Story: A cyber cell police officer attempts to track a criminal hacker, who is using information to destroy human lives, but finds himself caught in a web of violence, deceit and double-crossing. He forms a team of ethical hackers to get to the bottom of this dangerous game, but can he stop it before it’s too late?
Review: Director Kamaleshwar Mukherjee’s Password is an ambitious movie. It deals with a subject that is ultra-modern and hasn’t been seen on the Bengali big screen before. However, a meandering script, undecipherable technical jargon and poor pacing reduce it to a convoluted mess.
The primary problem lies with the fact that one cannot understand what is going on at any given point of the film. Sure, the characters try to explain the situation to the audience, but there is genuine doubt whether they themselves can understand it. In all the talk of the dark web, ethical hacking and covert surveillance, the message of the film (if there is one) gets lost.
Password has all the right masalas — a stellar cast, a director with experience of big-budget projects and a thumping soundtrack — but this is one film where the sum of its parts is lesser than the whole. Added to this are subplots of the Bhopal gas tragedy, a meaningless kidnapping, drug laundering and counterfeiting of currency. If you feel lost, you are not alone.
The actors themselves seem slightly confused about their roles, with the exception of Dev, who portrays a conventional good guy and can play this role in his sleep. Parambrata and Paoli as the ‘baddies’, do a commendable job, with their motivation slowly unfolding. Rukmini also shows growth as an actor. Scenes where she is being tortured seem ultra-realistic. But the character design of others leaves a lot to be desired. A primary character changes side from bad to good, good to bad and then back again to good many times. These twists and double crosses make an already long film even longer and further perplex the already-baffled viewer.
On the plus side, the music by Savvy is right on point, mixing techno and dubstep to match the tone of the film. The song Trippy Lage, sung by Nikhita Gandhi and Shashwat Singh, are sure to remain on the charts for long. The cinematography by Avik Mukhopadhyay is also pleasing to the eye. But you won’t be bothered by technical aspects (which are in good hands), as you will be too busy trying to make sense of the script. Overall, this is a film whose reach can’t exceed its grasp.
— Srijoy Mukherjee
