul and Mithun were nothing but the imagination of Rahul's sensitive mind. Rahul continues to be a doting father.
The film has several fantasy-like characters appearing several times. The old flute-seller, Idrish, and his son, Abdul, are such a pair of characters. Rahul once met them in his childhood. However, the duo appears several times in the film, especially in the moments when there is a voice-over of Mithun, or when Rahul is reliving some old memories. Masked troupes of village dancers also make several appearances.
Cast
- Mithun ChakrabortyMithun ChakrabortyMithun Chakraborty is an Indian film actor, social activist, and entrepreneur, who has won three National Film Awards. He made his acting debut with the arthouse drama Mrigaya , for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Actor....
as Father - Rahul BoseRahul BoseRahul Bose is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English,...
as Son - Sameera ReddySameera ReddySameera Reddy is an Indian film actress, primarily working in the Hindi film industry and Tamil industry. Apart from Bollywood, Reddy has also appeared in a number of Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam films.-Early life:...
as Supriya - Sudipta Chakraborty
- Laboni Sarkar