REVIEW: Rahul Bose's Antaheen

If you have seen Anuranan, you'll probably know what to expect from this filmmaker – the unexpected! And Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury doesn't fail to deliver on that aspect with his new film Antaheen.

Antaheen – the journey of a handful of Sisyphian characters

Antaheen literally translates to 'unending' and the film successfully brings to life that basic existential aspect of love and relationships. The story is woven around one man Abhik Chowdhury (Rahul Bose) and his household – consisting primarily of his unmarried aunt Pishimoni (Sharmila Tagore), his brother Ronno (Kalyan Roy) and Ronno's estranged wife Paromita (Aparna Sen). While superficially, they live satisfying lives, inside…they are as unsettled and confused as a two-year-old.

Abhik (Rahul Bose) is an IPS officer. He is honest, hardworking, famous but unknown to the realm of love. Orphaned at childhood, the only source of love and affection in his life is his unmarried aunt. She is the only steady and calming factor in this young man's life and probably the entire film considering the other characters are always in a state of emotional flux living out the myth of Sisyphus.

Paromita and Ronno are separated yet too attached to severe ties. They live in a constant state of denial and live to prove just the opposite with their actions. In this mundane scenario of these four lives bursts in Brinda Roy Menon (debutant Radhika Apte). She acts as the catalyst to get Abhik, Ronno and Paromita's life moving slowly… if not at a break neck speed.

Abhik and Brinda bond over the internet, obviously not as Brinda and Abhik but as 'raat jaaga tara' (a star of the night) and 'the boy in the box' – their chat names. This 'chat friend' genre however old and clichéd serves as the perfect platform to depict what we call the 'intimate stranger' syndrome. Both Abhik and Brinda start depending and believing on their 'virtual' friend more than real life flesh and blood individuals. Their relationship also stands out as the most 'sorted' of them all.

NEXT: The film and its flaws