Dostojee

fires everywhere else, and innocent people who had nothing to do with that will get burnt and scarred by it for a lifetime. The year was 1993 and the Babri Mosque in Uttar Pradesh has recently been destroyed by a violent Hindu mob. And the aftershocks and reactions of that incident were seen throughout the country. Here we see far away, in a remote village in West Bengal, we feel the same aftershock of the incident among villagers who had nothing to do with religious hatred, a small village where all communities lived peacefully as a big family is now poisoned by the hatred that was infused somewhere else. The hindus of that village never worshiped lord ram ever, now they have to forcibly worship him so that they don't get outcast or feel the hatred from the same community. Muslims who feel betrayed or oppressed, feel they should build a new mosque in the village to save themselves. In the midst of all this chaos, two people who were most affected by this were two innocent little boys, Safikul and Palash, who call each other Dostojee (Precious Friend). Two best friends who do not understand this hatred, do not understand religion, are now being punished and separated by this. Even though their personalities are like chalk and cheese, the boy's lives are torn apart by fate and religion. This film is a heartbreaking portrait of innocent lives tarnished by the religious differences and a moving tale of friendship, love and adolescence explored with wider societal issues through the prism of an intimate, personal tale. Director Prasun Chatterjee shot the film with mostly non-professional actors, but you don't feel that anywhere, every little scene is so authentic, raw and emotional. It's been a while since a children's film teared me up like anything and this movie did that to me. It's so mature yet so filled with unscathed innocence which teaches you that love and care is the most powerful tool than hatred. This film projects both those emotions through the eyes of two young best friends with a disarming simplicity and screaming silence. This film somehow will remind you of the simplicity and rawness you saw in Ray & Ghatak films. That's the best compliment Prasun can get with his debut film.