Simanaheen

Simanaheen (সীমানাহীন; English: Limitless) is 2013 Bengali romance film directed by Kevin Dalvi and Ria Mahtab. The film marks the debuts of Rahsaan Islam and Ismat Alamgir.^[3] Simanaheen released in theatres worldwide on Valentine's Day 2013 and in Bangladesh on 1 March 2013.^[4]

Simanaheen was a critical and commercial success; the film garnered positive reviews from critics and good box office collections. Bengali Kolkata Radio declared it a worldwide 'hit' after its first week in theaters and the film went on to be the second highest grossing Bengali film of 2013.^{[5][6] [7]}

Plot

Drawing inspiration from the romantic classics of yesteryear, Simanaheen is the tale of an eternal search for love told through two relationships in two different eras.

Hindu-Muslim relationships don't only experience difficulty during times of partition and terrorism. They exist even today, all around us. Such is the experience of Raiyan and Kavita.

Though they live today, Raiyan and Kavita find the same societal pressures around them. Simanaheen is the story of this modern love, the modern barriers to it, and how little has changed since the time of Amar and Suraiya, Simanaheen's pre-partition lovers. It is the story of how we face society and the often-difficult path that stands between us and our love.

Cast

• Rahsaan Islam as Amar/Raiyan
• Ismat Alamgir as Suraiya/Kavita
• Nafees Ahmed as Arun Mukherjee
• Dilara M. Ahmed as Soumitra Mukherjee
• Trishna Murad as Nazia
• Apshara Islam as Priya Mukherjee
• Tanim Hossain as Joy Bose
• Anita Hossain as Seema
• Sabbir Ahsanullah as Arnob
• Rezai Islam as Salman
• Bakhtiar Hafeez as Mohammad Khaled
• Selina Ahmed as Farzana Khaled
• Munir Islam as Syed Saleem Jamaluddin
• Apurba Islam as Guam
• Narmeen Samad as Shefali
• Ridwan Islam as Ziauddin
• Mobin Rahman as Prosenjit Bose
• Praerona Murad as Sayeeda

Production

The film is based on a story developed by Jinat Ahmed and Rahsaan Islam. In 2011, Islam brought the story to the attention of director Kevin Dalvi and NEQUA Studios. The studio decided to take up the project and put together a team to finish the scripting of the film. The production of the film took place completely in Chicago, USA; beginning in 2011 and ending in 2012.

For the film's cast, NEQUA Studios didn't want any "established stars or people that are easily recognizable" as they were looking "to build a new brand of film for the international Bengali audience" and felt that familiar faces wouldn't have had the "intended effect on the audience".^[8] As such, the film is unique in that it features a cast of second-generation Bengali-Americans and diaspora Bengalis from around the United States and is completely composed of newcomers. Islam was the first one to be cast and was followed by Ismat Alamgir, as the producers felt her personality closely resembled that of the characters to be portrayed.

Since the film was entirely shot in Chicago, the film crew attempted to get the locations, costume design and language as similar as possible to that of 1947 Bengal as was required for a number scenes. Victorian Era architectures and sets were used to create the colonial Victorian feel of the old-style architectures in Bengal. The filmmakers also believed such a style and vision was appropriate in "creating a dreamy, nostalgic, and larger than life rendition of partition time Bengal that the modern characters of the film would imagine and dream of."^[9]

Soundtrack

The music of the film was released on January 3, 2013 at Dhaka's Thirty3 Music Cafe to rave reviews.

Simanaheen
Studio album by Rusho Mahtab
Released	January 3, 2013 (2013-01-03)
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	35:52
Label	NEQUA Studios
Rusho Mahtab chronology
Durey Kothai (2010) Simanaheen (2013)

Reception

The Daily Star Lifestyle Magazine rated the album 9/10, saying that "On the whole, the soundtrack accomplishes what the film itself sets out to do. We hope the film can reach the same standards. The Simanaheen Soundtrack is a very impressive film debut for Rusho Mahtab, Tushar Ahmed, and Shudeepta Rahman and Runa Laila impresses as always. Many years down the road, we will be listening back to this soundtrack as an eternal classic."^[10]

Reception

Critical reception

Simanaheen received positive reviews from critics and fans alike. The Dhally/Tolly Report gave the film 4.4/5 stars, stating, "Simanaheen is a beautiful, timeless love story. Watch it for the music, the dialogues, the message, and last but not least, the acting. The direction by Kevin Dalvi and Ria Mahtab is superb, Rusho Mahtab's music is tops, and Rahsaan Islam is someone to watch out for."^[11] A fan poll conducted by Bengali distributors and multiplexes gave Simanaheen a rating of 4.7/5 - the highest of any film playing in Bengal in 2013.

Box office

Despite the fact that Simanaheen released during a politically turbulent time with bandhs, hartals, and the 2013 Shahbag Protest, the film had a strong opening, with an occupancy of 70–80% in theaters over its opening weekend. Word of mouth has helped the film pick up business throughout the course of its first week. It holds the record of highest first weekend and first week collections for a Bengali non starcast film. Tehreen Islam of New Age reported that, ""Simanaheen has attracted the audience at large numbers...adding to the positive changes that the Bengali film scenario is going through.".^[12]

References