Alaap (2024) Bengali Movie Review: Anupam Roy’s music composition & Prabuddha Banerjee’s BGM are impressive

Premendu Bikash Chaki's directorial romantic comedy film Alaap, starring Mimi Chakraborty and Abir Chatterjee in the lead roles, was released in theaters on April 26, 2024.

The story revolves around Pablo Majumder (Abir Chatterjee), who works in an IT company catering to US clients, requiring him to work night shifts. He resides with his friend Monon (Debopriyo Mukherjee), who is soon getting married, prompting Pablo to seek a new place to stay. Monon provides him with Sukhlal's (Rohit Gupta) contact information to help him find new accommodation. Initially quoting 20k as monthly rent, Sukhlal eventually agrees to Pablo's offer of 10k.

Aditi Mitra (Mimi Chakraborty) faces difficulty commuting 20 km daily to her office and begins searching for a room closer to her workplace. With the assistance of her office security guard, she contacts Sukhlal, who offers her a room in the same flat where Pablo resides. Sukhlal convinces her that their schedules align: Pablo works at night, and Aditi works during the day. As they share the living space, they develop a strong bond. But do Pablo and Aditi develop romantic feelings for each other? Will destiny allow them to meet face-to-face?

Prabuddha Banerjee's background score and Anupam Roy's music composition stand out as major highlights of this romantic drama. The concept feels fresh, and the first half is engaging and impressive. However, the film falters in its poor screenplay, forgettable editing, and disappointing execution in the second half. The last 30 minutes are unnecessarily drawn out, making it tedious to remain engaged.

Abir Chatterjee and Mimi Chakraborty deliver decent performances, although their characters lack depth as per the script's limitations. The comedic moments in the first half are enjoyable, particularly Abir Chatterjee's portrayal of his character's interactions with his parents.

Rohit Gupta's portrayal of Sukhlal is a highlight, thanks to well-written character development. However, many subplots lack proper establishment and fail to evoke emotional resonance. Kinjal Nanda and Swastika Dutta’s characters also had nothing much in the script to show their potential.

While there is ample room for improvement, Premendu Bikash Chaki overlooks crucial aspects that could have enhanced the viewing experience of Alaap, resulting in yet another average romantic comedy film suitable for a one-time watch.