‘X=Prem’ Movie Review: Sanai’s songs smack Srijit’s story!

Not all sinking feelings are unpleasant, especially if it is of someone sinking into the deep blue ocean of a chemical reaction named love.

The more immersed one is, the more he is likely to desire to go deeper. By doing so, he may not wish to embark on a journey to the center of the earth, but definitely to the center of his beloved one’s heart. 

If you still can’t process what I am trying to say, I do apologize for my failure to make you comprehend with my cryptic verses. But what will surely not fail in this regard is the song ‘Bhalobashar Morshum’.

This song has two versions, one sung by Shreya Ghoshal and the other by Arijit Singh. And most probably you will have a hard time deciding who makes your heart more numb than the other.

Though it is the monsoon season — the season of love and affection — rain this year has been few and far between. Otherwise, I would have recommended you to listen to this song every time raindrops start touching the earth. But still, you must listen to this song, if you are really into going down memory lane through magical melodies combined with lucid lyrics.

 In case you are not this much of a romantic fool, there is still a chance that you too might fall in love with this song while watching Srijit Mukherji’s latest Bengali movie ‘X=Prem’, now streaming on Hoichoi.

 And why should you watch this movie, after allegedly feeling betrayed again and again by the director’s last few movies?

 For starters, it is unlike any of his other movies. It is almost a ‘complete romantic drama’, only if there was not a sci-fi twist presented with a thriller-esque screenplay.

 Secondly, if you thought ‘Nirbaak’ is the best movie Srijit has ever made but somehow remained underrated, ‘X=Prem’ is for you to give a go-ahead, as many claims this one is also well ahead of its time.

Srijit always seems to take a postmodernist approach to go about channeling a narrative, and this one is no exception either. With an almost-, but not-entirely-new subject matter in hand, he did not forget

to make relevant references such as the movie ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’.

But fortunately, Srijit has finally realized the pseudo-intellectual side of his storytelling, and hence refrained from taking that route while also reflecting on the same matter.

As always he has continued mixing, as well as mixing up, with different shots and montages, many of which give Bengali movie spectators some new visual experience, but never really succeed in breaking free from the conventional cycle.

Shooting the entire movie in monochrome is a very peculiar choice, given that its story is quite futuristic. Then again, it is also a very wise creative decision from the director’s end, as should be for a story dealing with melancholy, lost memories, bygone times, and raw emotions. The subtextual link to the movie’s original title ‘Deja Vu’ also makes a strong point. Overall, for once, Srijit’s ambitious experimentations have been done right.

The pacing of the screenplay, however, is a major letdown. The first half drags a bit too long, and the second half becomes tiring towards the end. But that’s classic Srijit. He has been struggling in this particular area forever, just like the way subcontinent batsmen struggle facing short balls in overseas conditions. It is high time the ‘Shabaash Mithu’ director put more effort into net practice sessions instead of spending too much time surfing the internet.

Acting-wise ‘X=Prem’ is good enough to not whine about. Not that it demanded hard-hitting performance from the actors, but depicting different shades of human emotion was not a very easy task.

Arjun Chakraborty has done that with ease, while Madhurima Basak also looked like having good control over her craft. Anindya Sengupta and Shruti Das were promising as newcomers, and hopefully, they will keep up with the momentum in their forthcoming ventures.

 Music, as could be prophesied from the beginning of this piece, is the biggest takeaway from ‘X=Prem’. Debutant composer Saptak Sanai Das with six tracks in the movie can only remind you of one Yuvraj Singh, who once set the Kingsmead on fire, hitting six sixes off an over of Stuart Broad.

But can Sanai sustain in the long run? That is one thing to watch out for.