Binay Badal Dinesh Film Review
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Binay Badal Dinesh Film Review
The historical drama "8/12: Binay Badal Dinesh," directed by Arun Roy, suffers from larger-than-life portrayals and an overpowering background score that feels forced. The film focuses on the historic attack on the Writers' Building in Calcutta on 8 December 1930 by the revolutionary trio Binay-Badal-Dinesh. The attack was aimed at Lt Col NS Simpson, the inspector general of prisons known for his brutal treatment of political prisoners.
Presented in black and white, the period film manages to engage the viewer from the beginning with its focused plot progression. The narrative unfolds with the police commissioner, Charles Tegart, and Mr Lowman launching an intense search for the revolutionaries involved in the Chittagong Armoury Raid of 18 April 1930, led by Master-da Surya Sen. Faced with the threat posed by the revolutionaries, the British police officers resort to ruthless arrests and unleash inhumane torture on the prisoners to extract information.
However, the film's downfall lies in its larger-than-life portrayals and an overpowering background score. These aspects seem forced and detract from the authenticity and subtlety that a historical drama of this nature demands. Instead of allowing the story and performances to shine, the film relies heavily on exaggerated characterizations and a constant barrage of music, which can be distracting and overwhelming for the audience.
While the film succeeds in creating a tense and gripping atmosphere, the excessive theatricality and the relentless background score detract from the overall impact. A more restrained approach in portraying the characters and a nuanced use of music would have enhanced the authenticity and emotional depth of the narrative.
Binay Basu (Nanda), one of the founders of Bengal Volunteers in Dhaka and with the vision of a hawk, gets the first assignment of killing Lowman. When he succeeds, the desperation of the British increases. Binay declares that they need to shake the foundation of the government and some heroic souls need to sacrifice themselves for the purpose.
To undertake the mission, Binay seeks two companions with comparable zeal and a willingness to lay down their lives for the motherland. Badal Gupta (Mukhopadhyay) and Dinesh Gupta (Remoo) join the mission. Eventually, the historic day arrives when the trio shoot Simpson dead on entering the Writers' Building dressed as Europeans. After an intense gunfight with the police in the corridors of the secretariat, Badal consumes potassium cyanide while Binay and Dinesh shoot themselves.
From the beginning, the film keeps the audience on edge with an unfaltering pace and restrained screenplay that doesn’t get into too much detailing of the life of the revolutionaries. While there are small loopholes that can be ignored, like the episode involving Kharaj Mukherjee’s buffoonish police officer, who seems to have been incorporated merely for comic relief, the plot focuses singularly on the incidents connected directly with the historic attack.
The casting of the revolutionary trio with distinguished character traits and Saswata Chatterjee as Hemchandra Ghosh seems on point, but the actor playing Subhas Chandra Bose doesn’t quite fit the role.
Chatterjee brings alive the foresight and wisdom of Hemchandra with effortless finesse, but some of the other performances come across as theatrical and bereft of nuance.
Gopi Bhagat’s experienced camerawork and editor Sanglap Bhowmick’s fine trimming of the scenes make 8/12 one of the better Bengali period films made in recent times. Tanmay Chakraborty’s production design is well-researched while Bhagat’s camera angles have made the work quite convincing.
However, the moments leading up to the attack on 8 December 1930 are portrayed in an exaggerated and larger-than-life manner. The sequences lack subtlety and feel more akin to a modern-day action thriller rather than a historical drama.
While the gunbattle in the corridors of power is prolonged and intense, the lack of significant dramatic changes during the battle itself causes the sequence to drag at times. Despite the buildup leading to this moment, the absence of dynamic shifts within the battle dampens the overall impact.
The film's weakest aspect is the heavy metal background score that permeates the entire duration of the film. Its incessant presence, right from the beginning until the end, becomes almost headache-inducing. This overwhelming score hampers the organic development of the plot in the minds of the audience, as it forcefully imposes a momentum on the narrative.
Arun Roy has taken liberties in manipulating the historical account to create a film that often feels like a mass entertainer, featuring charged sequences and exaggerated portrayals. While it may lack the sentimental touches typically expected from patriotic films, "8/12" is worth watching for its cinematic excellence and the dedication put into recreating the past.
In summary, the moments leading to the attack on 8 December 1930 in "8/12: Binay Badal Dinesh" are presented in an exaggerated manner, reminiscent of a modern action thriller. The prolonged gunbattle lacks significant dramatic shifts, and the constant heavy metal background score becomes overwhelming. However, the film still holds value for its cinematic prowess and the efforts made to recreate historical events.