Toofan story: 

Shanto (Shakib Khan) is a junior artist who wants to be a star someday with sheer hard work. He meets an assistant costume designer Julie (Nabila). She helps him get a break as the second villain of a film that features Suchona (Mimi Chakraborty) as the lead actress. In the final cut, Shanto goes missing from the scene and lands in the den of Toofan (Shakib Khan) – a monster-esque power-hungry don. 

Toofan review: 

First thing first, Toofan is a long film. Sadly, its runtime can be felt right in the first half. Along with Chanchal Chowdhury, the two superhit songs Dushtu Kokil and Laage Uradhura are heights of entertainment. Sadly again, they also make a very late entry. 

Toofan is a badly written film. Besides a completely abysmal storyline, it also does not have any character development. We watch Shanto on the screen for the longest time and then he almost disappears in thin air. Julie’s character is a total ornamentation, while Suchona’s character is scattily jotted down. In fact, Toofan – the mighty gangster – also has no credible character arc. The plot is a mixed bag of many films we watched before. It has a bit of Don’s story, Animal and KGF’s action, and some sound and visual elements from here and there. It is then baked half-heartedly and presented on a lavish platter. 

While the film is bombarded with background music, it has some fabulous shots. Action sequences are lavishly choreographed and never look shoddy. The visuals are largely appealing. However, sounds and visuals can help a film to shine bright only when it has a substantial backbone of content. Toofan lacks that part. The second half takes control over the plot for a while but the film by then has already landed in a mess. The twist in the end is so predictable.   

Performance and presentation in commercial films are often loud. Toofan has no balance. Shakib goes over the top right from the beginning and that seems jarring. His swag is on point as Toofan – the monster, but his dialogue delivery is disappointing. Nabila looks pretty as she is expected to and Mimi does not get enough screen time. It is Chanchal Chowdhury who turns the game with his entry as Assistant Police Commissioner Akram. He flexes his finesse with humour and body gesture and makes the film a tad watchable. 

Like Chanchal Chowdhury, the two hit songs,  Dushtu Kokil and Laage Uradhura are the height of entertainment and they also make late entries. They are gorgeous and groovy. 

Toofan verdict: 

Bangladesh has shown us ways of storytelling through its films and web series. We have seen some fabulous writings in the entertainment industry. Toofan is sadly not one of those fine creations. Commercial Bangla cinema desperately needs to be revived. We will need a better effort than this.      

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