'Dui Ongsher Shesh Ektai': A drama-thriller crossover

“Dui Ongsher Shesh Ektai” was a single-episode TV play that aired on Channel 9 on the third day of Eid, and since has been released online on Youtube. Written and directed by young director Taneem Rahman Angshu, it features a predominantly young cast, including Tawsif Mahbub, Mishu Sabbir, Azmeri S Asha, Sabnam Faria, Joy Raj, Rono Moumder, Kochi Khandakar and others.

Set in Old Dhaka, the play is divided into two separate stories that are only connected in the final sequence of the play. The first shows young  girl Zareen (Asha) leaving her house and seeking refuge at her boyfriend's friend Hanif's house, while her boyfriend Babar (Tawsif) is heckled by local goons. It turns out that Zareen is the stepsister of Zakir (Rono), a local gang leader, and has left the house sick and tired of being oppressed. As Babar struggles to find a way out of the trouble, Zakir and his gang are on the hunt for Zareen. As Zareen and Babar leave Hanif's house, Hanif calls up Zakir and rats them out. Babar and Zareen are apprehended by Zakir, who takes Zareen into a car and asks his gang members to teach Babar a lesson.

The second story is of a young man (Joy Raj) who comes to a local cable TV operator's store and asks for a connection to be set at his house. The store employee (Mishu Sabbir) goes to set it up and meets the man's beautiful yet timid wife (Faria). The two develop an unlikely chemistry, before the husband finds out about it and physically abuses his wife. The wife retaliates, and the video store employee who hanging out nearby, hears the commotion and attacks the husband; the wife eventually deals him a fatal blow to the head, but not before he has called the police. The police soon come and arrests the cable employee, and only after he is put in the prison van is when he meets a beaten and bruised Babar, who asks him “Have you murdered anyone?” to which he nods, and asks Babar if he has done so too. Babar, with a sinister look, replies “No, but I will.”

The two stories show two very different kinds of relationships, and how the men are often at the receiving end of the troubles. The premises are set nicely, and the stories believable, with nice touches of details adding to it.

Acting in general is good, apart from Azmeri S Asha, who remains constantly unconvincing. Mishu, Tawsif and Faria – three of the popular young faces of TV -- all go quite well. Faria is surprisingly natural in her role, Mishu Sabbir pulls off the lovestruck and the serious sides of his characters equally well, while Tawsif's intensity in the end scene leaves a lingering impact. Veteran Kochi Khandakar (in the role of cable store owner) adds some depth to the cast, and the relatively lesser-known faces, Rono in particular, deliver their roles brilliantly. The dialogue dialects are a little mixed up, especially in the first half, but the camerawork, screenplay, background music and scores, and overall compactness of the story makes for good viewing.