Jhora Palok trailer: Unsettling representation of Jibanananda Das's semi-autobiographical novel Malyaban

The trailer for Sayantan Mukherjee’s Jhora Palok, starring Bratya Basu and Jaya Ahsan, shares snippets of an unsettling depiction of poet Jibanananda Das's creative and domestic life.

With a collage of visuals, primarily black and white with occasional tinges of colour, the trailer projects the poet, played by Basu, as a restless and often tormented soul who had a complex relationship with his wife Labanyaprabha (Jaya Ahsan).

Little is known about the novels and short stories written by Jibanananda Das, who is considered the greatest Bengali poet of the post-Tagore era. The film attempts to adapt Das’s first semi-autobiographical novel Malyaban, which got published much after his death.

In the film, Rahul Arunadoy Banerjee portrays the younger Jibanananda, who was severely critiqued and scrutinized in the literary sphere despite his contribution and growing popularity. The trailer suggests that the film explores Das’s continuous personality clashes with his wife, his frustrations from and disappointments with his marital life, his struggle with financial crises and his reception at the literary circles in then Calcutta.

Certain glimpses come across as surreal imageries of the poet’s reflection on what was happening in and around his life. While the trailer makes the discordance in the various aspects of the poet’s life apparent without revealing much about the narrative, Basu’s portrayal of Das comes across as a bit frivolous.

The film is slated for a theatrical release in February. Watch the trailer below and let us know if you are keen to watch the film.