Mur Xekh Gaan review: Journey of a son to fulfill his father’s final wish

“The prettiest place in the world is my home, take me back to Parvatikunj”, tells a story about a man who desperately wants to return to his homeland which he left 25 years back. With a touch of mystery, Mur Xekh Gaan defines love, forgiveness, and humanity in its purest form.

To fulfill the final wish of his dying father, Pritom (the film’s protagonist) started his journey to Assam where he learns the bitter truth of his existence that was kept from him by his late father. There are also instances of trust, suspicion, and reconciliation with a variety of people’s personalities.

The film starts with the voiceover of the film's protagonist Pritom Phukan (Arghadeep Baruah) where he explains how his father is spending his whole life listening to old Assamese songs repeatedly on his tape recorder and always eats flattened rice and curd as his regular Sunday lunch.

In an unexpected turn of events, Pragyan Phukan (Bibhuti Bhushan Hazarika) one day expressed a desire to visit Assam with his son in order to show him the wonderful culture and traditions he has been telling him since his childhood.

But the man who is yearning for his homeland could not make it home as he suffered a heart attack. Although Pritom was unable to fulfill his father's last wish, an old black and white photograph in his father's suitcase enabled him to complete the trip to Assam with his father’s ashes.

Mur Xekh Gaan's success comes in its audacious attempt to depict a narrative that exposes an incredibly dark time in Assam's history following the 80's Bengal riot when people were discriminated against and even killed just because their mother language differed from the locals. The director also utilizes the character of Bipul (Kamal Lochan Deka), Protim's cousin, to demonstrate that such inequalities exist even in the present times.

But, as soon as he arrives at the town, he realizes that his uncle (Arun Nath) is keeping something from him and wants him to leave as soon as he scattered the ashes. The film then follows Protim’s curiosity to discover why his father wants to visit Assam after all these years and why he is treated so poorly in his homeland.

Also, the developing romance between Pritom and the village school teacher (Srijani Bhaswa Mahanta) continued to give new highs to the audience. The love story starts with their visit to the Kolong river where they shared a boat ride and sang love songs.

Arun Nath's performance as a man who has been living with the shame of concealing a severe secret for a long time is filled with empathy and gravity. His son, Bipul, Kamal Lochan Deka lends a hilarious tone to his portrayal of someone who does not want to work a 9-5 job and prefers to appear in amateur plays. Nandita, the rural schoolteacher played by Srijani Bhaswa Mahanta, is a sincere character.

The best part of the movie comes when the grandmother of Pritom comes to perform the last rite of his father instead of all the hardship she has endured in the past following the discrimination.

Many prominent figures of Assam including film critic Sibanu Bora shared their views regarding the movie as asked by IndiaTodayNE. The movie gave tears and happiness at the same time to its audience and turned out to be a recommended one.