Tirandaj Shabor review: This murder mystery lacks thrills

Tirandaj Shabor is the fourth film in Arindam Sil’s detective franchise after Ebar Shabor (2015), Eagoler Chokh (2016) and Ashche Abar Shabor (2018).

Starring Saswata Chatterjee as the titular sleuth Shabor Dasgupta, the film is based on a Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay story.

Cab driver Sumit Ghoshal (Nigel Akkara), better known as Bulu Da in the slum where he resides, arrives at a police station with the corpse of Sitanath Samaddar (Arindam Sil). While being interrogated by Shabor, Sumit claims that Sitanath — a government clerk-turned-businessman — was in his vehicle with two other passengers, who got out midway. The cabbie also states that he brought Sitanath to the police station because he thought he was unconscious.

The sharp detective immediately confronts Sumit, stating that his statement would have made more sense if he had taken his passenger to the hospital. The sleuth, however, refrains from detaining Sumit and orders him to report to him every day.

While Shabor keeps a close watch on the cab driver, he begins to look into Sitanath’s past. As more characters who seem to be directly or indirectly linked with the murder victim emerge, the plot gets both complex and confusing.

The interesting aspect of the story is that all the characters are grey and Shabor cannot help but consider them the potential culprit. But while the detective remains puzzled till the end, the film begins to give certain hints to the audience, which makes it predictable.

The film touches upon infidelity, money laundering and manipulation while certain characters seem to be victims of circumstances. But there are also characters who rise above the constraints of their situation and make sacrifices for others. In the end, the film reveals a different side to the tough detective as well.

Shabor Dasgupta’s observant nature and tough attitude suit the fast-paced thriller and the character's dark humour occasionally provides moments of relief.

Not much can be revealed about Sil’s character without spoiling things, but the director has given his all. Chandan Sen in the character of Sitanath’s close acquaintance Pareshnath is dramatic too.

However, the rest of the performances are a real letdown, especially that of Nigel Akkara, who plays the pivotal character Sumit.

While the film is complex because of its characters, the screenplay doesn’t have many moments that generate suspense. Ayan Sil’s cinematography also falls short in terms of coming up with thrilling visual moments while editor Sanglap Bhowmick has simply focused on keeping the length of the film concise.

Bickram Ghosh seems to have gone overboard once again by coming up with a background score that does not allow a moment of silence. The dance number by Ujjaini Mukherjee is quite an addition to the masala quotient of the film.

The film is a strictly one-time watch because of how the narratives of each character unfold. While the performances lack finesse, the film has quite an outdated look as well.

Tirandaj Shabor was released in theatres across West Bengal on 27 May.