Madam Sengupta, directed by Sayantan Ghoshal and produced by Pradip Kumar Nandy, is an elegantly crafted psychological thriller. You get to taste grief, betrayal, and the sinister undercurrents of power.
Set against the textured, volatile backdrop of Kolkata, the film is as much about emotional reckoning as it is about unmasking the machinery of deception.
Rituparna Sengupta conveys aching vulnerability like never before. She plays Anurekha Sengupta, a revered cartoonist whose world collapses after her daughter is found murdered on university grounds. As she digs for answers, what begins as a personal investigation evolves into something far darker: an entanglement of ideological games, buried guilt, and a reckoning with a past that refuses to be silenced.
Woven into this unsettling myriad is Abol Tabol, Sukumar Ray’s iconic satirical poetry, which the film uses not merely as ornamentation but as a subversive commentary on the absurdities and hypocrisies Anurekha must confront. Writer Sougata Basu penned it precisely.
Rituparna Sengupta performs with immense technical precision, full of depth, allowing her to convey anguish and suspicion. As Satyaki, Kaushik Sen brings a characteristic menace to the role of the estranged ex-husband of Paromita. The playwright’s incomplete play is set to reveal suppressed truths. He is quietly ruthless, his measured performance creating a sense of dread that hums beneath every exchange. Rahul Bose, as Ranjan, is, as ever, a force of nature. Paran Bandyopadhyay, Ananya Chatterjee, and the supporting ensemble cast deliver it with exemplary articulation.
Tuban maintains the city within the frame as a restless, evocative, and secretive co-conspirator. The cinematography is immersive, amplifying tension without resorting to theatrics. The atmosphere is chilling, albeit just so.
A standout element is the background score by Indraadip Dasgupta. It’s haunting, enhancing the emotional texture without ever dictating it. It holds the mood steady, allowing the story’s undercurrents to simmer. Anupam Roy’s music, understated and melodic, slips in seamlessly, never disrupting the film’s emotional rhythm.
Madam Sengupta picks up the tone and fidelity of a poetic thriller that dares to whisper rather than roar. It’s intelligent, emotionally complex, and utterly absorbing.
IWMBuzz rates it 3.5 stars.
