Sanoj Mishra Films, Waseem Rizvi Films and Kailash Investments’ The Diary Of West Bengal (A) is centred around the influx of Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi extremists in West Bengal and how their settlement is being facilitated by the state government.
Suhasini (Arshin Mehta) runs away from Bangladesh after her father, who is a temple priest, is murdered by Muslims. She lands in the Sundervan jungles of West Bengal in a group of others like her. However, Suhasini runs away from there, too, when she sees Kazi Khan converting the refugees to Islam. While on the run, Suhasini meets Prateek (Yajur Marwah) in the jungle. He takes her to his village after some days. Soon, Prateek marries Suhasini. However, Suhasini doesn’t know that Prateek is actually a Muslim whose real name is Ateek. She also doesn’t know that Ateek is the brother of Mahmood (Deepak Kamboj), an MP from West Bengal, whose main mission seems to be conversion of Hindus to Islam.
Suhasini is keen to meet the Indian prime minister and for this, she seeks the help of news reporter Pragya Shukla (Neet Mahal). What happens when Suhasini learns the truth about Ateek/Prateek?
Sanoj Mishra has written a propagandist story which tries to cash in on the topic of Rohingya Muslims in Calcutta. But the story is so devoid of entertainment and so full of propaganda that it doesn’t appeal much. Why Prateek/Ateek saves Suhasini and gives her refuge in his house is not clear. Why Suhasini does not doubt Prateek/Ateek’s credentials is also not explained. All in all, the screenplay, also penned by Sanoj Mishra, not only lacks entertainment value but is also one of complete convenience. Furthermore, the drama hardly has the desired impact on the audience, leaving them unconcerned and disinterested in the proceedings. Sanoj Mishra’s dialogues are good at places.
Arshin Mehta does quite well as Suhasini. Yajur Marwah is so-so as Prateek/Ateek. Deepak Kamboj is okay in the role of MP Mahmood. Neet Mahal provides fair support as news reporter Pragya Shukla. Dev Faujdar is average as Vishal. Deepak Sootha does an ordinary job as Bhupendra Sarkar. Jitendra Narayan Singh is passable as Waseem Rizvi. Gauri Shankar, Alfiya Shaikh, Garima Kapoor, Abhishek Mishra, Reena Bhattacharya, Priti Shukla, Mukesh Agrahari and the rest barely pass muster.
Sanoj Mishra’s direction is fair. Although he has kept the drama stark, it doesn’t really help because of lack of face value and entertainment or emotional value. A.R. Dutta’s music is so-so. Lyrics (by Sanoj Mishra, Deepak Noor, Kundan Vidyarthi and Samir Shashtree) are ordinary. Nirmal Kumar’s choreography hardly deserves separate mention. Sanju Kumar’s background music is average. Camerawork (Satyapal Singh) is okay. Action and stunt scenes (by Yameen Khan) are devoid of thrill. Bhupesh Salaskar and Sangeeta Kwaradi’s art direction is below the mark. Ranjeet Prasad’s editing leaves something to be desired.
On the whole, The Diary Of West Bengal will go largely unnoticed except in pockets.
Released on 30-8-’24 at Metro Inox (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru August Entertainment. Publicity: so-so. Opening: weak in most of the cinemas, but fair in some. …….Also released all over. Opening was dull at many places.