Lalon Fakir:
Moner Manush of generations of baul singers…
The film in a subtle way refers to the zamindari
aspect of the famous Tagore clan and hints at Maharshi
Devendranath Tagore to be a very strict zamindar. Although
during the end it is shown that Jyotirindranath Tagore
makes arrangements of the plot of land where Lalon Fakir’s
Akhara is located as a ‘nishkaar’-tax-free zone- after being
requested by Lalon.
Tollywood’s greatest star of this generation, Prosenjit
Chatterjee is in a totally new avatar in this film- far
removed from all other roles that he has played till date.
As the mature Lalon Fakir he is brilliant. Only when he
was lip-syncing to the songs sometimes it could be easily
made out that there were stark differences between him
and the singer. Music, though, is a high point of the film.
It must have been quite a lot of hard work for Ghosh to
decide which of Lalon’s songs were relevant for the film
and, then, to choose which style he wanted to follow while
recomposing some of them.
Prosenjit’s decision to break away from his star trappings
is worthy of appreciation. For those used to watching this
matinee idol beating up goons and dancing around trees
with heroines half his age, this film will be a shocker for
sure. Chanchal Chowdhury in the role of Kalua and Rasul
Islam Asad as Shiraj Sai are effortlessly natural. Special
mention ought to be made for Champa and Shantilal
Mukherjee. Paoli Dam also has made sincere efforts in
portraying the role of Kamli.
