Shah Jahan Regency Movie Review: Disappointingly Ambiguous And Pointless

Shah Jahan Regency

Director: Srijit Mukherji
Cast: Abir Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Anjan Dutt, Rituparna Sengupta, Swastika Mukherjee
Rating: 1/5

Shah Jahan Regency is based on the best-selling novel Chowringhee by favourite Bengali author Mani Shankar Mukherjee (Sankar). However, the movie does not strictly follow the story as a whole but makes some changes, particularly alters the narrative person. The plot was delivered according to the memory flow of Sata Bose (Uttam Kumar), an essential role of Shah Jahan Regency.

The movie begins with the protagonist Rudra (Parambrata Chatterjee) earning his living through numerous jobs. After that, he is employed by Makaranda Pal’s Shah Jahan Regency as an intern. Mostly elderly, these people came to the hotel in Jaipur with angst and anxieties, their own peculiar baggage - making up for a great story.

But regretfully, should you be Chowringhee’s fan, you will be disappointed with this adaptation. The entire first half is reviewed as a flat that introduces no piece of mysteries or surprises, driving audience sleepy and not willing to spend another hour watching the left. On the contrary, the second half is filled with over-dramatic scenes where characters overact and flood the movie screen with tears. Their conversations are so tragic that they may become excessive. The ending is also not appreciated, the flavour of impermanence is missing in the film. Regarding characters, actors and actresses also make no impression on the public. As a reviewer comments, “they exist simply because they can.”

All speak in affected accents, indulge in vacuous conversations and look wistfully out of beautiful windows. Take a random scene as an example. When a man and a woman talk to each other, it is not the usual tone that they use, but an extremely unnatural dramatic way. “Are you, by any chance, flirting with me?” asks the male. “Are you, by any chance, intimidated by me?”, The other ridiculously and unrelatedly replied. Not only does this way barely satisfies audiences, but it, in contrast, leaves movie watchers in annoyance and discomfort. Conflicting messages, messy and complicated timeline, plus many other drawbacks make Shah Jahan Regency movie a great disappointment.