Based on the story Banhi Patanga by Saradindu Bandopadhay this winter Arindam Sil gives us a racy pacy Byomkesh film for our regular dose of much needed thrill.

The movie rolls and enters Byomkesh Bakshi with his wife Satyabati and his author brother Ajit Bandopadhay who are greeted by Inspector Purandhar Pandey in the holy city of Benaras.

Abir in his dhuti panjabi attire and with his smartness and sharp intellect remind us of our olden golden rich bangaliana. His clear cut words and no nonsense attitude reiterates the fact that he is the perfect choice for portraying a sleuth.
Sohini Sarkar gives us a cheerful Satyabati who is demure, intelligent and adds a  certain cuteness to her personality.
Ritwick Chakraborty, the sidekick of our detective as Ajit Bandopadhay has the edginess of a creative mind and also provides some comic relief at times in such a sombre background.
Harsh Chhaya draws an endearing picture of Inspector Purandhar Pandey who plays an ideal host to our family from bengal.

Now comes Inspector Rathikanth Chowdhury marching into Purandhar Panday's residence to invite him to Deepnarayan Singh's palace for a gala night. Having guests over, Purandhar Pandey politely declines the invitation, but Deepnarayan Singh's generous hospitality is extended which is why our trio too are invited.

Deepnarayan Singh happens to be a rich, powerful zamindar of Benaras around whom mysterious tales are woven especially about his second wife Shakuntala Singh, played by Nusrat Jahan. Rumours say that he has married Shakuntala, a woman half his age, by his own will and against hers.
Whatever the rumours maybe Adil Hussain as Deepnarayan Singh will leave a mark on you even with his short screen time. That voice. That smooth talk. Those titbits of bangla. Many bong women can be heard sighing whenever his face is on screen. Though Nusrat Jahan needs to hone her acting skills, she cut a very beautiful picture throughout the movie.

Night falls, guests come pouring in and a beautiful mujra is presented by Koneenika. Meanwhile Inspector Rathikanth comes in with the news of a robbery in Dr. Pannalal Palit's, the doctor who gave Deepnarayan Singh a new life,modest dispensary.
And that is when the mystery knocks at our detective's door.

Appreciable performances rule all over but we miss the way in which Byomkesh Bakshi slowly unwinds the facts before his audience. Here the revelation is narrated a bit too fast by Abir which bereaves us of enjoying the moment where we are left aghast.

Cinematographer Soumik Halder has beautifully captured the wondrous Benaras in his lens.

Bikram Ghosh deserves special mention for his music direction. Well placed catchy songs are always welcome in a good film.

Over all Har Har Byomkesh makes for a satisfying watch.

PS: Spoiler alert !!! A painting plays a pivotal role here and at the end you will find a scene which is a total rip off of Jai Baba Felunath. Director Arindam Sil says that it is a tribute although. And for the ones drooling over Abir Chatterjee, you will find him romancing his lady love here.

Watch it here in Amazon Prime, if you have missed it in the theatres!

Mon Chora, seems like a low budget attempt in romance by Sandip Ray. Nonetheless barring some errors, it is quite watchable.

Abir Chatterjee and Saswata Chatterjee save the movie from turning into a snooze fest. Saswata once again shows his brilliance by being the meek Monu, who can even kill for his lady love Miss Lily. Abir is slowly turning out to be the ultimate detective and romantic hero. He has a certain sharpness in his mannerisms which is very refreshing.
Raima Sen shimmers through the movie as Nanda and tries to follow the foot steps of her grandmother Suchitra Sen in the way she flutteres her lashes and in her dialogue delivery, but she kinda falls flat on that. We have seen superior performances from her and expect much more. We needed more life from her and less of the plastic stuff. She could have positively been better if she gave more of herself and tried to imitate her granny less. Though it wasn't a terrible attempt on her part, we would prefer seeing a Raima than another Suchitra.
June Malia shines as Miss Lily and she did what she does best, drinking and seducing men. That's all that she has been doing lately, on screen that is.
Paran Bandopadhay too was in his usual comic self.

Sandip Ray may have inherited his father's foodie genes, which is oh-so-evident when we have Paran Bandopadhay relishing his dinner with his doting granddaughter Nanda (Raima) watching him lovingly and saying 'Pudding er jonno jayega rekho kintu' in the opening scene, but he has his father's large shoes to fill in the suspense sector.
We have seen him primarily direct Feluda movies and whatever non-Feluda movies he has made all have a thriller element in them. Mon Chora too has a whiff of suspense, which is one of the highlights of the movie. But the thrill present in the original story of Saradindu Bandopadhay could have been delineated better. The major draw here lays in the charm of innocent love and that is depicted modestly by Abir and Raima. And there is a surprise at the end which you cannot possibly guess and will be thinking of throughout the movie.

The movie has a very 80's feel to it with the exception of a single iPhone only. If winter spells romance for you and reminds you of long lost days then you can positively drop in a nearby theatre and give Mon Chora a watch. Despite its flaws it will leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling with your partner by your side.