Subho Mahurat (2003)

How sad is this?

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Brilliant dialogues, interesting story line and tremendous acting. Rakhi Gulzar take a bow for portraying Ranga Pishi so superbly. She does justice to every dialogue whether it's humour, sarcasm, wit or a playful jibe. Nandita Das brightens up every frame with her screen presence. Sharmila Tagore playing an actress - superstar, does more than justice to her character. So do Anindya and Tota.Bengali movies needed a breath of fresh air, and such crisp film making along with portrayal of so many emotions, could possibly be only done by Rituparno. I am sure he will be counted as one of the legends in Bengali cinema. RIP Mr. Ghosh.

I have seen "Mirror Cracked" with Elizabeth Taylor in the actress role. I really thought the director would give some twist or make it more interesting.I am not a Bengali but quite interested to see the creativity in their movies.On the contrary it was very boring and slow.Why is the cop more interested in dating a prime witness(in fact the last person to see the victim alive) a journalist rather than solving the case?Isnt it unethical in the first place? Why is Nandita Das shown as so immature and foolish that obvious hints cannot be understood by her but have to be interpreted by her aunt Rakhee? Some of the characters are written with no logic.A lady who has been dumped by a man despite having a very sick child restarts her affair after getting money from someone else to treat the child.An actress who has a serious drug problem is hired for a lead role despite the director hating her. I have never been a fan of Rakhee but she did justice to the role. But between Sharmila Tagore and her, I felt Sharmila Tagore was the better actress.

Although the plot is somewhat predicable, this movie was surely very riveting till the very last minute. Packed with Indian star actresses like Sharmila Tagore and Nandita Das, there was never any lack of suspense.On the down side, I think the story was adopted from one of Agatha Christie novels, however it was not mentioned except the movie was dedicated to one of her creations, Miss Marple.It is not easy to convert this foreign theme in Bengali and Rituparno Ghosh has done an excellent job. I would call it one of the best Bengali detective films.

Yeah!I am very big fan of Agatha Christie and when i first heard of an Indian(Bengali) version of 'The Mirror Crack'd from side to side' i practically winced.Having seen the one with Liz Taylor & Rock Hudson with Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple i was wondering what Mr.Ghosh, the director had to offer in this Indianised version of a classic.The result is nothing short of amazing as Mr.Ghosh rewrote the entire novel in an Indian context and suitably indianized the characters to make the movie thoroughly entertaining.The casting was a stroke of genius by bringing in the legendary Sharmila Tagore to play Marina Gregg.The story has been altered in places in such a way which makes more sense from the Indian point of view. Also Rituporno managed to avoid the 'Costume Drama' like feel of the Liz Taylor version.Viola!We now have a story which we can relate to.The end result is superb due to the fact Rituporno is one of those filmmakers who know how to tell a story and edit well enough to keep the flow of the tale.I am glad that he attempted this movie and hopefully i would love to have a Bengali version of '4:50 from Paddington'.Well done!Rituporno. Keep up the good work.