‘Sundarpur Chaos’ review: Storytelling lost in social preaching (2025)

Subtlety isn’t quite affordable in Sundarpur as for a film which likes to wear its social message as a crown. The dos and don’ts here are very clear. As we are in the land of Sundarpur Satra, any concept that is foreign to the Neo-Vaishnavite culture is socially opposed. The young bloods of the village have to discreetly place their makeshift gym in the middle of a bamboo grove because the society is opposed to the idea of a gym, yet there are random drunkards lying on the roadside.

Kingkor belongs to that place as much as the place belongs to Kingkor. He is occasionally perturbed by such rigidity and that of the customs, yet he has an admirable respect for the traditions of the place he belongs to. Kingkor has struggled to pass his graduation exams multiple times and feels uncertain about his future. However, he is certain about one thing: his desire to contribute to his land and community.

Jhulan krishna Mahanta’s film – Sundarpur Chaos – features a protagonist that is both strong-willed and vulnerable. He is raised in a household where the patriarch is in a constant mood of frustration. And Kingkor’s actions—going about with his rebel without a cause attitude—is to blame for this irritation. “I doubt the civil hospital,” says actor Rajeev Goswami, who portrays Kingkor’s father, and claims that there have been previous instances of newborns being mixed up after delivery. And Kingkor owes his insecurity to his father’s beliefs and similar statements like this. This vulnerability also gives way for his rebel outlook which Kingkor channels to stand for social and moral causes. And the consequences that follows are a source of major disagreements in his home.

Kingkor is trapped – in a place that tries to supress his will and with people that doesn’t try to understand him, and yet he doesn’t want to leave. However, his fate soon changes when he moves out to Guwahati for pursuing higher studies. This is a story that belongs to Kingkor and it is a film that belongs to Partha Pratim Hazarika, who plays Kingkor. The film brings Kingkor’s vision and his reality to life. It revolves so deeply around him, his approach, and his realizations that it’s hard to imagine the film without his story at its core.

Writer-director Jhulan Krishna Mahanta’s film is a human-scaled drama that follows a quiet style and features credible characters that feels like our very own. There is innocence in Partha Pratim Hazarika’s portrayal of Kingkor – pure and unsophisticated. This innocence works like a charm in the film’s first half as the city introduces him to a new friend in the university and a cool roommate in the rented stay. How delicately is first interaction scene between Kingkor and his classmate (played by Silpi Dutta) handled! And as with any child born and brought up in a land of satra, Kingkor is well trained in classical dance and plays the khol, but he lacks familiarity with urban living. This is where his new friends come to the rescue as they introduce him to the dynamics of city life and then gradually become an integral part of his new life.

One might now question the significance of ‘chaos’ in the film, given its title, which loosely refers to a plot element introduced only in the final quarter of the film. And it is not chaos as chaos ought to be but a calmer version of a full-fledged chaos as illegal immigrants settles in the vacant lands of the village that houses a most revered Vaishnavite monastery of Assam, Sundarpur Satra. However, this tension does not escalate to a climax comparable to those portrayed in films like Lankakanda (2022) or Rongatapu 1982 (2023). The tension is merely simmering, and after an unknown assailant attacks Kingkor’s father one night, Kingkor returns to the village.

And from there on, the film, which was set up like a coming-of-age story in the first half goes on to exploit the social responsibility of the medium. While the first half of the film did examine the important issue of illegal settlers occupying satra lands within Kingkor’s story, the focus has now shifted. The socio-political issue now leads the film as Kingkor’s story about finding himself goes out of the window. Imagine 3 Idiots (2009) as a film that is not about the search of a long-lost friend but a lecture about the flaws of the Indian education system. Imagine Taare Zameen Par (2007) as not the story of Ishaan Awasthi overcoming his challenges but Ram Shankar Nikumbh lecturing everyone about the challenges faced by children with dyslexia. You know what I am trying to say?

With Sundarpur Chaos, yet again, another filmmaker from Assam has used not a story, but a social issue to tell the audience about that social issue. How the influx of illegal immigrants is posing a threat to Assamese identity and culture is elaborated so much so that it almost aligns with the agenda of the ruling regime until the self-aware excesses of the film tries to pull it back by humanizing the other point of view as well. Despite its undoubted honesty and an excellent central performance from Partha Pratim Hazarika, Sundarpur Choas slips into the same trap that is often faced by socio-political drama of its type.

The film drags pathetically in the second half, especially when actor Arun Nath appears as the Satradhikar out of nowhere and starts lecturing Kingkor about all the things that the filmmaker didn’t know of any better way to communicate. Once the film takes the route of heavy-handed preaching, there’s no way back. Poised as the messiah of their community, Kingkor becomes a political figure now. This is where the filmmaker turns to social commentary to fill up the gap that the premature uprooting of a beautiful story had left behind. It’s as if the writer’s interest in completing the story had completely faded by the time the script was finished—now, they just want to complete it—somehow, anyhow.

Also, there’s a strange choice of typeface being used to write ‘Sundarpur Chaos’ in English in the posters of the film, which in no way reflect the idea and themes of the film. The font used for the word ‘Sundarpur’ is bold and chunky, suggesting a sense of power and aggression. There are sharp edges and heavy weight that add to the intensity. It’s almost like the typeface used in the posters of Mirzapur (2018-continuing) web-series by Amazon Prime. And the font used for the word ‘Chaos’ gives the immediate vibe of a slasher film. But Sundarpur Chaos is neither a slasher, nor a Mirzapur.

Sundarpur Choas released on 25 Oct, 2024 on 27 screens across Assam, only to be replaced by Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 in its second week. The rest of the cast of the film includes Bonny Deori, Silpi Dutta, Jolly Laskar and Gargee Dutta. Sundarpur Chaos is shot by Chandra Kumar Das and edited by Jhulan Krishna Mahanta. The sound design is credited to Debajit Gayan. The film also has a song sung by Bollywood playback singer, Shaan, titled Achinaki Ei Sohor.

‘Sundarpur Chaos’ review: Storytelling lost in social preaching (2025)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Moshe Kshlerin

Last Updated:

Views: 6496

Rating: 4.7 / 5 (57 voted)

Reviews: 80% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Moshe Kshlerin

Birthday: 1994-01-25

Address: Suite 609 315 Lupita Unions, Ronnieburgh, MI 62697

Phone: +2424755286529

Job: District Education Designer

Hobby: Yoga, Gunsmithing, Singing, 3D printing, Nordic skating, Soapmaking, Juggling

Introduction: My name is Moshe Kshlerin, I am a gleaming, attractive, outstanding, pleasant, delightful, outstanding, famous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.