Directed by Mrinal Sen, Kharij is a decent examination of middle-class mentalities. However, despite the firebrand person that he is, Khraij quite surprisingly lacks on the “angst” front; instead, the movie is far more sombre and unassuming in tone and execution than his more acclaimed works like Interview, Padatik, Calcutta 71, Chalchitra, etc. The film follows a simple middle-class nuclear family (Anjan Dutt and Mamata Shankar), whose lives get thrown into turmoil of scandalous proportions when their young servant-boy accidentally dies. The grave situation forms the fulcrum for pointed insights into the prevalent hypocrisies and parochial mindsets of these otherwise well-natured members of the bourgeoisie. The greatest shock to them, in fact, arrives when the boy’s father accepts the situation with silent albeit sad resignation. Though grappling with a pertinent issue, the movie unfortunately fails in inflicting the kind of body blow Sen is known for. Consequently, despite being very well enacted and well received, I somehow felt simply going through the motions while watching it.
Director: Mrinal Sen
Genre: Drama/Urban Drama/Family Drama/Psychological Drama
Language: Bengali
County: India
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