In his national award film “Jaatiswar,” director Srijit Mukherji perhaps spoke through the character of Maya (Swastika Mukherjee) when she said, “Both the Bengals are mine, from Rupom Islam to Nazrul Islam,” clearly hinting at his anti-racist approach.
Moreover, Srijit’s masterstroke narrative technique pays homage to the artiste who is lost in the lap of time – Anthony Firingee (Prosenjit Chatterjee), a Portuguese Christian whose immense contribution in Bangla Kobi Gaan, a poetic musical genre that became popular in the late 18th century and early 19th century, who is an asset of the language as well as the Bangla culture. Rohit Mehta (Jishu Sengupta) represents Antony of the 21st century.
Maya, the woman Rohit is in love with, considers Bangali intellectuals as the supreme in the universe and so challenges Rohit, a Gujrati boy born in Kolkata, to learn Bangla and to write and recite a Bangla lyric with perfect pronunciation.
During his research, Rohit comes across a librarian named Kushal Hazra, who claims that he was Anthony Firingee in his previous life. While Rohit is sceptical at first, Kushal’s keen description of Anthony’s views, personal and professional life which can hardly be found in any historical book or internet, puts him in a dilemma.
The screenplay has been penned astoundingly, letting viewers experience the two different periods simultaneously. The life and struggle of Anthony and Rohit, which is a struggle against border and race, are depicted beautifully.
Srijit chose to tell the story of Anthony Firingee when he was almost lost in the history of Bengal. He chose to pen Anthony’s ideology, rather than his biography. Antony’s affection towards Hinduism, though he was a Catholic Christian, and his musical homage to Goddess Durga, brought his tragedy. His house and family were destroyed by extremists.
Talking about the technical aspect, cinematography must be mentioned. Most of the scenes are point-of-view shots, as the theme relates to the director’s attitude towards culture and border. The cinematographer Soumik Halder deserves profound acclamation. The camera work itself narrates a story. In addition, all props and costumes fits the story well.
The music adds much to the storytelling itself. Kabir Sumon won the Indian National Award for Music Direction for this film. The music splendidly binds the tale of two people living in two poles, their journeys in the name of love and music. The barriers of space and time have been uprooted by music. The present Kolkata and 19th century’s Gangetic Bengal are warmly depicted via Sumon’s music. The film itself has made the primary selection of the Indian Oscar committee.
The contrasting climax of the film is an extra add-on for the viewers. Though both the characters of Rohit and Anthony have similar beginning, their end is drastically different. This difference undoubtedly proves the broadness and the enlightenment that cultural practice provides in contemporary period.
