It’s time again to review yet another hidden gem and yet another Bengali Whodunit. Chorabali(Quicksand) is a Murder mystery adapted from Agatha Christie’s “Cards on the Table”. It is set in modern day Calcutta, at a time when mobile phones, the internet and cable media are ubiquitous.
There will always be those among us who enjoy meeting others in person, carrying on intellectual conversations with others across card games, and great food and liquor. Here we have such a clique of nine individuals, who get together in the home of Dr. Dasgupta (George Baker) ,an eccentric psychologist, who probably has more intentions than just playing cards and indulging in socializing.
The conversation revolves around how or who can commit the perfect murder and as the night progresses, at least one of the guests will attempt just that, a perfect murder. As one would expect, the doctor is found dead. Autopsy would reveal that the doctor had not only been poisoned but also had a broken neck.
Among the nine at dinner, Vishnu (Shataf Figar) is a police official. He begins investigation of the case. He separates the guests into two groups. In the first group is world renowned criminologist Ardhendu Chatterjee ( Barun Chanda) who has expertise with Scotland yard. Also in this group are crime writer and a good friend of the diseased doctor, Tilottama (Tanusree Chakraborty). One other member of this group is a news anchor on a very successful cable channel. Vishnu believes that all three individuals in this group are above suspicion. But, can the audience also make that assumption? Is there a reason why so many non-suspects should be part of the plot? Or is there a surprise waiting to unfold?
Then there is the second group of people who have a ‘checkered’ past. There is an actress who is suspected of killing atleast two of her former husbands. There is a wildlife photographer, whose colleague has died in mysterious circumstances. The wife of this colleague is now living with the photographer. Then there is a model who is almost past her prime and is living with a roommate and is suspected in the murder of an elderly woman in her care. Finally there is a shady doctor, suspected of killing a rich patient who had written a large portion of her property to an organization, which he, the shady doctor ran.
At the party, the late DasGupta has intimidated each of the individuals in the second group, implying that any of them was capable of committing the murder.
As if this plot was not challenging enough, the scene shifts to the home of a young couple where the woman is an author and her male companion is a film maker. The two are discussing the plot of her latest manuscript about a murder of an eccentric doctor at a card game with eight other guests.
Yes, the audience now realizes that this is a story within a story. In the IT business, we would say that the plot has an extra level of abstraction. I am not sure if this was necessary or this was something to differentiate the plot from the original book by Agatha Christie. I’ll revisit this idea later.
It is also revealed that Dasgupta himself has a darker side, as sinister as any of the guests in the second group. Could this have also been a factor in his death?
The rest of the Movie is how the criminologist, the determined policeman and the author unravel the mystery. As I have often said, a great screenplay should have well defined characters. This one does it in spades. Each of the characters are well presented and the audience gets a feel for all their motivations. The editing is also commendable. Finally the cinematography is beyond excellent. The scenes of the card game at the house and closeups of each of the players feels like the movie is a sequence of beautiful portraits. The use of light and shade with the right colors in each frame is a feast for the eyes.
However, this movie is not without its faults. After the murder has been revealed, there is another twist in the plot that is not in the novel the movie was based on. At this point we are thrust into the universe of the author and her male companion. The companion reminds the author that the autopsy revealed two possible causes of death. This aspect, at least to me, was not logically sound. If she is the creator of the card game Universe, could she not change the cause of death?
There is also one other questionable scene in the movie. Not to give too much away, there is a point where the investigators use a fake witness to make the murderer admit to his crime. I am no lawyer but this seems like a case of entrapment and I am not sure if such methods can be used legally to incriminate a person. I would love to hear from someone who is an expert on this matter.
As you guessed it, there is a final chapter in the card game plot. Despite all its faults, this is a great movie. Each of the thespians has put in a great performance and along with great direction, editing and screenplay, have given us a compelling watch. Again, this is another Bengali movie, that sets the bar high for other Indian and International movie makers.
