On 30th September, The Diary of West Bengal released on the theatres under the political mindset of unravelling the issue of forceful conversions and atrocities against Hindus by radical Islamist groups in West Bengal. But the movie’s focus on the propaganda without much effort on the content and expression of the content made the movie a mess rather than a hit. The movie could have been a good watch, but the sub-par quality makes it unbearable to watch.
The movie describes the journey of a woman named Suhasini Bhattacharya (played by Arshin Mehta) who immigrated to West Bengal from East Pakistan at the time of communal violence in the 1970s. Her husband and parents had all been murdered during the communal violence, and she escapes the situation by migrating to India. What follows is the mistreatment of Suhasini by the radical Islamist groups who force her to convert to Islam. The group aids her, making her fall for their act when their true motives are hidden behind the veil of good will.
The film becomes unbearable to watch as the performances are very sub-par having no impact on the scenes. The screenplay too seems weak with inconsistencies prevailing throughout. Some of the dialogues prove to be cringeworthy let alone be thought-provoking. The performances which already dwindle are further affected by the bad dialogues. The plot is a weakly written one with only attention to the propaganda and zero emphasis on the artistic aspects. The movie is laden with clichés and ridiculous elements that makes the 135 minutes of the show unwatchable.
The main essence of the movie is lost with the bad execution and treatment of the plot. The characters are unrelatable, unimpactful and incompetent to move one’s mind. The film as a whole is a waste of time and fortunately, theatres are not paying attention towards screening the film.