Story: Sujan is a dreamer, who is misunderstood and thought to be insane by his family. When his nephew befriends him, uncomfortable family secrets tumble out
Despite Rituparno Ghosh’s exploration of alternative gender relations, third sex is a subject that remains taboo in Bengali movies. With Samantaral, Tollywood could have made a big leap from the closet with a bold take on alternative sexuality. But as it is commonly said, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
It is not that the actors could not perform up to the mark. Parambrata Chatterjee as Sujan, after a short hiatus, has put up a brilliant show. A dreamer, a mystic who refuses to draw a difference between what is, and what ought to be or what might have been is conveniently labelled ‘insane’ by his surroundings. His father (Soumitro Chatterjee), brothers (Kushal Chakraborty as Supriyo and Anindya Banerjee as Kaushik) and other family members are practically ashamed of him. In fact, his younger brother Kaushik and his wife (Tanushree Chakraborty) squirm at his sight. But he is loved by his nephew Arko (Riddhi Sen) who comes to his mamarbari for higher studies and becomes friendly with his mejomama, Sujan. Arko and his girlfriend, Title (Surangana Bandyopadhyay), try to find the root of Sujan’s disbalance and finally reveal a discomforting truth from family history. The film also delves into the debate of sanity and insanity perceived by our society. While a ruthless, cunning and unkind character are recognized as a completely sane human being, an innocent and compassionate man is locked up as the depth of his mind remains untouched and often ignored.

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