Bhonsle (2020)
Brilliance in two hours.
image credits: IMDb
Bhonsle is available to watch on - SonyLIV
Directed by: Devashish Makhija
Written by: Mirat Trivedi, Devashish Makhija, Sharanya Rajgopal
Cinematography: Jigmet Wangchuk
Starring: Manoj Bajpayee, Santosh Juvekar, Ipshita Chakraborty Singh, Virat
Vaibhav
Experience of watching: Often when
the system becomes rigid and inhuman, art rises to tell the truth and facts in
a way which melts us humans and gently removes the filth from our hearts. Bhonsle is that film.
Bhonsle is that intense experience
you might've felt that one strange time while watching the racing world outside your
window on a journey by train, yet unable to tell any other person about the
deep depths your heart had dived into and came back from.
The film lies at the boundary of grey and dark. It moves your heart and mind
simultaneously. There are high chances that by the end of the film you will be
left shaken, unable to escape the pangs of the experience you had in the two
hours. The end credits will be rolling in front your eyes, while your heart
tries to re-adjust itself to reality. It will take time.
Story: Bhonsle
has an underlying theme of socio-political tension of the 'us' vs. 'them'.
'Us', being the Marathis and 'them' being those from other states. The people
in the film are trapped between the war of financial aspirations and social
alientaion. The anti-hero of the film, Vilas (the taxi driver) is the victim of
this entrapment, and becomes vengeful. The hero of the film, Bhonsle is another
victim of this entrapment, and suffers with acute loneliness. The rest of the
people in the neighborhood have either acquired a passive spectator position or
have simply given in to the stress and humiliation.
Characters: The characters are there
living a life of their own. They are not mere support structures to the hero
and anti-hero. Vulnerable moments of their life fall so perfectly in sync with
the two lead characters that these two have to make decisions which make them hero
and anti-hero. This is what good stories do. They don't build characters. They
imitate life, just not in a boring way.
The Hero: The film has it's lead character Bhonsle, played by Manoj Bajpayee,
aching to survive decently in life. He is recently retired from the police.
Though he has a small place to live, he prefers to stay under the roof of
poverty all alone. He was born in the state of Maharashtra, so he is shown as a
Marathi. His neighborhood (Churchill Chawl) has a majority of Marathi people,
and a minority of people from the state of Bihar.
The anti-hero, Vilas is a cab driver, lives in the cab, and also a Marathi. He
wishes to become a politician. To do that, he tries to instigate the
neighborhood with the rhetoric of Biharis taking away the resources which
belong to the Marathis. He seeks the support of Marathis, and if acquired, his
boss would give him the seat for local elections.
The film doesn't portray him as a thorough villain. It gradually builds him up
as a contemptuous person. He is shown as a human who struggles with his
desires, gets rebuked directly and indirectly from those he hold in high
esteem, and lets out his rage and frustrations on weak individuals, sometimes
in a very ugly manner. This movie is an exploration of human psyche and the
ruthlessness it takes for the poor to survive as per their will.
The hero, Bhonsle, has a new, young Bihari woman neighbour with an even younger
brother. The film showcases the complicated relationship of affection between
them. Bhonsle is like a father figure, and they are like the children
who take care of him. Or, Bhonsle is like a home of Bihar to them in this Maharashtrian
neighborhood, and they are like the Marathi home to him in the alienated
Mumbai. Or, it is something else and it doesn't matter what it actually is;
what matters is their affection and admiration is alive and deep, in silent and
less crowded places.
Acting maestro: Manoj Bajpayi plays the lead
character of Bhonsle in the film. He is Bhonsle, for I cannot imagine any other
actor playing the role with that skill, devotion and conviction. Bajpayi is,
without a doubt, a league of his own. In sombre roles, he can remain still and
just watch a thing or a character on screen, and the viewers may very likely
feel a tap on their heart. He acts out the loneliness of man in such a
strangely real way, that a silent sigh often leaves my chest.
With Aligarh (2015), Bhonsle and director Debashish Makhija's another film
(short) Taandav (2016), Manoj Bajpayi has proved that he can single-handedly
become the story itself - a feat which can hardly be proved by other actors in
the industry.
Direction: Except for the beginning
and end of the film, Director Debashish Makhija doesn't want to leave his trace in the
story. He wants the story to simply act itself out. There is nothing in the
story which makes one think that this is just a fragment of the director's
imagination. Every frame is as real as it gets. The commendable part of the
director is stitching together those parts of the characters’ lives whose
collective embroidery builds an intensely emotional tale.
The scenes where the director particularly leaves his trace are the opening
and closing scene. In the opening scene, as Bhonsle is retiring from the job,
he is removing the police uniform from his body and wearing his regular home
attire. While simultaneously, through cross-cuts, an idol of Ganesha is being
painted, and clothed. A human is removing the unique identity which separates him from
the crowd, while the god's identity is being built. In the closing scene, the
idol of Ganesha is submerged in the water and rendered lifeless. Meanwhile,
again presented through cross-cuts, Bhonsle commits that action which makes him the hero and
renders his previous monotonous and boring state of living, lifeless.
Writing & other film elements: The
details in the scenes adds to the authenticity of the film. Sub-plots are layered
with craft and meaning, proving excellency in writing. Like the overall story
itself, the research done in building the story is intense and immaculate.
It's after one has regained his/her senses post the finish of the film that one
realizes the hard and efficient work of the director and the entire film crew.
The locations, the costumes, the props and other knick-knacks
– like the use of thinning and crumbling bathing soap over the days – compliment the story
beautifully. Sound design adds to the congested, urban haunting. The cinematography
doesn't romanticize like other films, the city of Mumbai and it's over-crowded,
narrow spaces. It shows the city as it is - full of people, yet dull, grey and
rough for the poor. Cuts are made at the right time in the editing. Sometimes
by the brain - quick transition to the next scene. Sometimes by the heart -
enough breathing space for the scene to entrap you. Just how the story
required.
CLICK HERE to watch the TRAILER of BHONSLE
No comments:
Post a Comment