“Otoshi Mami”: Manik Bandopadhyay’s first published story comes to life

On the occasion of pioneering Bengali litterateur Manik Bandopadhyay's (1908-1956), birth centenary, Production house Splendor premiered the telefilm "Otoshi Mami," an adaptation of Bandopadhyay's short story with the same title, on March 5. The film was screened at Bengal Shilpalay. It should be mentioned, "Otoshi Mami" (1935), was the first published story by the author.

Simon Zakaria adapted the story for the film. Humayun Kabir Himu and Parvez Amin jointly wrote the script and directed the 72-minute film. Bannya Mirza plays the titular role while Ahmed Rubel, Jhuna Chowdhury, and Shoeb play other important characters in "Otoshi Mami".

The story deals with a group of people who believe that art is larger than life. The film begins with young Suresh (Shoeb) playing flute. His uncle, Horen (Jhuna Chowdhury), discourages him, telling him the story of his flutist friend, Jatin. According to Horen, if one heard Jatin play the flute, he would never wish to play the instrument again. Curious, Suresh sets out for Jatin's place. At Jatin's, Suresh meets a man who is ready to sacrifice his life in the pursuit of his craft. A devoted artiste, Jatin (Ahmed Rubel), is dying from tuberculosis and every time he plays the flute, he has to pay a heavy price with blood-tinged cough. Suresh also meets the flutist's young, beautiful and devoted wife. The woman, whom he calls "Otoshi Mami," particularly impresses Suresh and he is strongly moved by her determination to prevent her husband from playing flute. Years later, Suresh comes across Otoshi again, this time on a train, garbed in all white.

With strong performances by the actors, the telefilm becomes a poignant narrative. The directors seem quite aware of each and every detail. Background score by Komol Khaled is complimentary to the production. In certain scenes, however, the audience found the film a bit dawdling. Sheikh Saiful is the cinematographer of the telefilm.