Tag Archives: Abhijit Guha

Hercules (2014)

Written by Abhikendu Deb Roy

Ratings: 3.5/5

In today’s world, we are so caught up with our hectic schedules that we do not have time to respect sentiments. ‘Hercules’ teaches us how to cling on to our memories and march forward into a new future.

Director duo Sudeshna Roy – Abhijit Guha are back with their satirical comedy drama film ‘Hercules’.

Haru, played by Parambrata Chatterjee, is a peon at a Govt. Office, who prefers to stay back at home to going to work on a working day. He, hereditarily, is the owner of an age-old house, which is being eyed by a Building Promoter Mr. Bajoria for the construction of a mall.

Saswata Chatterjee’s Mosh is the “Para’s Gunda” who is the middle man for Bajoria-Haru faceoff and tries to lure Haru into handing over the plot to them.

How Haru, single-handedly, saves his plot from being converted into a mall is all about Hercules. There is obviously a romantic angle in this ‘jomi dokhol’ story, exactly where Paoli Dam’s Meenu comes into play.

The synopsis might have a huge ‘Bhooter Bhobishyot’ hangover, but the underlying layers and the subplots make this all the way more interesting.

Director duo Sudeshna Roy – Abhijit Guha successfully execute the simple tale of Haru, penned down by Padmanabha Dasgupta. It might seem that the story has been loosely inspired from Tagore’s poem “Dui Bigha Jomi”, translated beautifully in modern times.

Parambrata has a double role in this movie and it is quite a pleasure watching him on screen. The best moments of the film are when the two Parambrata’s are having a conversation between them.

Paoli, who even though doesn’t have much to do in this film, is good enough in the scenes she appears in. Saswata has been a veteran in playing the role of a “Para’s Gunda” and is a riot in every scene he comes in.

The makers have tried to keep the film short and crisp, the running time being 1 hour 52 minutes. The first half is so engaging that you are craving for the next moment to arrive. The pace of the second half drops a bit and is a bit dragging, nonetheless ending it just when it might have had got on your nerves. The edit team has surely done their job nicely.

The music by Neel Dutt is ho-hum and could have been done away with. Two songs popping out of nowhere post-interval is also a negative point to the not-so-engaging second half.

Since the story mainly revolves around an ancestral house, the outdoor shoots remain limited. The art director must be applauded for his immensely beautiful portrayal of the age-old house. Usage of similar camera angles is one of the few flaws in the technical department of the film.

Hercules is the story of a timid man, entangled with the memories of his ancestral house, coping up with the pressures of the ruffian.

Hercules is the present day analogy of the middle class man trying to cope up with the pressures of the party politics.

Hercules is the resurgence of the hero within Haru. Hercules is the resurgence of the hero within us.

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SexTP15yGfI