Chanchal-Amitabh duo shows their ‘Munshigiri’ in new mystery thriller

A movie enriched with suspense, emotions and intensity always generates interest among the cinephiles and with the touch of an amazing actor-director duo, it only gets better.

Chanchal Chowdhury and Amitabh Reza Chowdhury have teamed up once again to bring us the mystery thriller 'Munshigiri', following the success of their enormous blockbuster 'Aynabaji' in 2016. 

The film is based on Shibabrata Barman's novel 'Mriterao Kotha Bole'. Since the unveiling of the first poster, the movie seemed intriguing, and audiences were excited to see this iconic duo collaborate yet again. 

Let's take a closer look to see if 'Munshigiri' ticks all the boxes of a good thriller movie.

Unlike other murder mysteries, this one began with the suspect being captured right away. Ishtiaque Mirza (Gazi Rakayet), the suspect, is a well-known Bengali author and he was apprehended by the police based on his latest book, Badol Box.

In the story, the character Badol Box is assassinated in the same manner as the victim Didarul Haque. On top of that, according to his close friends, Didarul Haque's nickname was Badal Box. Can a coincidence be accurate to such a degree?

The ongoing investigation was handed over to Masud Munshi (Chanchal Chowdhury), ADC DB Police, after almost four months of the murder due to unavoidable circumstances. 

Munshi started investigating on his own terms from the beginning and came across several shady individuals who seemed to have some motive to kill Didarul Haque. Even his own wife Suraiya Akhter (Purnima). 

As they unearthed clues at regular intervals, the case was unfolding one step at a time. However, it appeared that the case was going in circles at one point when they discovered an almost identical book of Badol Box with a different title and plot. 

From there, the story took a sharp turn, and it's up to you to figure out what happened next. 

From the very first scene, Amitabh's composition seemed directly out of the book as he started with a slanted camera angle to create tension and in the very next scene we see the body being discovered. 

Gladly, the camera work was consistent throughout the film. The work of art direction also was praiseworthy and the intricate details on designing the house of Didarul Haque proves it.

One of the most interesting scenes were, a mid-shot taken from behind, Purnima and Chanchal were seen walking while a crow flew over very close to their head. This sort of detail, I think, deserves a special mention. 

We have seen Tuhin Tamijul's work before in Live From Dhaka, and he has been remarkable here as well. The cinematography was wonderfully done. Some of the shots seemed pretty aesthetics and Amitabh Reza Chowdhury also deserved some credit in that, apart from his well directed scenes. 

Although, I personally believe a darker colour tone would have increased the thrilling experience quite a little. 

The performances of all the actors were up to the mark. Shabnam Faria has been phenomenal in this movie, unlike some of her previous performances. Among the others, Anisul Haque Borun, who played Khorshed, has given a compelling performance. 

Also, the very last shot of Imtiaz Barshon was also worth mentioning. 

Overall, I would give 'Munshigiri' a seven out of 10 based on all of the above characteristics. 'Munshigiri' is definitely worth watching if you're looking for a short and moderate murder mystery with a plot twist at the end and of course good camera work throughout the movie.

The return of the famed pair made this a widely anticipated thriller, but it fell short of moving us in the same way that Aynabaji did. 

Still, we have high hopes for them, and we want to see them collaborate more in the future, perhaps sooner than the next five years.