The film Adamya, directed by Ranjan Ghosh, is a gritty political survival thriller. Presented by Aparna Sen, the film is set against the Sunderbans which is symbolic of the plot.
The story centers on Palash (played by Aryuun Ghosh), a young revolutionary who is on the run after a failed assassination attempt on a prominent politician. He seeks refuge in a secluded, abandoned mud hut deep within the swamps of the Sunderbans.
The film isn’t just about his physical evasion of the law; it is an internal exploration of his ideological conviction. Based on the poem “Deshlai Kathi” by Sukanta Bhattacharya, the film uses the metaphor of a matchstick—small and fragile, yet capable of burning down an entire forest—to represent Palash’s defiant spirit.
Things I liked :
1. Much of the narrative is carried by the protagonist’s actions, his environment, and the evocative soundscape. Shot by Arkaprabha Das primarily in natural light (or the absence of it), the cinematography captures the Sunderbans not as a tourist destination, but as a claustrophobic, “swampy labyrinth.” The visual texture feels lived-in and raw.
2. Palash has a tattoo of Bhagat Singh on his chest, and the film invokes the spirits of young revolutionaries like Sukanta Bhattacharya and Murari Mukhopadhyay. It contrasts the natural world’s indifference with the man-made violence of political systems.
3. Aryuun Ghosh’s Performance as the lead, anchors the film with a physical performance that requires navigating slush, forest undergrowth, and deep emotional isolation.
4. The film highlights its importance as a work that addresses land exploitation, systemic corruption, and the disillusionment of modern youth.
5. Adeep Singh Manki and Anindit Roy create an atmosphere of constant tension, where every rustle in the forest feels like a potential threat.
Things I didn’t like:
1. Somewhat slow pacing made me lose interest.
Because it focuses on the internal state and physical survival of a single character in isolation, there are long stretches with very little action or plot development. For viewers accustomed to the faster narrative beats of a standard thriller, the deliberate pacing can feel stagnant rather than atmospheric.
2. While the silence builds tension, it also makes the film’s political messaging feel somewhat abstract. The protagonist is driven by intense revolutionary ideals, but because he has no one to talk to for much of the film, those motivations are mostly conveyed through symbols (like the Bhagat Singh tattoo) and literary references. Viewers unfamiliar with the history of Bengal’s radical movements or Sukanta Bhattacharya’s poetry might find it difficult to fully connect with the “why” behind the character’s actions.
5. Lack of background of the protagonist doesn’t register the character and without a proper character establishment I couldn’t connect with the character. Why he’s doing? What he’s doing? Is he an extremist or a revolutionary? You don’t get to know even by the end of the film.
Rajrupa Das 3rd Sem (Blog Assignment) 