Directed by Wrishi (who is he?) on a story by Mitali Rakshit, Lukochurii, which means hide-and-seek, is an ambitious film because it is a textbook case of a feature film testing the tolerance levels and patience of the Bengali audience.
Another textbook model this film throws up is how to make good actors act badly and most importantly, how never to make a film. A talented scriptwriter like Padmanavo Dasgupta either did not have his heart in this project, or was not paid his promised honorarium. So he perhaps wreaked his anger on a very bad script as his way of retributive justice. Not the right thing because it would reflect on his resume as scriptwriter.
Joy (Jisshu Sengupta) and Subho (Rudranil Ghosh), two talented actors of Bengali cinema, are two thieves with golden hearts in the film. Their uncertain existence however, is marked by the surprise of Jisshu's designer wardrobe, going in for lightning change in costume for every other scene.
Most of Joy and Subho's thievery attempts are failures. Yet, they wander around in their zigzag gait, tipsy till their eyeballs, right across the deserted streets of Sahapur at night. There are two terrible-looking girls (Sneha Chakraborty and Debarati) who are in love with the two guys probably because no one else will have them.
There is a kidnap plot headed by a group named Jama the Tericot with a leader who calls himself Woolpakano (Rajatava Dutta). He steps into the film dressed up like an actor from some Shakespearean play, in a white silk shirt with frills, a curly, shoulder-length wig and black riding trousers. He is the only 'happening' thing in the film because his very sight provokes laughter as he appears in different disguises and makes faces that are more funny than villainous.
His gang kidnaps Bhondul, the DSP's 10-year-old son for a ransom to buy explosives to bomb every three-star and five-star hotel in the city. Joy and Subho come to the rescue of the boy and save him from being used as a human bomb by Woolpakano and his goons.
Thanks to the terrible acoustics at Kolkata's Bharati theatre, it was easier to get the hang of the story from the P.R.O.'s synopsis than from the film itself. The screen is mostly out of focus and one has no way of knowing whether the blame lies with the cinematographer's (Manas Ganguly) inefficiency or with the projection quality within the theatre. That does not matter because better projection would not have made much difference to the status quo of Lukochurii.
Rahul's music in the background score damages the film further. There is no link between the incidents and the music.
Nitya Ganguly, a wonderful actor, is wasted in an inane role. The best part of watching this film at its press show, where the stars were also invited, is when during the interval, one of the actors requested us to run away before the film ended. We should have listened to him.
The terrible projection conditions at Bharati theatre apart, the audience was punished for no crime of theirs as the workers of the theatre, seemingly a disgruntled lot, would switch off the AC along with the fans whenever they felt like it.
Critic: Shoma A. Chatterji
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