One is the long-established Thakur, the only Hindu in the area, and an aging, old-fashioned, crippled, manic, eccentric landlord (Tariq Anam), whose influence is waning, owns most of the property in a largely Muslim village and has ruthlessly repossessed debt-ridden land to build his lasting monument a Hindu temple commemorating his family – and has isolated himself from the local, largely Muslim community in the process as most them view this as idolatrous.
This, in turn provokes a suspicious and intense rivalry with his rival, a populist, seductive, corrupt, ruthless Muslim politician and village boss known as the Chairman (Ahmed Rubel).
Kala (Tanveer Hassan), a young, mysterious ex-soldier and self-proclaimed atheist armed with a rifle and a frayed birth certificate, arrives in a small town on Independence Day with a personal quest to find his father, reclaim his birthright, and seek the truth about his mother's rape and murder, and take revenge on the rapist.
Kala and his gun becomes the coveted asset to both the Chairman and Thakur, he attracts the attention of two rival leaders and finds himself approached by both men to take their side.
In a heated atmosphere, Kala is the only person in the village with a gun and his rifle allows him to bargain with both men and offers himself as a gun-for-hire to the highest bidder, while pursuing his own quest for knowledge and vengeance.
Was it the charismatic Chairman, proclaimed defender of the people, or was it Thakur, the Hindu landlord busy gobbling up local land on unpaid loans?
[1] This new cooperative venture lets NFTS current students and recent graduates create fully funded feature films.
The film began its UK theatrical release at the Genesis Cinema, Mile End and at the Ciné Lumière, South Kensington on 26 June 2009.
"[14] Anton Bitel of Little White Lies said, "This bleak message is offset by wonderful widescreen cinematography and a soundtrack that perfectly blends influences both eastern and western.
"[17] Philip Kemp of Total Film felt it "expends a bit too much time on talk, with all the action shoehorned into the last few minutes.
[6] The story tackles taboos subjects such as communal conflict, the genocide and war rapes of 1971, amongst the backdrop of a busy marketplace reminiscent of the ghost towns of the Wild West.
[4] It has been said to be familiar to Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, Takashi Miike's Sukiyaki Western Django,[15] the Coen Brothers' Miller's Crossing or even Walter Hill's Last Man Standing.
[5] The bare bones of this scenario can also be discerned in The Last Thakur, set in a rural backwater of contemporary Bangladesh, but Ahmed is less interested in cowboy movie pastiche than in an intense drama of misunderstandings, madness and murder.