I don't know what I'm going to unleash with this question, but I'm asking it anyway — what are your opinions on Charmurti (1978)?
Oh man you unleashed all my petty rage and nitpicking, god bless. Heads up for anyone who likes it, I'm going to BITCH. And disclaimer that I haven't watched the movie in a couple of years and I'm going off memory.
So. To start off I'm super nitpicky about adaptations especially when the source material is something so important to me so I rarely like any adaptations of Tenida. And my criticisms are possibly too harsh. I don't mind changes to minor story details, I really don't. Satyajit Ray's Feluda movies did that. Minor adaptations don't bother me as long as the general essence is faithful and changes are often necessary for book-to-film adaptation. My problem with Charmurti is that Umanath Bhattacharya does not seem to Get the essence of the story and characters.
First of all What was that ending oh my god. I don't remember exactly what happened but there were some dumbass fight sequences which. what was the point? The book had a perfect climax, it was dramatic and funny but not over the top, it was Handed to you on a Platter and you choose to drag it longer for no reason? Eijonyo desher kichhu hoy na. Even more than the disservice to the canon ending, what bothers me about the ending is that. they're not meant to be op. They're literally just kids who want to have a good time. They're not meant to like, fistfight criminals while cops uselessly hang around in the background. I cannot stress this enough, they're average humans. Chaotic and dumbass yes, but they're not Fight Sequence people. Adaptation directors be like "this generally peaceful domestic character can fistfight. As a treat." (Byomkesh Gotro I'm looking at you)
Anyway moving on. Manna Dey's intro song was nice though the other songs were So random. The comedy was. well. I don't exactly remember why I'm not a fan of the comedy but it seems like the sort of easy-flowing humour of the books translated to pointless yelling and slapstick comedy in the movie? I think it ties in with the director not Getting It but I don't remember these things very well so I'll give it the benefit of doubt.
Now my favourite part: the characters. I did not like Chinmoy Roy's casting At All. I don't get why he's so hyped up in that role because it was objectively bad casting? I mean I know why, it's because people interpret Tenida as slapstick comedy with no depth, but I don't understand. He just didn't have that Personality or even look the part tbh. And you know what? Prabhat Mukhopadhyay whom Tenida was based on didn't much like his portrayal either. Validation right there. (I wish I could link the article I read that in but I can't find it rip)
Habul, Pyala and Kyabla were good appearance wise. Vibe wise not so much. Kyabla was. Idk he's so chill in the books, but he was just? yelling all the time in the movie? He honestly felt kind of dull compared to book Kyabla's bright personality. I really wish I could appreciate the part with Kyabla being emo about Habul being kidnapped but I can't, it's just so over the top. Like the movie does show that they care about each other but it's hard to take seriously because everything is so extra, unlike how in the books there are wholesome parts and they seriously Experience Things even though the style is lighthearted.
And speaking of Kyabla, why are the filmmakers so obsessed with his mother and if they are why don't they show her properly? They rushed through the main plot while wasting half the time on her. The 2012 movie did that too, she's there in the movie all the time and serves no purpose except moping around. She's Not Like That. She was super chill in the books (Kyabla came from somewhere right?). She's the only functional character in the series imo but that's just my opinion. I just? If you must drag her into the story for no reason then do it properly jeez.
Habul was one of the few redeeming qualities of the movie though. And Santosh Dutta. Shantosh Dutta being in the cast is always a good thing. Jhonturam was great, and as far as I remember I liked Satya Bandopadhyay and Rabi Ghosh. I don't remember anyone else rip. Habul was accurate to the books, they somehow miraculously retained his subtle humour and the actor did a Wonderful job with the whole joking with a straight face thing. Genuinely made me laugh in the same way book Habul does, love him for that.
I saved Pyala for last because ofc I'm most passionate about him. He was SO UNDERPLAYED. He comes across as just super try-hardy and extra™ and all he does is whine and get dunked on all the time? Not that I'm surprised, he's always underplayed everywhere. If I were to voice all my grievances about his misinterpretations we'd be here all day but my biases aside: Pyala is super important in the books right? The plot follows him because he's the narrator obviously and that's enjoyable because the reader has that extra connection with him. He affects the narration so much. Sometimes he has more protagonist energy than Tenida and that's fine, Tenida is not meant to be More Capable than the rest like Feluda is.
This is what adaptations go wrong with. They always hold up Tenida as the MVP and don't bother to establish the relationship between Pyala and the viewer. Yet the plot follows Pyala anyway even though he's not established as that special. Why? Why would anyone care so much about him? Either give him the importance he has in the books or nerf him and change the narration accordingly. This is just lazy.
Adapting books with first person narration to movies without first person narration is hard. Afaik some of the Byomkesh movies keep Ajit the narrator and that works. Feluda movies don't keep Topshe the narrator and that also works because the narration is adapted accordingly. In case of Tenida I honestly feel the best way is to keep the first person narration just because the narration affects the story so much.
Yeah I think that's all I have. All that being said, I don't actively hate it, I'm mostly meh on it (especially after seeing the 2012 movie, the 1978 one seems like heaven by comparison) and I guess I only have so many grievances because I'm extra possessive about the books. I don't think it can be judged separately from the books either because it's Supposed to be a direct adaptation. The plot mostly follows the book (other than that ending) so that's good. Overall I guess it's fun but lacks a lot of nuance of the books. THANK YOU for the ask, it was super fun to let off all this steam.
