Goopy Bagha Feere Elo (1992)

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

(Rated on the basis of watching on T.V. 12 years after release)Plot: An evil sorcerer has enslaved 13 twelve-year-old boys in his fort after hypnotizing them. Can Goopy and Bagha come to their rescue? Review: Goopy Gyne and Bagha Byne were first introduced to the Bengali public by the great writer, Upendrakishore Roychowdhury in his iconic children's book named on the characters. His grandson, the legendary Oscar-winning film-maker, Satyajit Ray then immortalized the characters on the silver-screen in his 1969 evergreen-classic of the same name. He revived the characters in "Hirak Rajar Deshe"(1980), which proved to be a worthy sequel. The film ended with Goopy and Bagha promising the viewers that they will be returning again; thus setting the ground for another sequel! And true to promise, they did return eleven years later with another adventure-flick, "Goopy Bagha Phire Elo"; the name signifying the promise made in the last film has been fulfilled. Though he stayed in charge of the music and screenplay, Satyajit Ray passed on the directorial-baton to his son, Sandip Ray.The basic difference between the structure of this film and its prequels is that this one has a very serious feel to it; unlike the other films which treated even serious subjects in a light-hearted manner making them rip-roarious fun. Though there is an obvious lack of fun-quotient in the film, it's no less engrossing. One can't miss the fact that the basic storyline of a powerful wizard meeting his end against a small boy with magical powers sounds funnily similar to the "Harry Potter" series. Maybe this only goes onto prove that how ahead of his time, Sr. Ray was even in terms of story-idea!The script, like its prequels, packs in a social-message. While "GGBB" delivered an anti-war message, "HRD" spoke about the evils of dictatorship; "GBPE" deals with one of the basic faults of human character: Greed. While the evil-wizard, Brahmananda Acharya committed one sin after the other due to his greed for jewels and immortality; even our noble Goopy and Bagha fall prey to the greed of youth leading to them engaging in robbery. Their ensuing remorse and the vanquishing of the Acharya lends the second half a very sad and grave tone, unlike the predecessors. But the return of the 'Bhooter Raja', not once but twice, is truly heart-warming and evokes bouts of nostalgia! Another big-cat, in this case a leopard, also makes an appearance along with some more English dialogs like in the previous films.As for the performances, Tapen Chatterjee and Rabi Ghosh still retain their charisma as Goopy and Bagha respectively. Though age has taken a toll on their facial features (Tapen doesn't look that handsome anymore), making them a far-cry from their evergreen "GGBB" looks; but it does blend in nicely with the storyline which makes their yearning for youth convincing. Only if the director had allowed them to sport their original balding looks; they (and the viewers) would have been spared from the ill-fitting wigs!Ajit Bannerjee, as the Acharya is deliciously evil. His haunting voice, arrogant laughter and even some of his piercing stares send a chill down the spine! The absence of any kind of eccentric behavior, unlike the evil minister and King in the prequels, makes him the most formidable adversary for Goopy and Bagha. Haradhan Bannerjee and Bhishma Guhathakurta are quite good in their roles of the King and Pradip master respectively. A special mention must be made of the child-actor playing the 'real' Vikram, who oozed the confidence and innocence required in the role.Director Sandip Ray, burdened with constant-comparisons with his father, does show the occasional brilliance. The opening scene, the two hypnotizing sequences, the two interactions with the 'Bhooter Raja' and of course, the climax is superbly executed. The tricks performed in the magic-competition are nothing new and could have been more engrossingly shot. The setting of the King's palace beside a river and the ancient fort as the Acharya's residence lends a solid cinematic feel.Though the film maintains a serious tone, it still boasts of the occasional hilarious dialogs. Some of Bagha's dialogs like 'Apni manush non?', 'Sighrassa Subham', 'Goru' and 'Morei to bhoot hoyeche, abar morbe Ki Kore!' are sheer laugh-out-loud moments which bring back the infinite funny memories of the previous flicks.Music has always been the soul of this franchise. Though "GBPE" does possess a huge number of songs (eleven to be precise), the overall quality of the music is disappointing compared to the prequels. Some songs are written as poems with independent tunes given for every couplets. Sr. Ray continued to helm this department but it seemed his age couldn't comply with the huge volume of work. The first three songs are quite long and unimpressive. But he got back his groove after that and churned out quite a few memorable numbers with the best being 'Mora Jae bhoyonkar'. The song 'Ore shoitan', lend-ed a brilliant haunting feel to the climax; just as desired. The background score is quite good as well."Goopy Bagha Phire Elo" is overall quite an enjoyable film; but it falls short when compared with the previous classics in terms of the narration of thought-provoking issues mixed with innocent humor. Even the picture quality is inferior (though compared to the general standard in the 90's its okay). But above all, the sheer nostalgia of watching our two beloved characters for one last time is good enough to overlook all other flaws!Box-Office Verdict: The film opened to a huge response and became commercially quite successful; although it couldn't live up to the tall expectations and standards of its prequels. It later won the National Award for Best Children's Film of the year. Though, not regarded as a classic, it is still remembered as one of the best family-entertainers of the decade of the 90s.

Gupi and Bagha have long since taken their place in the annals of Bengali cinema and of course, folklore! With two brilliant Gugababa movies already in the cans Ray owed his audience some more of that magic. This genre of films have enthralled young and old alike. So when this one came out it was difficult to get tickets. And wow! He's done it again. Gupi's singing and Bagha's playing and their magical shoes like before kept us spellbound. This story is about a evil wizard who was afraid of a boy who's supposed to be his nemesis but he doesn't know who(reminds one of Harry Potter.Doesn't it?Maybe she was inspired by it! Who knows?ET sure in hell was lifted off Ray's script that he had submitted to Universal in the 70's). So he kills/imprisons all boys in his 'kingdom'. The soundtrack and songs all composed by Ray (or is it?) himself was very good. Even though it doesn't compare well with the previous two this one is quite good. This is a good wholesome entertainer for the family and while you are at it catch the other two and you will have something to remember. Long live Satyajit Ray!