Herbert

The narrative centers on the 1970s, a turbulent period in West Bengal marked by political activism and social change. It follows Herbert’s rise and fall across decades through non-linear jumps that echo the era’s rapid shifts. The setting captures Kolkata during a time of student movements, ideological clashes, and local upheavals.

Kolkata provides the vivid backdrop for Herbert's life, moving from family homes to Presidency College and the city’s crowded streets. The city’s cultural depth and political energy shape the characters’ beliefs and ambitions. It acts as a living canvas where tradition, superstition, and upheaval intersect.

✨ Magical Realism

The story blends the supernatural with the everyday as Herbert claims to speak with the dead and earns a living from it. The thin line between reality and the occult is used to critique belief, fraud, and human gullibility. This magical layer frames tragedy and resilience as intertwined outcomes of a community’s faith and fear. It underscores how myth can become a commodity.

💀 Death & Fame

Herbert’s fame arises posthumously as people flock to dialogs with the dead and to his sensational legacy. The theme probes how society capitalizes on death for entertainment, worship, or profit. The twist of a real-life tragedy turning into spectacle asks what counts as truth and what sustains legacy. The bombing ending makes the arc of fame inseparable from violence.

🪧 Political Upheaval

References to Lenin, Mao, Stalin, Ho Chi Minh and the Naxalite movement anchor the narrative in Bengal’s revolutionary history. The characters are drawn into ideological experiments, student activism, and confrontations with authority. Political passion collides with personal pain, blurring lines between conviction and crime. The era’s turbulence shapes choices and destinies.

🎭 Identity & Society

Herbert’s status as an eccentric outsider exposes social judgment and ridicule that shape his self-image. Family dynamics, class expectations, and communal gossip drive his decisions and downfall. The film uses performance and perception to critique how society wears masks of belief and power. Tragedy emerges when the line between individuality and social derision breaks.