It was indeed a viewer’s delight to watch the movie “Rosogolla” today at Niles theater. Set in the middle of 19th century, this film takes us through the journey of the making of the iconic Bengali dessert– the “Rosogolla” that has marveled generations in Bengal and eventually the entire Indian subcontinent.

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The film, akin to its name is nothing short of a wonderfully sweet love story. The travails of a son and his widowed mother, living off crumbs of his late father’s elder brother, gets tense when they face real existential crisis. This crisis was due to the unflinching resolve of the boy of 20 to become a “moira” or a sweet maker, which was a profession that was looked down upon by pedigreed families. He and his mother were eventually thrown out of their home. The boy, Nobin Chandra Das, who was not worldly astute, had to face a lot of stumbling blocks in terms of cash crunch, getting duped by seemingly altruistic partners, who turned out as swindlers. The film entwines a beautiful romantic resolve that kindles the fire in him to please his lady love who desires a certain kind of sweet that has never been made. I am not sure about the verity of historical accounts, but would laud the director and script writer in adroitly weaving this magical romance set in a rustic setting 150 years ago, even if it is imaginary. The girl (Khirod) and boy(Nobin) marry at a young age. In a rather emotive burst, Nobin sets his own shop right opposite to his erstwhile employer and arch nemesis who had insulted and finally fired him for his creative failed pursuits. After a lot of failed attempts,he finally strikes success and makes his name and fame in Kolkata. He remained a humble man who spread his skills far and wide and never got unduly lured by money.

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The quality of acting of Ujaan Ganguly (Nobin) and Abantika Biswas(Khirod) was stellar. Both of them will go a long way and have done justice to the roles. While Khirod portrayed the tom-boyish role of a sweet naughty teenager with a good deal of business and marketing sense which was uncommon to a Bengali girl 150 years ago, Nobin’s simplicity, humility and integrity of character was poignantly enacted by Ujaan.His stubbornness not to give in to patent rights also shows a different side of this so called “Columbus of Rosogolla”. He was not merely a business man driven by money, but a man driven by love for his wife, family and his passion to create new desserts like “Rosogolla”, “Abar Khabo”, “Boikunthobhog”, "Dedo sondesh" and many other sweets. The other named actors like Koushik Sen, Aparajita Adya, Kharaj Mukherjee, Rajatava Dutta,have all done an excellent job in their respective roles, as expected. I personally loved the character played by Aparajita who patronized Nobin’s creative pursuits and also helped him with a “seed” fund. Nobin’s mother was played by Bidipta Chakraborty, who is a known thespian on Kolkata stage and screen.

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This was my first treat of Pavel’s film. However, I cant discount the influence of Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy as “presenters”who have given gems in the past such as “Icche", “Posto”, “Ramdhonu”, “Prakton”.Their  creative touch definitely contributed to this gem of a movie. The folk and other gendres of music was also excellent in this movie and had their original tunes.

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I left the theater with a smilar feeling with which I had left theaters of biopics of “inventors” or “first of their kinds”…..e.g. “The Physician” by Philip Stolzl or “The Imitation Game” by Morten Tyldum. It is sad, that the movie is Bengali and not by a big name or director of Europe or Hollywood. Else, this film has all the fire power to be a trail blazer by its own rights. This can be compared to any internationally acclaimed film that has earned its stripes.

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Thanks to the organizers for making this happen. I would look forward to many more of these in future.