I am not a stickler for mellow romantic drama and I found it difficult to instantly like this film. I however believe that it would be erroneous to be judgemental, because this kind of cinema has an audience of its own.
Dubbed from a Bengali film which is in itself inspired from Tagore, Kashmakash tells the story of four people who, as luck would have had it have intertwined lives. Hemnalini (Raima) and Ramesh love each other, but Ramesh marries someone else under pressure from his family. As luck would have it, they meet with an accident when the young couple's boat capsizes and Ramesh finds himself marooned on a shore with Kamala (Riya). Now since Ramesh had never seen his own wife and Kamala is dressed as a bride, he automatically believes her to be the one. Meanwhile, Hemnalini learns about her lover's marriage and falls in love with Nalinaksha, who is actually Kamala's husband.
While the story is a typical melodrama about human relationships, much rests on the treatment. Here, Rituparno-da creates an authentic atmosphere of Bengal from older times, by way of dressing sense and sets. By way of performances too, the actors play their parts well however at times they seem to be unrealistic and overtly dramatic. It is hard to imagine Riya Sen as a tormented woman. The sorrow and the suffering depicted in the film also make it a slightly less entertaining and somewhat painful watch, and will appeal only to the intellectual Bong in his/her native language. Raima Sen however takes most of the accolades feeling remarkably natural; she already comes experienced in artsy cinema and knows exactly what to do in these situations.
Although I haven't read the book nor do I have any working knowledge of Bengali literature, I have heard that the film takes liberal digressions from the actual story which might offend Tagore afficionados, the primary audience for the film.
Final word ? - Meant for leisurely viewing by audiences over 30 who are ready to give time to watch this intense outing. And perhaps overlook the creative differences from Rabindra nath's actual Nauka Dubi.
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