There are films that you watch to be entertained - films that you watch mindlessly, whose fictional
universes you can escape to with no demands to remain grounded in your reality. Bhonsle is not
that film. It is impossible to disentangle yourself from the characters on screen, or the situations
they find themselves in. While newspaper headlines talk about the Marathi language being made compulsory in all Indian schools, and Delhi struggles to recover from the stomach-churning communal violence of February, watching the petty game of politics and bigoted
hatred between the Maharashtrian and Bihari communities play out in the film, and
slowly escalate into something dark and twisted, just feels like an extension of our own
reality.


<h2>The film is loaded with symbolism, but never leans on them. Its aesthetic, pregnant with poignancy,
blends easily with the story. 

The fleshed-out characters and tumultuous contexts are complemented with perfect mise-en-scènes – it is evident that nothing in the frame is accidental. </h2>

A symbol that runs
through the film as a comparative thread to Bajpayee’s Bhonsle is that of Lord Ganesh, or
rather, his idols. The opening scene oscillates between close up shots of an idol of the god being
made and brought to life, and a resigned Bhonsle preparing to go home, leaving behind the only life
he’s ever known, after his last day at his job at the police station. As he wearily unbuttons his faded,
old uniform, a brand new silk cloth is draped over Ganpati’s torso, as he unpins his badge and
shoulder straps, a shiny, silver armband is put on the idol, as he takes off his police hat, a bedazzled
crown is placed on the idol’s head.



<h2>The interpretations can be infinite, but one thing is certain – the iconic, historic figure in Indian
and Maratha history, Shivaji Bhosale, might have valued and popularised the worship of Ganesha and the celebration of the Ganpati festival, but Bhonsle himself feels no desire to model his
ancestor. </h2>
Bhonsle refuses to prioritise religious or communal demands over his
humanity and kindness. He refuses to partake in hostile, discriminatory, and violent behaviour in the
name of his community’s God. Communal strife and violence in the name of religion doesn’t stop until
it has taken everything from the disembodied, dismembered body and soul, as is clear in the
film.

 

The number of dialogues Bajpayee has in the film is probably restricted to single digits – he is
silent, and more stagnant than stationary, for most of the film. His performance is, even then, one
that is bound to stand out and stay in your mind for a long time to come. His movements are weary
and languid, but his eyes are arrestingly expressive, and his moustache even more so. His facial
muscles strain, quiver and fall disappointedly, so that you wonder why films ever needed dialogues
to convey emotions.

 

Bhonsle is a film that feels as liberating at certain points as it is suffocating in others. The
cinematography is exquisite and the performances not only engaging, but memorable. It will make
you want to hug the screen, then promptly scream at it. Bhonsle is a film that you not only watch, but
experience – it’s only horrifying that the experience is one that we continue to live in even after we
exit the theatre.


 
Written by Sanjana Bhagwat

Bhonsle | Manoj Bajpayee | Review

This Manoj Bajpayee-starrer is a short-film weaved together by trippy visuals and groovy music by Nucleya. Taandav contrasts the humour in tragedy and vice-versa, much like the reality of our day-to-day lives. It's an interesting comment on expectations, duties, responsibility and ethics. Throw in a polished performance by Bajpayee and an equally talented supporting cast and voila! The perfect piece of art is ready.

Taandav | Manoj Bajpayee | Short Film of the Day

Trigger warning: The purpose of art is to reflect all that is wrong with society, to trigger thoughts that lead to reformative action. Agli Baar succeeds in doing precisely that - holding up the mirror to a very ugly reality of the world we live in. Not for the emotionally fragile, the short film is for an audience which is willing to swallow the bitter truths of a society divided on the lines of religion, class and a mindlessly rigid sense of community. It further invokes the idea that while we may choose to ignore them and be mute spectators to the wrongs being done around us, we are not immune to the agents of evil which may target us next.

Agli Baar | Short Film of the Day

If spookiness gives you chills, this short film starring Nimrat Kaur and Divyendu Sharma, is not for you. It opens with Kaur getting startled by the sudden presence of her husband, played by Sharma. As the narrative progresses, the viewer realises that Sharma is a ghost, unable to let go of his wife even after his death. His struggle with loneliness also leads him to attempt to bump himself off (once again), but predictably, he fails every time. While the ghost follows his wife around, along with a fossilised bird, Elayichi maintains a good balance between eeriness and lightheartedness. Director Devashish Makhija earns a special mention for portraying the presence of a ghost in a woman's life as a tiresome, but mundane reality.

Elayichi | Short Film of the Day

Authentic, unique and extremely entertaining - the latest offering by filmmaker Devashish Makhija is surely all of this, and much more. The narrative takes us into the friendship of three women and portrays the myriad ways in which it gets tied with sexuality, loyalty, looking out for one another and lastly, but also quite importantly - the big O of a woman's life. 

<blockquote>"The outlandish, freewheeling script was improvised over many weeks of rehearsals with the film’s actors (all hailing from India’s National School of Drama), drawing from their personal challenges of growing up as women in patriarchal, small-town-India", says Makhija.</blockquote>

The execution of the plot, which is marked by an element of magical realism, also attains a surreal quality as it presents itself to the viewer. The true triumph of the film, however, lies in the fact that the engagement with its concerns is carried out in a notably effortless manner, tying itself with the filmmaker's own comments about how the narrative came to be. Not taking itself too seriously, the relationships of the characters come across as effervescent, beautifully blending in this dance of rebellions in a small town, little transgressions, snatched and stolen moments of pleasure and joy, and how it is in these small moments indeed that life is weaved. 

The final result steers clear of any vulnerabilities the exploration of thematic underpinnings of the kind exposes a story to, leaving you with a colorful, uplifting, perhaps even educational, film at the end of it all.

Cheepatakadumpa | Devashish Makhija | Short Film of the Day

Shot on a phone, with the entirety of the film constituted by simply three long takes, 'Cycle' is a brutal story about the path of revenge, and eventually, as the title suggests, the cycle of hate. The unbreakability of the latter once it has been set in motion serves as the backbone of the narrative. 
 An intense and extremely disturbing episode of sexual violence inflicted on an overpowered tribal woman is your first introduction to the world of the film.

Marked by conflict and unrest between local tribes, and the militant forces in an unnamed location (presumedly Chhattisgarh where people enjoy ant chutney), it is a reality of weapons, oppression and torture. If the purpose of art is to disturb, compelling you to engage in constructive thought which leads to reformative action, then 'Cycle' is indeed a crucial piece of art. It exposes not only the grotesqueness and nightmarish reality of extreme violence, but also the many far-reaching and adverse consequences of the same, while steering very clear of sentimentalism and voyeurism all along. 

The film will stay with you long after you are done watching it, and at the end of it all, it would have served its purpose of urging you to reflect on your lived reality as well as the experiences of those who inhabit a world far different from yours.

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