A terrific period horror thriller
‘Bulbbul’ first up has a terrific feel to it. Some films get respect right from scene one because of the way it builds. ‘Bulbbul’ gives a horror feel right from the start. The film is a thriller more than a horror and set in late 80s with a bit of fantasy element too and its one such film where every element works. The reddish glow of the place haunts you, the Bengal period setting soothes you, something which gives a feel like ‘Lootera’ and the music, cinematography, editing… you name it and every department works.
Immediate reference to the film would be ‘Tumbbad’ which is bound to happen and impossible to avoid. ‘Tumbbad’ has set a legacy, so, in spite of being compared to it and still not coming out disappointed itself is an achievement but here, during the pre-climax, when the actual gory thriller elements starts, it actually makes us forget ‘Tumbbad’ and gets us hooked to ‘Bulbbul’. Both have a terrific cast and more importantly, the striking feature of them both is the unafraid protagonist. ‘Tumbbad’s’ protagonist character was one of kind and the way he had acted took it to next level. Here in Bulbbul too the protagonist character is superbly written and just the way she looks at the camera so confident, makes us go weak on our knees.
In the opening scene, we get to see a young girl getting ready to be married and during first night we see the Bado Thakur, Indranil (Rahul Bose) making an advance towards her, telling her that she’d know the difference between brother and brother in law once she grows up. The scene casts doubts in the audience mind whether she’s really married to Bado Thakur or he’s just a creep who uses a girl who’s married to his younger brother who’s of the girls age. Only much later we get to know that she’s indeed married to Bado Thakur.
Bulbbul (Tripti Dimri) and Satya (Avinash Tiwary) develop good friendship between them. Bulbbul in fact in interested in him, so becomes heartbroken when she gets to know that he’s sent off to London for higher studies. Binodhini (Paoli Dam) who’s married to Indranil’s mentally challenged identical twin brother Mahendra (Rahul Bose) lusts for power and thus envies the entry of Bulbbul in the family as Badi Bahu. That was an excellent scene taken right out of Satyajit Ray’s books. In that specific scene, both in ‘Charulatha’ and ‘Bulbbul’, the relationships between sister in law and brother are shown in that setting. There is even a swing at place. Such a beautiful tribute.
The movie cleverly uses the flashbacks and present scenes at the right juncture so that we slowly unravel the mystery behind the place. It’s not a surprise about who would have changed the dramatics of the family, but ‘how’. The ‘how’ here gets answered stronger than what one thinks. Binodhini does all the harm and silently seduces Indranil. Just like how she keeps his brother Mahendra as her puppet, she makes him one too by slowly instilling hatred in Indranil’s mind. Indranil beating her is a great gory scene and evokes enough sympathy in Bulbbul and from there we get the confirmation about who really is the ghost with twisted legs but Mahendra raping her takes it one notch above and gives us a total shocker. I guess that’s where the film becomes a perfect foil for OTT release, till that point, even in cinema, there wouldn’t have been much of a sensor problem. Thanks to Netflix that it came untampered. From then on, it’s totally Bulbbul show.
Even though Tripti Dimri deserves a separate paragraph for accolades, it’s not only her, who makes the film epic. It’s the combined acting of everyone. Rahul Bose, needless to say is a brilliant actor who excels both as a retarded sex hungry person as well as Thakur with no guilt. Binodhini is effortlessly witchy. Even the doctor, Sudip (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) is so charming and nice to see on screen. Like an Arjit Singh enjoying while singing. Avinash Tiwary is excellent in a film where he’s not the point of attention. But above all, its Tripti Dimri who stands tall, no words can explain her magnificence. Though she gets introduced as a confident lady oozing with all feminine sexuality, the way she shows innocence before she becomes ‘Bulbbul’ and helpless as a witch in the jungle, gets us messed up with all emotions. The same confident lady who turns on before the flashback makes us feel bad for her post that. That’s some way to tell the story.
I don’t know why the film was needlessly projected as a feminist horror story. It’s much beyond that. Like how ‘Arjun Reddy’ is much beyond a love story. Ok whatever suits you, but ‘Bulbbul’ shouldn’t be confined as something which works for a separate sect but as a film which has a universal appeal, right through its making and direction. Even if it hadn’t had such a powerful story, still it would have been great because it looks so good. So, ‘Bulbbul’, shouldn’t be confined by saying that it’s a great feminist film, rather it should be called a great film.
constantscribbles 