A psychological-mystery thriller, The Parcel, directed by Indrasis Acharya, has a novel premise that grabs your attention right from the start. A doctor couple living with their young daughter receive surprise gifts from an unknown sender, which also includes old photographs of the wife, raising several doubts affecting their marital relationship. The sender neither conveys any message nor makes any demand as a blackmailer, thus making matters worse.
The fresh concept successfully pulls the viewer in raising the expectations, that sadly remain unfulfilled because of unexciting writing and execution. Introducing additional sub-plots of a forgotten affair, a secret past, an ailing relative, and doctors getting framed in medical negligence, the film keeps wandering cluelessly and fails to exploit its fresh, potential plot. Instead of deeply exploring the fear psychosis of its protagonist, the writer/ director goes on adding unnecessary sequences and characters into the script, resulting in a painfully, lengthy film.
Even veteran actors Rituparna Sengupta and Saswata Chatterjee are not able to contribute much in terms of performances due to many loopholes. As a result, nothing registers till the revelation comes as a saviour, asking the viewer to re-visualise the entire film in reverse mode. However, the climax also suggests that perhaps this was a perfect idea for a short film that was forcibly made into a full-length feature film. In short, The Parcel is a slow-burner thriller with a novel plot that sadly gets lost in its directionless narrative.
Title: The Parcel (Bengali)
Cast: Rituparna Sengupta, Saswata Chatterjee, and more
Director: Indrasis Acharya
Platform: Hoichoi
Rating: 2.5 stars
