Belaseshe: What does one need 'At the end of the day'?

Directors: Shiboprosad Mukherjee & Nandita Roy Cast: Soumitra Chatterjee, Swatilekha Sengupta, Rituparna Sengupta, Barun Chanda

Made in the year 2015, Belaseshe a family drama that allows the viewers to question the institutions of marriage, family life, a person’s individuality, their need to break free, some unfulfilled dreams and yes, love.

A story of a successful publisher, Biswanath Mazumdar (Soumitra Chaterjee) and his hold on the family—a patriarch at heart. He gathers his family for Durga Pujo, and later announces his plan to separate from his wife to the family on the last day of celebration. Set in Kolkata, the protagonist determines that his duties of the married life are fulfilled—he has given everything selflessly, and now wants to relive his days of youth. He wants to be a free man again and owes no one an explanation. He is firm at his decision, irrespective of the chaos it creates; perhaps also disrespecting the woman who devoted her life for the last 49 years. The daughters too have issues in their marriages—forgetting their vows, or perhaps with the love is fading. It is often said what doesn’t belong to us fascinates more. Shifting our focus to his wife, Arati (Swatilekha Sengupta), she is hit hard by her husband’s decision but will follow whatever makes him happy. It reminds of the women whose world revolves around her husband, children and the duties she is supposed to perform. Perhaps, she has lost herself in the circle of marriage. Mazumdar is frustrated with Arati’s ‘running around-doing the chores-taking care of everyone’ attitude and has eventually lost the connect with her.

The film has instances that reminded me of my parents, the small bits, the infinity loop of husband and wife, the habits and behaviors. It can be said that the movie is an ode of the wife. Her sacrifices her selflessness and others’ happiness above hers. The dialogues are what every Bengali kid has heard in their family. There are moments of comedy to balance out the mood. The film is filled with some cherished Rabindra sangeet sequences to bring out the emotions

The movie moves forward with the judge telling them to spend 15 days away from the world, trying to revive the long-lost communication. But Arati being the mother, won’t go without the kids and grandkids. After all is sorted, the 15 days have begun. There are mics and cameras inserted into the parent’s room, to get an insider access—an invasion of privacy. We see the two taking their time to make small talk, go on morning walks, sharing their deep buried feelings and reviving their memories. It is strange that people who spend 49 years together do not know each other anymore or perhaps never did. The husband kept busy in his library, engrossed in the fictions, the wife indulged herself into the duties of a married woman. On one part, the fictions were more fascinating that the reality, on the other part, the duties took over love. They share their own understanding and how they expected everything to be—the husband handling the outside and the wife the inside of the household, there remained a dependency. The both are too proud of their sacrifices Through the camera, the children understand the father’s longing, the mother’s unknown mistake and their lost communication. They too try to contemplate their own marriages, trying to fix the wrongs. The 15 days end and here comes a twist. When everyone thought things were going back to normal, Mazumdar Da is still firm at his decision. He stays back at their Shanti Niketan house, wanting to lead his independent life. Arati as settled with the situation, like always. A few days pass and the patriarch understand the emptiness of his spouse. The dependency, a need and a 49 old long habit cannot be simply changed. He understands what he did was wrong and his love for Arati bring him back. He confesses his urge to go around the world but also his love for her. There is always a way to do everything one wants, provided they find it.

The movie reminds of the circle we are bound in, the dependencies and that is it sometime okay to put someone above ourselves. The little things that matter, some things that go unspoken, and the thin line between love and habit. The characters are well thought, the divorce is not due to the conventional reasons but owns urge to be free. But what do we do when that freedom comes at a cost of losing everything else? Or is one’s own freedom and individuality is above all?

Images from Google