Chatrak 2011 Bengali Movie Wiki Link
Sri Lankan filmmaker Vimukthi Jayasundara, known for his languid, hypnotic pacing, conceived Chatrak during a residency in Kolkata. He was struck by the city’s parallel realities—the old, crumbling North Kolkata vs. the new, faceless high-rises emerging from salt lakes and marshes.
"Chatrak" received a moderate response from critics and audiences alike. The film was praised for its thought-provoking storyline, strong performances, and picturesque cinematography. However, some critics felt that the pacing of the film was slow and that it could have been edited to make it more engaging.
The film’s visual style was deliberately bleak. Cinematographer Channa Deshapriya, in collaboration with Jayasundara, used dirty colors and dim lighting to create an oppressive atmosphere of depression and decay. Chatrak 2011 Bengali Movie Wiki
| Field | Details | | :--- | :--- | | | Chatrak (ছত্রাক) | | English Title | Mushroom | | Director | Vimukthi Jayasundara | | Produced By | Fabio Conversi, Eric Heumann | | Screenplay | Vimukthi Jayasundara | | Story By | Vimukthi Jayasundara | | Starring | Paoli Dam, Anubrata Basu, Soumitra Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta | | Music | Naren Chandavarkar, Benedict Taylor | | Cinematography | Chintu Mohanty, Rana Dasgupta | | Editing | Suresh Pai | | Production Companies | The Match Factory, Paoan Production, Arte France Cinéma | | Country | India (West Bengal), France | | Language | Bengali | | Release Date | 7 October 2011 (India – Kolkata International Film Festival) | | Runtime | 90 minutes | | Budget | ~ ₹2.5 crore | | Box Office | Limited theatrical release; primarily festival circuit |
Chatrak ran into trouble with the in India due to its explicit sexual content, including full-frontal nudity and graphic scenes involving Paoli Dam. The board demanded several cuts, but the director refused. Eventually, the film was released with an ‘A’ (Adults Only) certificate and with some scenes retained but muted in theatrical prints. Sri Lankan filmmaker Vimukthi Jayasundara, known for his
Chatrak is a powerful and thought-provoking movie that explores the complexities of life in a Kolkata slum. With its strong performances, nuanced direction, and memorable music, the movie is a must-watch for fans of Bengali cinema. If you haven't seen Chatrak yet, do yourself a favor and watch it – you won't be disappointed!
Rahul (Sudip Mukherjee), an architect returning from Dubai, oversees a massive construction project in Kolkata built on former rice fields. His life is marked by deep existential boredom and a disconnection from his loyal girlfriend, Paoli (Paoli Dam). "Chatrak" received a moderate response from critics and
The film was a commercial failure in West Bengal, running for less than a week in most single-screen theaters. However, it gained a significant later through streaming platforms and film festival retrospectives.
| Feature | Chatrak (2011) | Mainstream Tollywood (2011) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | 90 mins | 150–180 mins | | Songs | None | 5–6 item/dance numbers | | Hero | Ambiguous, mute | Charismatic, romantic lead | | Heroine | Cynical, pregnant | Virtuous, virgin (usually) | | Climax | Abstract mushroom | Fight + resolution + wedding | | Box Office | Flop (cult status) | Often Superhit |
Chatrak is deliberately obscure, but the central thread follows a prodigal son returning to Kolkata. The protagonist, (played by Anubrata Basu), is a migrant worker living in a construction container in a desolate, semi-finished skyscraper on the city’s fringe. He reunites with his estranged wife, Itti (Paoli Dam), a headstrong corporate professional striving for a promotion. She is pregnant, though not necessarily by him—or is she? The film deliberately blurs paternity.
Sonada reconnects with his estranged sister-in-law, (Paoli Dam), who now lives in a shantytown adjacent to the development. As the mushrooms spread, causing respiratory illnesses among the workers and mysteriously distorting time, the line between reality and hallucination blurs. The film features an elderly, unnamed cartographer (Soumitra Chatterjee) who tries to map the fungal spread, treating it as an invading organism that is reclaiming the land from human ambition.
