Lawho Gouranger Naam Rey: Unravelling Chaitanya through Srijit Mukherji's prism

Unravelling the life and times of Chaitanya is a mission for many, especially his final years. Srijit Mukherji tries to put the cult figure through a prism. Just as a prism splits white light into its constituent colours, Srijit tries to use the film Lawho Gouranger Naam Rey to isolate the theories surrounding the myth around Chaitanya and his mysterious disappearance in Odisha.

What worked for Srijit Mukherji's Lawho Gouranger Naam Rey?

Srijit Mukherji is a filmmaker who has a distinctive style of storytelling, weaving plots within plots. In Lawho Gouranger Naam Rey, he takes it another step ahead. Here he uses three actors to portray Nimai -- newcomer Dibyojyoti Dutta, Subhashree Ganguly and Indraneil Sengupta. One cannot be faulted if one is suddenly reminded of Bunuel's use of two actresses to play the same character in That Obscure Object of Desire. The only difference -- while Bunuel used the two actresses to play the same character in the same time frame, Srijit uses them to portray the same character in different time zones.

If you go to the theatres with a mind set to see a biopic on the cult figure, you could be a tad disappointed. However, Srijit pulls off one thing with elan -- he tries to build perspectives around how the religious hero from Bengal met his end in Odisha. Since there is no conclusive evidence to point to any particular theory, he perhaps does what he could have done -- trigger questions. In the process if the film provokes a few to read up more to enquire about the popular yet enigmatic religious hero, Srijit would have done his bit.

The making is taut and racy. Srijit juxtaposes scenes and tries to take them to the questions as to how Chaitanya suddenly disappeared in a distant land where he triggered reverence and opposition in powerful constituencies.

If you say, what we loved about the movie? The beautiful screenplay, the way the eras have been depicted through deft camera work and the eloquent performances by Bratya Basu, Subhashree and Dibyajyoti. The hero of the movie, like in all of Srijit's films, is the music, especially the ones by Indraadip Dasgupta that simply takes you to a trance and almost transports you to the mystic world of Nimai Sanyasi. And Subhashree packed a flourish while essaying the character of Noti and Chaitanya on stage. This film will surely will be remembered for being one of her career bests, definitely raising the bar as a competent actress. She's undoubtedly here for a long haul and developing a promising oeuvre.

This film not only showcases Srijit's control over the craft but also proves again what a die hard romantic and optimist he is. Lawho Gouranger Naam Rey isn't just a deep dive into the mysterious life and times of Chaitanya but a deeper dive into the eternal and unviversal feelings of love, kindness and brotherhood that helps keep the humanity alive. 

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