Strokes and Silhouettes

Strokes and Silhouettes is the very first Indian feature in a local language, released in India by Columbia Tristar Sony. The film is about the relationship between a daughter and her father, and about the changes in people’s lives as their situations change. A typical Bengali film, with lots of dialogue about art and about the ups and downs of the artistic process.Soumitra Chatterjee, well-known from his many films with Satyajit Ray, plays a wonderful leading role in the film, the amiable tempo of which corresponds to its deep emotional undercurrents. Anjan Das takes us to the world of Tukum, a dissatisfied, lonely and searching twentysomething. She seeks advice from imaginary muses who function as spiritual guides. Her life revolves around her family, especially around her talented father, the painter Saikat (Chatterjee). Tukum is desperately seeking her one great love but when the man she fancies tries to rape her, she starts to distrust men. Sex is again a disruptive factor when Tukum finds her mother in bed with a family friend, an incident that has terrible consequences, that finally lead to insight. Anjan Das presents a richly varied cast, augmented with glowing images of Calcutta and the hills of West-Bengalen.