Review of Aschhe Abar Shabor

Two young girls are raped and strangled to death in a similar fashion in Kolkata and Chandernagore which gives everyone an impression that a serial killer may be on loose. That's when the detective department's ace cop Shabor Dasgupta (Saswata) and his team (Gaurav and Subhrajit) take on the task of unraveling the truth behind the grotesque killings. "Asche Abar Shabor" is the third installment of the Shabor franchise and this time Director Arindam Sil weaves the tale with multiple elements of lust, frustrated lovers, nymphomaniacs and a saga of betrayals. Hence we find a 20 year old spoilt Rinku Roy (Diti), daughter to rich and divorced parents and in love with a 38 year old man (Indraneil) who enjoys quite a bit of a nefarious reputation in the locality of Chandernagore. Rinku's own mother had long besieged her and her rich dad had no time to spare for her. Her step-mom hoped for her death and no one likes her closeness with a man almost double her age. It's worth mentioning though that why her lover Indraneil enjoys the tag of Lothario is never explained in the story. He owns a huge mansion, runs a ramshackle garage, lives like a recluse and is extremely hated by everyone around except Rinku. Apart from the fact that he is estranged from his newly wed-wife, there's nothing so abhorring about the suave. When Rinku was found brutally murdered, everyone from the agitated localites to the police branded him as the criminal. Sil should have formed some sort of a backdrop to support this mass-antipathy against the prime suspect. The next murder is that of a female escort named Sophia who actually hails from Burdwan, gets raped and murdered in some desolate corner of Kolkata and then her body is being moved all the way to Chandernagore. Confusing, isn't it? To add to it, the party was thrown by a man who hailed from Chandernagore but presently lived in Lucknow (Mir Afsar Ali). During the unfolding of the mystery, it was revealed that the murder took place in a fit of rage and it was not a pre-meditated one. Then why was the body dragged all the way to Chandernagore and why were not there any bruises or injury marks in the victim's body? The dress was reasonably in tact too. During the murder of the second escort, the inconsistencies prevailed too. One of the characters who was enraged of his own own poor status was shown to ride a swanky bike and sport a fancy watch. Clearly, Mr.Sil missed out on quite a few details. Unlike the other two Shabor movies, this one clearly lacked the X-factor that makes a thriller gripping. There were not many surprise elements and the story did not have any character who was completely unconventional unlike Anirban Bhattacharya's character in Eagoler Chokh (Eagle's Eye). The movie somehow feels to be infested with too many unnecessary add-ons. However, despite all this "Asche Abar Shabor" is not a bad attempt and definitely a one-time watch. The greatest pillar the movie holds on to is the stellar performance of the cast. Saswata as the titular character again does a complete justice to the role. The rest Indraneil, Arunima, Anindya, Mir, Gaurav chip in well. But the one actor who really stole the show was Subhrajit who played Shabor's funny sidekick Nandalal. His comic timing, expressions and idiosyncrasies will be etched forever in the audience's memory. The bungling God-fearing deputy was stunning in the scene when a girl attempted to seduce him. The bathing scene which followed in the spirit of atonement was equally funny.

The theme song of Shabor is barely noticeable but Bickram Ghosh does compensate it with "Kaise Manayun Shyam" which have been picturized well too. Saswata's preachy monologue in the concluding juncture is enough to piss one off. Overall, Arindam SIl's latest attempt in the series is not an utterly foiled venture, it's merely the third best Shabor movie till date.