Hoi Choi Bengali Movie
Impressive posters and a few festival tours, much before the release has really built up the suspense quite well for Debarati Gupta's debut film Hoi Choi. The film explores the path of street theatre and throws the spotlight on the young generation, who are constantly struggling with the idea of success and ideology.
Street theatre has always been regarded with distinction, owing to the depth and purity of this performing art form. The groups practicing this art form generally performed live on the streets and brought to light trivial issues related to the society and common man. Director Debarati Gupta in Hoi Choi builds up the story around a young upcoming theatre group of the city.
Piyal (Paoli Dam) forms a group 'Hoi Choi, she is then joined by Piyal, Aban and Tupur, they are all struggling actors and actresses and have been deprived of the limelight and stage performances for years now. They have always been used behind the stage, it is their struggle to come in front, that they bring about with their own group.
In the midst of all the initial hiccups as a new kid on the block, Hoi Choi as a group begins to get stronger and all the more liberated. However, they can't decide what they were going to perform, as all of them were too keen to 'act'. A series of events follows but they get selected to perform at the Calcutta Theatres festival, all that they need now is an original script. After the script the next big thing was money and then a huge crisis, which unfolds through the narrative and makes Hoi Choi an interesting watch.
Rahul Bannerjee is good in his role as a scriptwriter and an actor for the group and his chemistry with Priyanka on screen is beautiful and natural, like always. Paoli Dam is impressive and has a big role to play within the group and the film as a whole. Director Debarati Gupta has made real people and Film directors take up considerable roles in the film, which they execute neatly and in a balanced way.
To summarize, Hoi Choi is a film dealing with the nitty gritty's of theatre and do not shy away from showing the adversities of the same too. The film is a good watch, but it could actually have been an excellent watch.
