Tikit: A portrayal of human greed with a captivating story

Could there be a discussion on whether Vicky Zahed is having a shift in his choice of stories? With a close analysis of his recently released web series ‘Tikit’ released in Chorki, a positive change is visible. 

This is not the first time Zahed is seen coming up with a story concerning a bus journey, which also connects with social circumstances with a thrilling story. The short film released in 2018, ‘Aaj Amar Pala’ can be a quick example of that. 

The feature that distinguishes ‘Tikit’ from all his previous genres is coming up with a full-fledged web series of the crime genre, successfully exploring multiple socio-political issues in one story and, at the same time, connecting one genre with other genres in different scenes, making the story interesting and deep in its meaning. 

The story starts in a non-linear mode where Salek, a worker in the organisation for product delivery named P-valy, is seen running away from the clients who paid money to P-valy but did not receive their products. Now, the owners of the organisations have flown away from the country, and Salek is a victim of their deeds because clients are demanding their money from him. 

Salek hides from the clients and takes a bus with his friend Atabor to his village. On the way, they encounter so many different characters representing parts of the society. 

They encounter bus drivers who are Rohingyas in origin but are trying to get themselves and their families settled in Bangladesh. A terrorist fits a time bomb into the bus as part of his mission and dies later while trying to escape from the police during the police raid. 

They also meet with a prostitute, a student applying for civil service, a pervert disguised as a poet, a religious married couple with their kids and an old man who has just won fifty lakh takas in a lottery. It is the greed of that amount of money which drives the subsequent narration and also the philosophy of the story. 

Written by Mohammed Nazimuddin, the story of ‘Tikit’ depicts how the absurd events surrounding any person make them do evil deeds, the ultimate consequence of human greed, how money plays a key role in affecting human relations, and lastly, the socio-political situation of our country where there is the terrorism of which common people becomes a victim of bankruptcy by different organisations like e-valy and refugee crisis. 

It was correct to tell the story in a non-linear format, gripping the story; the storytelling process of ‘Tikit’ risks being predictable. Some over-imposed comedy sequences in the early sequences before the bus journey started were disengaging. 

The sequence of killing of the old man during the bus journey creates tension in the audience, but the scene risks being a little bit over the top. The inclusion of local tones and the description of some comic situations during the bus journey, specifically the dream sequence of Salek, made the story more believable and captivating. 

The unpredictable events surrounding the old man made the story thrilling, but when the old man suddenly rises during the climax part, despite being throttled 8 hours before, the unpredictability seems a little intentional. 

The most important part of the script that indicates Vicky Zahed connecting different genres is observed when there is a description of some supernatural features in the character of the prostitute played by Safa Kabir. The character is a magical realist because it works as a metaphor for human greed in the story.   

The casting choices were perfect. In their respective roles, Mahmud Alam, Joy Raj, A.K. Azad Setu, and Safa Kabir were convincing. Specifically, the performances of Siam Ahmed as Salek, Manoj Pramanik as Atabor and Abdullah Al Sentu as a bus contractor of Rohingya origin were outstanding. 

The lighting of Nironjon Saha and the cinematography of Suman Sarkar were perfectly in line with the story. Although the lighting inside the bus during nighttime was very cinematic, it risks the realistic ground, whether any local bus is that lit with so many lights at nighttime. 

The background music of Arnab Hasnat helped the audience immerse themselves into the story despite being a little over-imposed during the funny sequences. 

The colour grading of Ashraful Alom, the VFX of Shameek Manon, and the production design of Alveera Tasnim did not distract the audience from the story. 

Director Vicky Zahed deserves applause from the audience for collaborating with these wonderful casts and crews for this thriller. Looking up to his next project!!

ahanfshafee1234@gmail.com