’Krantikaal’ (Critical Encounter) is the second feature film from director Shekhar Das, after his much acclaimed ’Mohulbanir Sereng’ which even met with some success commercially. This time he has addressed the burning issue of terrorism plaguing the serene north-east. A militant, Rajib (played by Shilajit Majumdar), is compelled after a showdown with the police to take shelter in a royal mansion, now in shambles, that houses the grand old patriarch (Haradhan Banerjee, in an award winning role) who is now confined to bed infirm and even bereft of speech, alongwith his old son (Soumitra Chatterjee) and the latter’s daughter-in-law (Rupa Ganguly) who is a lecturer and, being the sole lady of the house, is also a pillar of support in more ways than one. There’s also the woman’s young daughter who has difficulty standing on her two feet and moves on wheelchair, some servants and even a few destitute women who been traumatised by lunacy and prison-term. When the paths of the protagonists (essentially, the terrorist and the lady of the house) cross, there is friction, an undercurrent of tension, and also a brief interlude of mutual and self discovery enhancing a strange compassion. The performances of Rupa Ganguly and Soumitra Chatterjee are finely nuanced and even Shilajit, though not effortless in his characterisation, delivers. The film is, on the whole engaging and interesting, thanks to deft directorial skills of Shekhar Das, but the screenplay sags at times when the weight of self-indulgence is too much. The supporting cast also has Arjun Chakraborty, Chhabi Talukdar, Rajesh Sharma and Rita Dutta Chakraborty. The movie, based on a story by Prafulla Roy, provokes us with questions of nationalism and identity and hence the edifice itself is likely to interest most, though some might be put off by the sluggish pace.