Mountain of the Moon

Waited for this since it was a rumor. Liked the end product. Theme: Its an adventure movie. 90% of the movie is shot in either wild or desert. Chander Pahar is the story of a young Bengali man's adventures in Africa in the years 1909-1910. Shankar Roy Chowdhury, the protagonist, is a 20-year old man, recently completed his FA(graduation) and about to take up a job in a jute mill, a prospect he absolutely loathes. He yearns for adventure, wild lands, forests and animals. He wants to follow the footsteps of famous explorers like Livingstone, Mungo Park, Marco Polo, all of whom he has read about and idolizes. By a stroke of luck, he secures a job as a clerk in Uganda Railway through a fellow villager already working there and goes to Africa without a second thought. Character development: The character of Shankar is drawn very well. His transformation from a Bengali village boy to a wanderer is drawn very carefully. Two things made it possible i.e. make-up and Dev's somewhat mature acting. Direction: The director first gets a nod for daring to make such a movie. Then he again gets a nod to make Dev act. Non-linear narration was used to tell the story. He took artistic liberty to tweak few story points. At times actors took time to react to their environment which should have been taken care of. Man vs. Wild scenes are very well captured and they are a treat to your eyes. The thrill and excitement is very well built and executed. He gets nod for creating few edge-on-the seat action scenes. Still more work should have done Dev's expressions. Why is he smiling in almost all scenes? Cinematography: This and this only makes all sins made by Dev go away. Beauty of Africa, wild animals, chase scenes are very well executed.Hats off to the DOP Soumik Haldar. Acting: Dev tries and tries very hard. Till he's accompanied by Alvarez he poses an immature look on his face and casual approach to situations around him. May be its intentional to make his character feel more out-of-place without Alvarez or its his weakness. Still, till Alvarez is alive he at times appears annoying. Gerard Rudolf as Deigo Alavarez did a very commendable job. Very good acting by this gentleman. Kudos to him. Songs and background score: Only one song and I did not like it. Background score was apt to the mood of the scenes and never overwhelms the scene. Editing: The dialog parts are too slow for the high paced movie like this. Editing could have been more good. Few unnecessary scenes are kept which can be removed. Specially the scene where Shankar Alvarez gets to meet three Masai tribe members in wild. This is an important part of the book but when pictured this scene does not add any value to the move. One or two more scenes like this could have been edited. Entertainment value: Apart from the occasional slowness this a very good adventure movie. Full of African wild animals and edge-on-seat thrill. I would recommend this. Verdict: Tollywood never did an adventure movie. Did not do in India and leave alone Africa. But the director and more-over the producers took the risk to do the impossible. The risks were great. What if it tanks, what if it does not live up to the expectation of people. Making movie from a classic is always a risky business. Still they braved this and we get a very good Christmas present in the form of a movie. Should you watch it? Why not? Most of us had read the book and imagined the locations in our mind. This is a dream-come-true for all of us. The director does not cheat us here. If not 100% but I would say 80% of your thirst would be quenched. Yes Dev hams at the beginning of the movie but later he throws a good acting example. Ask me, I liked what I had seen. A warning, don't expect much as VFX from a movie whose total budget was 15 crore.

Despite several accusations on the village-minded acting of DEV, it was a right decision to go and watch Chader PAHAR at first day. The movie had a irregular graph of suspense, several ups and downs, still it managed to glue me to my sit for the whole 150 minutes. Rightly predicted by Kamaleswar Mukherjee, this movie will drag the standards of tollywood to one level up. Beautiful landscapes of South Africa & Mount Kilimanjaro are added flavor to the epic story-line, which has been nostalgia among Bengalis irrespective of age group. Loved the presence of Gerard Rudolf as Diego Alvarez, boosted the reality in the movie, and I missed the voice of Sabyasachi Chakraborty as a narrator, which had been perfect, considering the fact that jungle is his specialty. Also the background score could be better. But all in all, a must watch movie to see the hard work Chader Pahar team has put to make this a success. Viva, montanha da lua !

Chander Pahar............ Its really a journey if I forget Deb If I forget Bibhutibhusan and if I forget Kamaleshwar..Its still a journey for a Bengali movie to have come this far and a must watch for any Bengali...Animations are amateur no doubt but still the amount it has shown is a great leap for Bengali movie. The story line has been maintained around 80 percent with some overthrown because of infrastructure and difference in the art form. Deb has come a long way from what we know of him......But still I feel some other would have gone far in critic sense but in commercial angle Deb has been viable. Music and background score is good.But the editing has not been up to the mark with us feeling bored at the end of first half. Alvarez was excellent except the language with which he decides to speak... Bunip was a poor creative...but the lion scenes excellent .. A good effort and a new market that could take Bengali movie to great heights and can make many of our Bengali classics commercially viable.... Cant give less than 4 out of 5 as a Bengali........................

Please visit - http://iamalekhya.blogspot.com Mountains of the Moon come to reel. One of the best movies made lately. It is one of my favorite escapade hardback and I am really happy with its reel product The movie is a true gem and bids extensive detailing of African biota. Director adds some of his own accounts to the story which is something new, which could have been edited but still it doesn't matters to you in the end. You'll actually love it. Acting: Dev has a done fabulous job. The character of Shankar is drawn very well by him. Especially the last 15 minutes, he has done his best till date. It seems that he was made for this role. Gérard Rudolf does a praiseworthy job, loved him as Diego Alvarez. Direction: Salute to the director, Mr. Kamaleswar Mukherjee for being audacious to make such a movie. He is the one who bring to us Dev in an innovative way and makes Gerard Rudolf speak Bengali in a Portuguese accent. Cinematography: Soumik Halder does it yet again. Every bit of scenes he captured, from the landscapes to the chased thing, he made us Teleport to Africa. Sound: I liked the Background Score but it could have been better for such a paced film. The song at the end credits is too average. VFX: The worst part of this delight. When they can spend such a big amount, they could have spent some more for the VFX. The computer generated Volcano was bad and the Buniyp was terrible. Verdict: A Bengali movie is up over the moon with this production. They went directly to Africa which is truly a daring task to attempt. Kudos to that!! Make it a success for the entire Chander Pahar team, Go and watch it. It's a must watch one. 4.5/5 for sure!

Chander Pahar is the journey to the fabled Mountain Of The Moon, in search of gold and diamond mines, up against threats as vivid and varied as lurking snakes, pouncing lions, poisonous flora, the fury of an active volcano and a seemingly, almost supernatural mythical horror - The Bunyip, the guardian angel of the diamond cave. It is also the story of grit and determination, a story of following a dream against all odds and emerging victorious, a story about a young lad called Shankar who, faced with the prospect of having to make a living as a factory worker in his impoverished village, bids farewell to his family in Keutia, rural Bengal, and through his aid Prasad Das Banopadhay, who happens to work for the Uganda railway head office sets sail to the Dark Continent to work as the station master in Nakuru station, a dream come true for Shankar who has always envisioned himself as a expeditionary and holds interest in world geography and map reading. It is at this Nakuru station, where Shankar is faced with the consequences of Africa, ranging from bloodthirsty lions & aggressive Black Mambas. Shankar's true test begins when he rescues the Portuguese explorer Diego Alvarez and he tells the story of the ultimate adventure; a journey to the fabled Mountain of the Moon. At the end..its a must watch!

Chander Pahar one of the best novel i'v ever read and Chander Pahar the mv is one of the worst mv i'v ever seen.first of all when i write this review everybody think that i'm a dev hater.but let me tell u in the mv if anything i like the most was the acting of Dev and the cinematography.and the worst part of the mv was storytelling.Kamaleshwar Mukherjee had written a horrible nd disgusting story plot.when the mv start it was okay everything but then sankar suddenly got the job in Africa nd not in uganda,directly in the station.okay then he not only fight with the lion also kill the lion.and Sankar haven't see the bunip in the whole novel and in the film he 's not only see the creature also kill it...and then Diego Alvarej being a chandannagar native lad and fluently speaking bengali and the zulu chief speaking English fluently.what a crap....man salute to you......and Mr.Kamaleshwar Mukherjee at first learn how to write story,screenplay and directing also.and don't insult any other great novel again............

I guess soon most of the nation would realize that "Chander Pahar" is probably one of the best adventure movies made in the history of Indian cinema,if not the best. I can see that some the posts over here is comparing "Chander Pahar" with "Life of Pi".As a novel, "Life of Pi" is an absolute crap if you compare that with BBB's "Chander Pahar".So,no doubt,"Life of Pi" was more like a child's 3D entertainment. There are a few semi-ripe folks in India who consider themselves as pundits based on their regular viewing of Hollywood movies.They should watch good movies from all over the world.Only then they would realize that if Bollywood movies like "Dhoom 3" are crude junk,"movies like "Life of Pi" is sophisticated junk. Anyways, I don't think that Bollywood can make something equivalent to "Chander Pahar" even if they get 150 crores.Bollywood is busy with "Ram Leelas" and converting Sholay to 3D by spending 25 crores. Wish,some of those Bollywood directors could find some sponsor for grey matter.

This movie managed to catch my attention because it's the cinematic adaption of the great novel of Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay's 'Chander Pahar'. But to be honest, the movie is an insult for an interesting story written on the book. Romantic hero Dev ruined the adventure mood from the very beginning of the movie till the end by his ridicules acting. From start to end, you can find lots of unnecessary scene, false information about real African geography and director's lack of sense as making an adventure movie. Some plots are really ridicules as rail station manager Dev waves flag after train leaving the station, Dev and Rudolf carrying a small bag each on their search of diamond mountain but always spend their nights under tents with furniture like tables, chairs, lots of oil lamps and cookeries. It's funny during conversations between two main characters as one speaks while another replies using another language most of the time. Lacking of any thrill, watching this movie is totally waste of time. It's neither an adventure movie nor a documentary.

The movie started off with a promising portrayal of African landscape and the way Shankar is introduced is smooth and serene. After he got into Africa, the initial experiences of him are effortlessly depicted and skillfully performed. But then, the stint of him as a stationmaster took so much time and Diego Alvarez's arrival was less effective on the perspectives of the film. Then they set out for their adventure. It is seen that the movie never got too much intense and the ups and downs were abrupt. The chemistry between Shankar and Alvarez did not work out and the plot was lost in trying to portray different events in a short span of time. The night shots were horrible as the shooting was done in clear daylight and the picture was shaded with blue to depict night scenes. The role of Bunyp is an absolute blunder. However, the final 20 minutes were attractive and Dev did well there. Overall, Dev didn't suit for the role of Shankar and missed too many fine moments.

Ohk...there have been a lot of incitement as well as dilemma around this movie...incitement of the fact that it is based on one of the greatest adventure novels ever written in Bengali literature and dilemma since it is a difficult choice to make between whether to give a try due to the reason mentioned above or to simply ignore because of Dipak Adhikary and we all know why. However, while millions of hearts have chosen to go gaga for the recent YRF release big time, I have dared to watch Chander Pahar and thankfully my expectations have filled more or less up to the brim. Be it the direction or the cinematography or the background score, it has sharp edges which are almost close to purity. Now, it is important to think upon what would your expectations be from the film...when we think of an adventure movie, we may have in mind bits and pieces of Into the wild with a brilliant score by Eddie Vedder or may be Dead Man where in we get to see a brilliant Jack Sparrow.Now if you think of considering a set which is an intersection of these two, then Kamaleswar's Chander Pahar would stand no way close to it, but if you think this Bengali movie as one of the initial chapters in the evolution of Tollywood film industry, then you would be more than thrilled to find yourself experiencing a lively photo-play that Bibhutibhushan Banujje himself would have asked you to dream about...