Rabindranath Tagore’s stories have been adapted to film many times. But never has any film this much trippy and surreal. ‘Tasher Desh’ written by Qaushiq Mukherjee and Surojit Sen and directed by Qaushiq is a fantasy film released in 2012. The film is adapted from Tagore’s play of the same name and has actors like Anubrata, Joyraj, Tillotama Shome, Rii, Tinu Verghese, Immaduddin Shah and Soumyak Kanti.
‘Taasher Desh’ tells the story of a prince who tries to escape his destiny by fleeing to an island. But that island turns out to be a fascist state and people are oppressed there. The prince tries to arouse the women of the state to rebellion against the state. The film somehow looks similar to the classic ‘Heerak Rajar Deshe’ by Satyajit Ray.
Q or Qaushiq Mukherjee is known for making creative films on a very limited budget. His films like ‘Gandu: The Loser’ have gained wide critical acclaim and also love from intellectual audiences. Tasher Desh cannot be tagged as a masterpiece but it is definitely an important film and worth a watch. Neel’s music is pretty good. Manu Dacosee has done a great job as a cinematographer. The color palette and the editing offers a psychedelic experience with the film.
If you are a fan of psychedelic and dreamy fantasies and films that are given a surreal treatment, you should give ‘Tasher Desh’ a try. It is one hour and fifty two minutes long and is available to watch on Netflix.