Not resting, not at peace

Tragedies and sudden calamities have a way of jolting people- even those who they don’t directly impact.
In recent months, the pandemic has made us all become that much more aware of what holds meaning in our lives- we’ve been moved by images of death and sorrow in far off cities and railed against the unfairness of it all.
The death of George Floyd played on loop on our screens and in almost unison we were all confronted by the results of centuries long prejudice and it seems like finally change is coming.

Tragedies, sadly also bring out the basest in some people and reveal the black hollowness that exists amongst us. We saw people hoarding essentials when they didn’t need to, refusing to help medical professionals battling on the front line.
And we saw the basest of behaviours in response to the sad death of a talented young actor – His death became fodder for many who barely acknowledged him when he was alive.

Sushant Singh Rajput- if you believe the shrill voices of many like Kangna Ranaut, Rupa Ganguly and a plethora of other actors, social media warriors and sadly news anchors, was a super talented actor who took his life because he had been sidelined by the big-wigs of Bollywood and had no work, he had not been given his due and struggled for recognition and work in the industry.
For two weeks we’ve been given to believe this- is it true?

SSR has been on our screens for about 8 odd years. He was the main lead in a very popular TV soap and then went on to act in about 10 films. In these few years, he got great reviews for his performance in some films like Kai Po Che, Dhoni and Sonchiriya and was pretty pathetic in Raabta, Kedarnath and Drive. Which is fine, most actors give great, good and horrible performances.

He was talented yes, but is that alone an attribute that garuntees success and recognition? No.

Consider other fabulous actors in the industry- Irfan Khan, Nawazuddin, Manoj Bajpai, Raj Kumar Rao, Vicky Kaushal, Tapsee, Bhumi…..all of these people have had to prove themselves. Nawazuddin worked as a watchman, did bit roles for years before he got noticed- his struggles are legendary.
Irfan Khan worked for years on TV in small roles and in many bit parts before he had any recognition or roles coming his way… and for many that has been true.

Does nepotism exist in Bollywood- OF COURSE it does, just like everywhere else!
Does it inhibit people with talent making their mark- Yes it does!
Does it mean that talented actors cannot survive? NO- resoundingly NO.
Our biggest stars are “outsiders” – Amitabh, Shahrukh, Akshay Kumar,Priyanka Chopra, Deepika…. They’ve made it big and yes their families will benefit- is that wrong?

SSR did not die because he did not get work, he did not die because Karan Johar did not work with him, in comparison with several other equally and more talented actors he did well in a very short period of time.
SSR had a mental illness and eventually that took its toll. The toxic nature of life in a public facing profession, takes away the ability of a person to be honest in seeking help. The fear of being made fun off, or having your problems made public all played a part.

Like other actors Robin Williams or Heath Ledger, having fame or pursuing passion is in itself not enough. Even these people in their rich homes and flashy cars need support and kindness.
Kindness which sadly SSR did not get when he was alive and definitely not in death.
Of all the people shouting off the rooftops now, Kangna Ranaut is the most reprehensible!! She has taken this tragedy and turned it into a vehicle for her own self interests! Her ill-considered accusations and irrational statements serve to only stoke the flames of fringe elements that are dangerous….
And what people are reluctant to acknowledge, is that it is the public that makes a star…..if we want to see good actors flourish, we need to go see their films in theatres and pay ticket prices, not watch on free platforms or torrented downloads. And perhaps this is why there is such an effort to deflect blame to others, more public….everyone’s feeling guilty and want to squarely lay that guilt on someone else….

Vale Sushant Singh Rajput, I hope you are at peace.

When you cage a beautiful bird…Bulbul

“Quaid mein hain bulbul, saiyaad muskurae, kaha bhi na jaye, chup raha bhi na jaye….” This 1959 song, could well be the most succinct summary of the Anvita Dutt written and directed Bulbul.The film opens in 1881, somewhere in Bengal where yet little girl is being married of to a much much older Thakur. Bulbul, the young girl, is sent of with her husband’s family which comprises of twin brother who clearly has a mental handicap and his wife, and Satya the youngest brother who is close to Bulbul’s age and becomes a natural playmate.
The movie then jumps 20 years in the future. Satya is back from London, having completed his studies in Britain. He returns to the family haveli and finds a very different home to what he’d left behind five years earlier.
Bulbul is now the mistress of the house, her husband Indranil has gone away.
His twin Mahendra died a violent death three years earlier, his wife Binodini is now a widow sent away to spend her life in prayers and there is a doctor – Sudip who is close to Bulbul.Satya finds the new Bulbul, very different to the carefree young woman he knew before he left for London. She is a woman who knows her power over him and others, who wounds with words and revels in her desirability.
He also find the village abuzz with reports of a “chudail” – a witch who kills men. Satya finds this laughable and decides to investigate. He is also jealous of the doctor, who is close to Bulbul and suspects Sudip has something to do with the murders. The At less than 90 minutes, the film is tight and has few distractions.We discover the backstory in a series of montages and flashbacks – the innocent friendship between Bulbul and Satya when they were young and how this transforms as they grow older, the envy of the older Binodini, who is tied to a mentally challenged man unable to satisfy her and who fears the blossoming young Bulbul will usurp her hold over the head of the family. The much older Indranil, who is manaically jealous of his wife’s affection for the young Satya. And finally we see how the poisonous cocktail of envy, jealousy and a man’s feeling he’s been cuckolded unleash a terrible sequence of events…..What worked: It is fantastic to see a woman at the heart of the story. And the stamp of the story being told by a woman runs throughout the film. Anvita gets the expressions right, the spite in Binodini’s eyes as she watches a young Bulbul, her envy at the young girls innocent beauty and her secret pleasure in telling Bulbul that she’s the one sleeping with Indranil.
And it was really good to see how the concept of male, patriarchal dominance is addressed- not whitewashed. Indranil may not be evil, but he is no less controlling, revelling in his power and while he’s indulgent of his bride’s innocence when she’s a new child bride, he gets crazed when she’s older – even the mere suspicion of her affections being directed elsewhere makes him use extreme violence.
And the other men too use their privilege, unconsciously. Satya comes back after being away for years, but immediately takes charge and judges Bulbul – expecting her full loyalty to the family, even while not faulting his brother for abandoning them.
The performances are stellar!
Tripti Dimri is amazing as Bulbul and the ever reliable Paoli Dam is spot on. Rahul Bose is fantastic in his double role and brings out the madness of the twin and the rage of the lord of the manor beautifully. Disappointed in Avinash Tiwari as Satya.
I do wish that Parambrata Chatterjee as Sudip had got more screen time- we don’t see much of him in Hindi films, which is fully our loss!It was refreshing to see a fully fleshed film kept so tight- while the plot was simple, at no point did the movie loose the viewer, the performances and the screenplay kept you engaged. The horror of what the women went thru was not gory on screen, but impactful nevertheless. I particularly enjoyed the moment in which Bulbul’s eyes change- showing her transition from being a young woman who has made the best of what her life is to a woman who knows how evil the people in the house are and what she needs to do.
The key reveal, while quite easy to figure out, was still well-done and it was good to see the montage flash that Sudip has, which tells us why some men are being killed.What did not work: Not sure whether it was the time factor or the fact that the director did not want to distract from Bulbul’s story- the treatment of Indranil’s absence was half baked. Also missing were the army of servers, help and others that generally overrun the old haveli’s of Bengal. The eerie abandoned feeling of the house pervaded the whole running time, but felt fake. Also strange was the absence of older people in the home, which was unexplained for the era.
The relationship between Bulbul and the doctor was left implied- but not fleshed out. His obvious feelings for him seemed unresolved.
The plot was simplistic- which was probably a disservice to both Anvita’s and the acting teams skills.The overpowering red hues of the entire movie was distracting after a while and seemed overdone. And Paoli’s bald helmet was distracting and not convincing.And the other thing that annoyed me, only for authenticity reasons, was the use of surgical gauze to dress a wound and provide traction in 1901. Gauze hadn’t made its way to India that early, certainly not to colonial Bengal….and more importantly gauze could not have then or now been used for weight traction!!! This distracted me so much that I could not pay attention to the next few minutes of the film and had to rewind and watch again!!BUT, full marks to Anushka Sharma for supporting such a project and putting her money into her beliefs! And as the lyrics of that decades old song say….when a bulbul is trapped in a gilded cage, and her oppressors smile….she dare not open her mouth, but she cannot stay quite either!