Anytime an unconventional film contrary to the usual films hits the Bangla film industry and makes buzz, bashing it to the extent of bullying has been a common practice. We have seen it during Aynabazi or even times when Debi was released. Nonetheless, those films were fine compared to the usual garbage we are frowned upon, and this time it also happened with Hawa. Hawa had a hit song that was literally playing and singed on everywhere, they did a good job promoting the film, and scenes from the trailer hit the feed like a flood. And then came the claims for it being a copy of a Korean film and whatnot. Any sensible person can see the unnecessary bashing through it but the question remains the same: How was Hawa as a film? To answer any reader, "It was fulfilling"
image source: The Business Standard
Yes, I too had doubts for moments about this film because these days it's better to be skeptical rather than hopeful. But the moment I set my eyes on the first shot of the film, all my doubts cleared away. The film started with showing some random residents around the beach singing songs and then we go to our actual location of the film - the boat. We see Chanchal Chowdhury as Chaan Majhi, apparently the head of the boat and in charge of the fishing collection. And later the story developed in the midst of the sea with all the boatmen as they went along to catch fish for some amount of days. Things started to get messy just when a mysterious female joined their boat in the middle of the night.
There are many things in this film to praise for. First and foremost Hawa is a gorgeous-looking film. From a Bangladeshi standpoint, there has not been such a good-looking film in years and it was possible mostly because of the cinematographer. He captured the beautiful and terrifying look of the sea throughout the film. Shots of the furious sea on a rainy day, shots of a thunderbolt in the mid sea or pov shot of the anchor hitting the water and etc. where I can go on and on about. At a certain point in the film, there were some climactic scenes and eventually a climax. The positioning and the handling of the camera at that time are truly praiseworthy. The director-cinematographer duo pulled this thing off neatly.
image source: Dhaka Tribune
Then there comes the cast. This is a cast where almost everyone is relatively new to popularity but nonetheless, they all have genuinely done some decent work in the past and some are very well known such as Chanchal Chowdhury. Among others, there is Shariful Raj and Nasir Uddin. In the most pivotal role, there is Nazifa Tushi as Bedini (Snake Charmer). Almost every one of them played their hearts out in their respective role. Part of the reason this whole film worked or the copying accusation doesn’t work is because of how genuine this film looked. There were some muscled-bodied actors or some beautiful actresses working there but not even for a single second do we get the hint of that. Everyone looked and felt exactly like genuine fishermen. Combining it with their body language and filthy mouth, watching them was a treat.
There might be issues with the script or the story itself. Director Sumon tried to fusion the old folklore of "Chan Soudagor and Monsa" from Monshamongol with new characters and different contexts. He planted hints from the beginning since the moment Tushi's character arrived on the boat like Nasir Uddin seeing her as fish whereas others seeing her as a lady eventually pays off. The stand against patriarchal oppression in the society was also a big nod during the film as Tushi's character encounters the filthy eyes and hands of the fishermen one by one. In the second act, the film shifts genre from drama to slasher and in the end, it becomes somewhat tragic with the help of the mythological plotline. Some viewers may not be happy with this type of genre-shifting.
title shot of the film, taken by my own phone
During the middle of the film, some jokes felt cliched and the second half of the movie felt rushed toward the end which could've used some pacing. But apart from that, it's an all and all enjoyable film. From Nasir Uddin's comedy to Urkes-Parkes wholesome duo to visceral thrilling ending it's a complete package. It will make the audience laugh, cheer through the song sada kala, make you root for the lead character, and subsequently hate the antagonist while at the end of the film, making you question what did actually happen. All and all, it's a film that will encourage the new filmmakers to make more creative efforts in the film industry and will keep up the hope of audiences who is tired of all the typical nonsense industry has been putting on all these years.