Dwitiyo Purush review: Extremely casual attempt that lacks the charm of a crime thriller

Not only is Srijit Mukherji’s Dwitiyo Purush a disappointment as a thriller, but it is also sad to see the film being linked with Baishe Srabon (2011), one of the most acclaimed Bengali thrillers of the past decade.

As one leaves the theatre after watching Dwitiyo Purush, it is difficult to banish the thought that perhaps the director made this film out of some compulsion even though he did not really have a composite idea for a thriller.

In fact, it appears that Mukherji had some specific ideas to fit into a script and went ahead and did so with no consideration for their relevance to the narrative. As a result, the supposed sequel to Baishe Srabon ends up without an element of thrill throughout the plot and a twist that takes the narrative nowhere. Or maybe Mukherji has another sequel in mind?

Khoka (Anirban Bhattacharya), the antagonist of the film, goes on a killing spree after he is released from prison after serving a 25-year sentence. He follows pretty much the same pattern of choosing his victims and killing them as he did when he was a teenage criminal (played by Rwitobroto Mukherjee).

Abhijit Pakrashi (Parambrata Chatterjee) is the officer put in charge of investigating the crimes, with the assistance of his new junior Rajat (Gaurav Chakrabarty), who is described as bright by Pakrashi’s senior (Kamaleswar Mukherjee) but is sarcastically insulted by Pakrashi every now and then.

While everyone is quite sure that the crimes are committed by Khoka, Pakrashi wants to be certain about his motive. But instead of spending time and investing energy on the case itself, Pakrashi keeps lecturing Rajat about his amateurish perspective on the case, while he himself provides no sensible point of view.

Pakrashi’s marital life is messed up, but the complications between him and Amrita (Raima Sen) are not properly laid out. Amrita’s character has also been conceived with an extremely superficial outlook.

While Khoka continues to hatch his plans, Pakrashi keeps spending time brooding about his marital discord instead of taking any action to either probe the crimes or resolve his familial problems.

Khoka’s appearance is needlessly dramatic while the character itself lacks depth. Throughout the film, he keeps venting his feelings, hurling curses at people. The episode of him visiting a brothel doesn’t fit anywhere in the narrative.

His association with gang wars is also poorly depicted. Pakrashi, meanwhile, only senses the urgency of the need to apprehend Khoka after an acquaintance gets killed. Then he manages to capture the criminal pretty easily, only to be placed in probably the most odd climax ever.

Mukherji fails to raise anticipation for a revelation at any point of the thriller and suddenly attempts to surprise the audience with a twist that takes away the charm of a crime thriller entirely.

At the end of the film, it is difficult to determine where the characters stand. Most of Khoka’s on-screen presence has been unpleasant. He is not a glorious villain and Bhattacharya’s monotonous speech pattern that lacks coherence makes it quite a tiresome experience to watch him on screen.

Parambrata Chatterjee just floats through his part most of the time, as the script doesn’t demand much modulation from him either. Only during the climax and shortly before that, when he wakes up to the need to arrest the murderer, does he seem to have invested his energy and dedication into his performance.

Raima Sen’s act seems to be too detached. Each of her actions shows that she has only followed certain instructions from the director instead of engaging herself with her character.

Gaurav Chakrabarty fits into his typical good-boy avatar. Ridhima Ghosh’s last sequence in the film is not only amateurish but also unintentionally hilarious as it exposes the writer-director's casual approach to the script.

Rwitobroto Mukherjee’s few moments are gritty and engaging.

There are hardly any well-thought-out dialogues in the film; most of them are silly punchlines, which are not at all humorous and, worse, sound melodramatic.

Soumik Haldar’s cinematography provides no great cinematic moment on screen, nor does Pranoy Dasgupta’s editing. Indraadip Dasgupta’s background score is also unable to lift the plot.

Dwitiyo Purush comes across as the outcome of casual teamwork, as if the team leader aka the director is now so certain of his saleability that he has taken his audience for granted.