Durer Pothik

Channel: BanglaVision

Composition: Shafiqur Rahman Shantanu

Director: Sayed Shakil

Cast: Ziaul Faruq Apurba, Zakia Bari Momo

While procrastinating from studies, I decided to catch up on some Bangla serial, at least for some (hopefully) entertaining time pass. After surfing through a bunch, I came across this 'special natok' which was aired in the celebration of Bangla Vision's 12th birthday this year. A telefilm that was shown for a special occasion? I couldn't resist raising my expectations. … And soon, I realized I shouldn't have done so.

I will be blunt. I didn't like this drama. “Durer Pothik” brings a lot of promise, and ends up delivering a mixture of romance and drama that seems average at best. The story revolves around a married couple who is going through a tough time rekindling the love they once had. The woman feels that her husband has changed too much and isn't the man that she fell in love with anymore. The husband doesn't deny the fact that he has changed, but assures his wife by constantly saying he changed (which only really includes being busy with work) was for her own betterment. This lack of connection appears after 5 years of marriage, which might seem quite common to many. However, there are darker secrets underfoot.

It turns out that the man only married the woman to get a good position in her father's company, and everything that lead up to this moment in the story was due to the man's desire to be financially successful in life. What drags out to be a predictable romantic drama reveals quite an astonishing plot twist, though one can't help but feel it could have been done just a little bit better. The inadequate amount of runtime struggled to build up on this plot twist and the ending, which came soon afterwards, was forced and unrealistically optimistic. The drama ends on a 'happily ever after' after a short scene of reconciliation, but there was very little justification for doing so. The plot did not make the woman's acceptance believable, neither did it make the man's sudden 'heel turn' an effective one. What you end up with is a 40-minute of cluster that, honestly, had little entertainment value.

The only real selling point of this 'special natok' was perhaps the acting, but I feel like the script severely constrained little of what the actors could show of themselves. Apurbo seemed to fit in as the 'money-obsessed' young husband role, but he could have been used in a much better way. Momo does a good job too, but again, there isn't much to judge given the blandness of the story and the little time the plot struggles to develop within.

I realized I haven't said one good thing about this show yet, and I feel obligated to, but really, this wasn't anything special. Compared to other typical romantic dramas or telefilms focusing on the same genre, this one was too short to be of much value. However, I do believe “Durer Pothik” could have been much better if the producers tried a bit harder. Maybe it was the time limit that was challenging them? Nonetheless, one would definitely expect better from Bangla TV shows from now on.

Shams Rashid Tonmoy is a Literature Major who loves to pointlessly analyze TV shows and movies. Recommend him something good (or bad) at tonmoygonewrongg@gmail.com