The fundamental belief and faith in life and in our comrades are falling apart. When our stance, power and opinion of supremacy are challenged frequently, an unchecked and irrational outrage manifests in various forms - physical or psychological attack, real or virtual lynching, or even through A Holy Conspiracy.
The title is not only satirical but also comprehends the crux of the film. A conspiracy is holy when it interrogates the validity of the unquestionable almighty and religious fanaticism. For the torchbearers, it is also a valid conspiracy and a respite is much-needed one when it is out of protectionism for the minority from an apostate. The film ironically sets up a scathing battle not only between science and religion - which is a cliche in 2022- but also between a powerful minority (Christianity) over a wilting minority (Sarna, a religion of the adivasis). It incorporates many related strata of thoughtful probations in this courtroom battle - the right of a ‘thinking man’ beyond the concept of right and wrong, the quest for truth, an argumentative Indian school teacher being trapped into a socio-political conspiracy under the pretext of violating and disrespecting religious sentiments, love, betrayal and an undercurrent of support from the media.
The film, however, is a laggard in the first half until the trial begins. The first trial session has a brilliant visual before the court is adjourned - the collapsing ceiling of the courtroom. Such remarkable images are though missing elsewhere in this film, which could have added additional visual potentialities to its context and storyline. It also suffers from mediocre editing and mixing- the transition of the camera, the cuts and snippets coupled with the dialogue and music is often jarring and unintentionally uneven.
Still, this is a sensible and important film for several reasons. Naseeruddin Shah and Kaushik Sen are at their best and keep the pace and expectation intact out of such a sensitively crafted drama. The other characters, including Soumitra Chatterjee in one of the major duo roles with Naseer Saab, are misfits in the delivery of their dialogue, body language and nuances of acting. Sadly, Soumitra Chatterjee looks tremendously tired in this film and struggles with his easiness of acting. At times, it helps to bring out the essence of the character of Rev. Basanta Kumar Chatterjee who is shaken from the inside as a victim of the underlying second layer of conspiracy of which he had no clue, but mostly it becomes an unavoidable impediment to his screen presence. This is grossly highlighted because of the impeccable magnificence of thespian professionalism of Naseer Saab. What works here and repeatedly comes to a welcome rescue is the music arranged by Pt. Tejendra Narayan Majumder. His use of jishu kirtan, mass choir and background score is vibrant and aligned with the vibes and needs of the characterization of the film.
A Holy Conspiracy by Saibal Mitra is a film in its apparel and a drama in its soul. One cannot miss how it seems more of a theatre, albeit with a difference, captured by a camera and presented in the frames of celluloid. Also, I wish this movie would have been released a little earlier to be more relevant as its theme is nowadays a cliche thanks to social media.
Nevertheless, it is a recommended watch as it is honest, told straight from the heart and brain without mincing with words, and perfect documentation of a world with its inherent calamities and flaws quite known, but not very often publicly admitted and discussed. When we spend time on mindless reels, unimaginative web series, unmindful interactions, or scrolling over social media, such films deserve to be watched with friends and family to reinforce the faith in our thinking brains.
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