Pen Studios, Sipping Tea Cinemas and Sudipto Sen Productions’ Charak (A) is about an ancient ritual where faith is expressed through physical endurance.
In Chandpur village, there’s an annual Charak festival where tantrik monks assemble from all over. Those who are desirous of amassing wealth or those who wish to have a child are made to suffer and endure extreme penance. Humans and animals are also sacrificed at the festival to achieve goals.
Bikash (Subrat Dutta) and Sukumar (Shashi Bhushan) are good friends in Chandpur. Bikash lives with wife Sabitri (Manosree Biswas) and son Birsa (master Shankhadeep Banerjee). Sukumar lives with his wife, Bimala (Sreya Bhattacharya), and they have no progeny. Sukumar and Bimala love Birsa as they would love their own son. In spite of enduring penance at the Charak festival year after year since a decade, Sukumar is still childless. There’s police officer Subhash Sharma (Sahidur Rahman) in the village. He is married to Shefali (Anjali Patil) and they have been a childless couple for 12 years now.
One day, Jagan (Nalneesh), who has an axe to grind with Bikash, asks Sukumar to sacrifice a child at the Charak festival. He is hinting at sacrificing Birsa. But Sukumar is in two minds. Suddenly, Birsa and his friend, Kanu (master Shounak Shyamal), go missing. Forest officer Baga (Partha Pratim Sarkar), whom Sukumar had given money to carry out a task, is also found dead. Soon thereafter, Kanu’s dead body is found. Where is Birsa? Is he also dead? Who is responsible for the deaths? The needle of suspicion points towards Jagan and Sukumar. What happens thereafter?
Sanjay Halder’s story is dated and would not appeal to today’s viewers. Farauq Malik’s screenplay is not at all interesting. The drama is seeped in superstitious beliefs, which reduces its appeal for today’s generation to almost nil. Had the screenplay been more convincing, even the superstitious beliefs and practices in the drama may have worked with the viewers. Farauq Malik’s dialogues are average.
Shashi Bhushan acts well as Sukumar. Subrat Dutta is okay as Bikash. Sahidur Rahman is so-so as police officer Subhash Sharma. Anjali Patil does a fair job as Shefali. Master Shankhadeep Banerjee is alright as Birsa. Nalneesh performs ably in the role of Jagan. Master Shounak Shyamal lends ordinary support as Kanu. Koushik Kar is average as political leader Shobharam. Sreya Bhattacharya passes muster as Sukumar’s wife, Bimala. Manosree Biswas is alright in the role of Bikash’s wife, Sabitri. Partha Pratim Sarkar is so-so as forest officer Baga. Debdas Ghosh (as constable Robbie), Deepankar Mukherjee (as constable Madan), Pradip Dhar (as senior inspector Bipin Lahiri), Snigdha Mondal (as Jagan’s daughter, Ruma), Prasun Gain (as Kanu’s father), Sushmita Sur (as Bela), Debasish Mondal (as Aghori Bhima), Soumil Mukherjee (as Bhiku), Abhishek Kumar (as Parimal), Aradhya Ray (as Protima), Sanjeet (as young Bikash), Manoj Das (as young Sukumar), Sunandan (as young Jagan) and the others pass muster.
Shieladitya Moulik’s direction is average. Bishakh Jyoti’s music is nothing to dance about. Lyrics (by Anant (Ghor aghori) and Amarnath Jha (Yagya kund)) are average. Bishakh Jyoti’s background music is fair. Prasantanu Mohapatra and Manas Bhattacharya do an ordinary job of the camerawork. Biswajit Barua, Angana Sen and Sanjay Pal’s art direction is okay. Praveen Angre’s editing should’ve been sharper.
On the whole, Charak will prove to be a dull fare because it hardly has appeal for the youth or, for that matter, even the rest of the audience.
Released on 6-3-’26 at Inox (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay by PEN Marudhar Cine Entertainment. Publicity & opening: poor. …….Also released all over. Opening was dull everywhere.