of the film. Thankfully the film doesn’t lament on the issues of geographical and administrative marginalization of the village.

But situating the village as a microcosm of larger social themes, Dhanjit Das definitely tries to make a comment about the functioning of a political system. Using the network marketing scammers as a symbolic stand-in for political institutions and the village as an allegorical electorate, the film nods at the purposeful exploitation of the citizenry. And while Nagen appears to be a person within the narrative, the character ultimately functions more as a symbolic construct—a representation of human greed. The search for Nagen becomes, in essence, a metaphor for the pursuit of easy fortune which doesn’t always yield.

However, leaving all analysis of its sub-text aside, Casetu Nagen is a film that is fairly enjoyable for majority of its first half but falters terribly in its second half. The film prematurely reveals the identity of Nagen and the true identity of the man that had come to the village in search of him. From there on, an air of predictability surrounds the film which makes the second half less engaging.

If the entire plot of the film revolves around the mysterious identity of Nagen and the search for him, revealing it casually defeats the purpose of the narrative. As viewers, we share the same curiosity and suspense as the villagers and therefore it would have been far more cathartic if either we or the villagers had the opportunity to uncover the mystery through our own efforts. Now, in the movie, instead of letting the characters uncover the truth through action and emotion, it lets another character verbally explain everything partway through. This reveal not only flattened the mystery but also took away the characters’ agency in solving the mystery.

Among the better aspects of Casetu Nagen is the performances of its ensemble cast that includes Tapan Das, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Himanshu Prasad Das, Pranami Bora, Atanu Mahanta, and Anamika Sarania. Dhanjit Das’ diverse filmography definitely reflects a fair understanding of genre approaches. It is also a great relief to see Amrita Gogoi in a decent film against much of her cringe roles in the Chandra Mudoi universe. She is not a bad actress, but her recent film selections have gone from terrible to the worst of worst. And veteran actor Atul Pachani finally does a film which he can proudly take the name of. He last appeared in an abomination called Rakshak: The Saviour released in Assam just a few weeks back. It was horrible.

So overall, Casetu Nagen can be called a technical sound film that delivers a fun setup and characters with quirky personalities but it fails to go beyond that. Maybe, a strong sub-plot would have functioned in regard to that of a required contribution. In this regard, the writing demanded a little more depth to achieve its funniest or the most dramatic potential. Special mention of the peppy title track sung by Kumar Bhabesh and Kool-d. It is cool. And if the makers are aiming to release the film outside Assam, they might take a closer look at the English subtitles. And to conclude, I’m still puzzled as to how my friend’s son can turn out to be the same age as me. Only viewers of Casetu Nagen can relate to this.

Casetu Nagen (2025) Movie Links: IMDb