Peyarar Subash: What happens when nature takes the revenge?

In a recent interview with Machranga TV, esteemed director Nurul Alam Atique said that if there is one achievement from 'Peyarar Subash' for him, it's his striving to create a new language for Bangla films through this film. 

After watching 'Peyarar Subash' in Chorki, the writer felt it should be watched in a theatre. He agrees with Nurul Alam Atique's assertion that 'Peyarar Subash' is not a film for the mass audience's entertainment or for having multiple awards in international festivals but to create a new visual language for representing different cultural aspects of Bangladesh. 

The film review was dedicated to the late Ahmed Rubel, the actor who was not utilized enough to his potential in our cultural arena. 

The film starts with a symbolic representation of the core philosophy of the film by showing a shadow of a tortoise under a big chunk of ice melting with the narration in the background that the old tortoise is carrying the world for thousands of years, bearing with the pain created by humans. Now, the tortoise is tired because the ice is melting for heat. 

There are two things prevalent in that sequence. Firstly, the presence of the Indian myth of the world being carried by tortoises and, secondly, the climate change crisis for people misusing the environment are connected to that myth. 

The film Peyarar Subash (Scent of Sin)' tells the story of an unfortunate young woman, Peyara, who got married to an older man by her uncle Habibullah for money. The old man is respected as a 'Munshi' in the society, and using that as a veil, he indulges in a marital rape by forcefully having intercourse with Peyara. 

Peyara also could have avoided the situation by marrying the person she loved named Hashem from her village. But she also cared about money, solvency and comfort in life restricting her natural tendency towards human relations. This reveals the motif behind translating 'Peyarar Subash' as 'Scent of Sin', telling us that we live in a world where sin begets sin. 

A couple of months after Payara's marriage, her ex-boyfriend Hashem arrives. The subsequent sequences unfold according to the film's core notion, 'Sin begets Sin'.

In the acting, this has to be said that director Nurul Alam Atique made no mistake choosing the right casting. Jaya Ahsan, Tariq Anam Khan, Ahmed Rubel, Shusama Sarkar, and Dihan were all believable in their respective roles. In particular, the way Tariq Anam Khan and Jaya Ahsan made the sequences inside Munshi's room realistic has to be mentioned. 

The background score in the film worked perfectly in creating the necessary emotions in different sequences of the film. The film has many symbolic sequences connecting any certain sequence to its broader context. For example, the marital rape sequences in the film have been juxtaposed with a shot of smoke coming from 'Dhup', depicting that socio-cultural identity being used as a veil to conceal marital rape. 

Different sequences where Peyara is seen thinking about how to harm the 'Munshi' by using poison or occult magic and also thinking about what could be her consequence if she gets caught show how people are afraid of rebelling against societal control but still have the urge to rebel. The portrayal of snakes with shots used in parallel with the Hindu servant in the 'Munshi family' crying expresses the ultimate fate of women in a patriarchal society where they are considered as a way to fulfil men's desires but never given equal social status, considering them as human. 

The film's script was realistic and symbolic but a little bit predictable. For example, watching a couple of sequences in the beginning after knowing that the film's name is 'Scent of Sin, ' it would become clear to the audience how the film would end. 

Sajal Alok and Sujoy Roy's cinematography did not distract the audience from the content, and they started thinking consciously about the camera work. 

However, in some sequences, the lacking of close shots in the film was noticeable. Ayan Rehal and Kamrul Ahsan's editing successfully grasped each sequence's tone and edited according to it. The work of Gaffer Md. Milon Khan and colourist Debojyoti Ghosh maintained a dark tone both in lighting and colour grading throughout the film, which helped the honest portrayal of both the inside and outside of the 'The Mushi family'. 

In conclusion, watching the film 'Peyarar Subash' made me agree with Nurul Alam Atique's statement mentioned in the beginning is that if there is one achievement in the film, it is the striving to create a new language for Bengali Cinema through it.       

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