Professor Sonku O Eldorado Film Review
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Professor Sonku O Eldorado Film Review
I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation for Sandip Ray and his team for taking on the ambitious task of bringing Professor Shanku from the pages to the screen. Filming Shanku presents several challenges, especially in terms of advanced graphics and capturing exotic locations. While the camera work in the streets of Sao Paolo and the bird's eye views of the Amazon rainforest are visually striking, the VFX team's execution falls short, resulting in a mediocre outcome.
The performances by the Indian actors throughout the film are generally good. Dhritiman as Professor Shanku, although occasionally overly annoyed, overall portrays the character well. Subhashis Chakraborty fits perfectly in the role of Nakur babu. However, the foreign actors playing Dr. Sauders and Krol are overly expressive, sometimes even becoming tiresome to watch.
The use of music in the film deserves praise as it enhances the cinematic experience. Sandip Ray has stayed true to the Satyajit Ray school of music, and at times, the tunes in the movie reminded me of the Feluda theme. However, the main issue I had with the film is its inability to hold the viewer's attention. There is a lack of suspense and thought-provoking sequences that engage the audience. Instead, it feels more like a grand Brazilian travelogue.
In future Shanku ventures, I hope to see more efforts to engage the audience and create a stronger sense of suspense and intrigue. Despite its shortcomings, I applaud the team's audacity in bringing Professor Shanku to the screen and look forward to witnessing further improvements in the series.
A lightning ball makes Nakurbabu clairvoyant and stokes curiosity among scientists. Shanku takes him to Brazil to a conference after his best friends, Kroll and Saunders, show keen interest to meet him — a man with paranormal power. A series of ominous activities keeps Shanku and Nakurbabu busy. Shanku meets businessman Bloomgarten who wishes to buy the patents of the scientist’s miraculous inventions. The cunning businessman that he is, Bloomgarten resorts to sly steps to steal Shanku’s work. Finally, it is Nakurbabu, who draws Bloomgarten’s attention with evoking the mythical story of golden city — El Dorado. The film unveils for the expedition turns perilous and finally, the scientist comes out of it unscathed.
While the film fails to grip the attention with thrill, the picturesque rainforest hogs the much-needed attention. The lush frames of Brazilian cities, the gigantic waterfall and aerial view of Amazon are worth mentioning. Also, Shanku, in the film, is a scientist of 2016. Besides his iconic innovations like annihillin and miracurall, he has also come up with holocon — the holographic con-call device, and his own version of mobile phone. The new inventions definitely give the character a contemporary touch. Meanwhile, the characters like Bloomgarten reminds us of the greedy industrialists who are up in arms to harm Amazon Rainforest in real life. Though loosely, the film also touches upon the struggling livelihood of the economy. The only song that takes place at an eatery is one of the brightest points in the film.
Despite a perfect look and sharp glances, Dhritiman remains less convincing as Shanku. An indefinable stiffness engulfs his performance that questions the spontaneity of the character. Meanwhile, Subhashish too goes overboard with emotion as Nakurbabu. The film involves a lot of foreign actors and they deliver a decent performance. The overall CGI also appears to be a bit flimsy.
In children’s literature, Shanku makes a clean sweep with his scientific masterstrokes. However, his on-screen journey starts with a bumpy ride. Let’s hope for a better future for him.