The relationship between an old man, who grew up in a traditional Bengali joint family, and a little boy who lives with his single mother
'AKORIK' is a story about a relationship between a 75 year old man, who grew up under the umbrella of the traditional Bengali Joint Family System, and a 10 year old boy, who lives with his mother - a single parent, and how the two individuals from two different generations develop a close bonding.Arunabha Roychowdhury is a retired Govt. employee, now in his final phase of life, lives in a beautiful hill station of the country for quite a few years now with his ailing wife, Semanti, and cousin sister Shobha. Arunabha hails from a typical Bengali joint family of a Bengal town. After his marriage, he moves to Kolkata and now in his final leg of life lives in the hills primarily to give his wife a healthy environment. Shobha has been looking after Semanti with utmost love and care ever since she fell ill.In the same hill station, a ten year old boy, Aakash, comes with his mother Srijita for a holiday. Srijita is a single parent who is a celebrity Film Writer. She loves her son very much but owing to her work pressure she is unable to give enough time to Aakash. The kid is looked after by Namita, who is a sort of governess for Aakash.Arunabha, a product of the Joint Family System, and Aakash, a product of Single Parenting, meet for the first time when Arunabha, out for his morning work, sees Aakash playing cricket alone. Arunabha wants to befriend him but Aakash withdraws. After a few such instances, however, they become good friends. Arunabha and Aakash develop an emotional bonding despite their different upbringing values and eventually share a philosophical journey together. Arunabha says much about the classical joint family system culture which Aakash is unaware of. A whole new idea of relationships is inculcated within Aakash. Srijita, at first, becomes skeptical about her son's intimacy with an old man but later understands that Aakash was in good hands.Arunabha's wife Semanti finally passes away and Arunabha is left in a vacuum. His only son Anirban, who lived in the U.S., offers him to shift to the U.S. but Arunabha negates his offer and prefers to live in the hills till the end. Aakash's holiday gets over and he bids goodbye to Arunabha with a heavy heart but Arunabha inspires him to be a fighter always.The film talks about the disintegration of the Bengali Joint Family System down the ages and how it has reduced to even Single Parenting. Disintegration of the Bengali Joint Family System is a cultural crisis for the community and over the years, many generations have come up without knowing their roots, the outcome being severe often. Getting detached from one's roots often leads to a fractured childhood and a confused life thereafter. The relationship between a 75 year old Arunabha and a 10 year old Aakash develops an interesting journey between the two which is the crux of the film. The film tries to look into the situation neutrally searching an answer to a significant question.... where are we heading?
