film review - the bong connection

Bong on Song

The Bong Connection
Director: Anjan Dutt
Cast: Shayan Munshi, Raima Sen, Peeya Rai Choudhuri, Parambrata Chatterjee, Victor Banerjee, Soumitra Chatterjee, June Maliah.

7 on 10

Bongs have bitter critics – in Bongs themselves. The first “Benglish” film reverberates with Bongs bashing Bongs – “you are an ass of a Bong”, “you are a commie from Kolkatta”, “you are a Bengali clerk” etc etc. One ABCD Bong (American Born Confused Desi) – Andy (Shayan Munshi) comes to Kolkata in search of his musical dreams. Another one, Apu (Parambrata Chatterjee), a software professional, goes to Texas in search of the American dream. Apu consciously remains a “Bengali though, as he tells his girlfriend Rita (Peeya Rai Chowdhary) that she’s a brat because she wears Western outfits. He has a girlfriend back home too, Sheela (Raima Sen) who wears sarees.

Andy comes to Kolkata and starts practicing with a local band. The old Bengali babus snore between practice sessions while he implores them to get on with the music. Frustrated, he goes to Shantiniketan, where he finds this Bengali rock band which is very popular but torn internally. He symolises the angst of the person who wants to return home but is frustrated with the stagnation of the place. The frames are brilliantly shot in Kolkata – it’s in colour but you get a feel of sepia, with the old wooden doors, old chattery Bengali men, large houses, all frustrated, and yet content. Andy falls in love with the place but gets no success. Finally, he gets a call from Mira Nair in Canada but is unwilling to go back as he’s fallen in love with both the soil and Sheela who’s still waiting for Apu. His uncle wants to sell off their ancestral property because he is a “Bengali clerk” and doesn’t want to put any effort into it.

On the other hand, the Bongs in America go through their own travails of trying to retain their identity and yet are wannabes. The issues of nostalgia, identity crises, racism, chasing a dream come through quite nicely. Reverse racism happens when Apu’s boss played by Victor Banerjee sacks his colleague when he coms to know he’s a gay. The stories of Kolkata and Texas are juxtaposed so close together that the tension keeps building up despite the humour. The self-critical “Bong” director and script writer knows all the “Bong jokes” and applies them with dexterous timing.

Bong or no Bong, it is eminently watchable for all, and the music that traverses between Bauls, Rock and ranindra sangeet is equally good.