Cecil says: We saw Bhonsle at the Glasgow Film Festival. We chose it to get a view of Indian cinema, having seen Belgian and Ukrainian films earlier in the Festival. It’s what film festivals are all about, and I actually wish some of these films were available to watch more widely in between events like this.
Bhonsle was not an up-beat Bollywood style film by any
means. It is set in Mumbai (I think), but it’s not the hustle-bustle Mumbai
we’d normally see in Indian films.
We follow the early retirement of police officer Bhonsle,
who lives in a damp, dripping one room dwelling inside a community tenement.
It’s actually stiflingly quiet, and one of the early scenes has a nightmare in
the head of the new retiree as he imagines himself getting old in this same
space, doing the same mundane tasks day-in, day-out.
But the film is actually all about the criss-crossing
hierarchies of Indian society. There’s inter-tribal conflict, dreadful
hierarchies within the different castes or ethnic groups, and most significant
of all, horrendous violence: I’m not sure which scene was the more disturbing,
when the bottom-of-the-pile Vilas rapes the outsider, but educated and
professional woman Sita, or the final scenes when Bhonsle gets into a deadly
fight with Vilas.
Hierarchy and status, belonging and excluding. These are the
aspects of Indian society that Bhonsle the film highlights. It’s a depressing
sight, but maybe that’s the aim of Director Devashish Makhija, to raise
awareness and to make people see the folly of such layers.
What’s interesting if you stand back from the film and
assess things with some distance is that the main character Bhonsle is clearly
sick and tired of these structures, and actually the vast majority of his
neighbours also really just want to get on with their lives. It is a small band
of resentful men at one level, and powerful men at the other end who have an
interest in maintaining the status quo.
But even the local cop who keeps Bhonsle from access to his
boss, while seemingly organising the politics of his tribe, the Marathi, tells Vilas
that his methods are out-of-date and he needs to change with the times, too. So
maybe there is hope in there somewhere. It’s just hard to see it, and I didn’t
leave the cinema with a joyous skip in my step.
We did finish the evening with that other great export of
Indian society, though, and feasted on the excellent curries round the corner
from the Glasgow Film Theatre, at the Wee Curry Shop.
***.5
Bea says: I saw Bhonsle at a time where I was feeling quite stressed by work and was dreaming of retirement as a potential way out. Bhonsle's forced retirement and struggle with meaning gave me a different perspective on my own situation, and if a film can do this it is in my view always a sign of good writing and production.
Generally though, this is a grim watch that explores India's complex society, but again has relevance for all societies, with themes such as the position of migrants (particularly those who come in to work) and gender violence.
Not a feel good film, but worth a watch. I recommend a comforting, fun activity afterwards.
***.5
No comments:
Post a Comment