Filmmaker Pulkit’s recent saga Bhakshak, starring Bhumi Pednekar in the lead, tells a fictitious tale inspired from horrific case of a girls’ shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. In 2018, it came to light that a number of orphan girls in a shelter home in the town run by an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) were subject to rape and sexual abuse. The perpetrators roamed free because of their political connections.
But the truth finally came out and after a long period of trial and the people alleged in the crime were punished. The Supreme Court reportedly criticized the then government of Bihar over the delay in filing the correct FIR (First Information Report) in the case.
Bhakshak, which is streaming on Netflix, is about an honest and upright journalist Vaishali Singh (Pednekar) who runs a small news channel called Koshish News, with the help from her only staff member Bhaskar Sinha (Sanjay Mishra) in Patna. She gets to know about the gruesome case of rape, molestation and murder of a number of orphaned girls in a shelter home in Munawwarpur (name changed) after a source hands over a copy of an audit report.
The report states that such heinous crimes are taking place in a shelter home for girls in Munawwarpur. The report is ignored by the authorities since the shelter home is run by Bansi Sahu (Aditya Srivastav), who has major connections among the political bigwigs in the state. How Vaishali and Bhaskar make efforts for the victims to be freed and given justice by facing various obstacles, including Vaishali’s own family, forms the rest of the story.
Bhakshak is a fine example of narrating a chilling tale in an honest manner. The narrative doesn’t give too much footage to the gruesome crimes but still establishes the wrongdoings and its perpetrators in a heart-wrenching manner. This and various other moments are an indication of mature filmmaking, barring few creative liberties here and there. Bhumi Pednekar, Sanjay Mishra and Aditya Srivastav’s brilliant performances also play a large role in creating an impact. You can’t help but feel for Bhumi’s character and you can’t stop hating Srivastav and his associates.
But Bhakshak is more special because it comes at a time when government propaganda films or movies where the government or the ruling party is pleased are seen regularly. It’s quite cringeworthy how artistes bow down to the political class either to be in their good books or because they share the same ideology or some other reason. The number of such films have increased in recent times, obviously because of the general elections nearing.
During such an era, Bhakshak comes across as a breath of fresh air or a beacon of hope when it comes to the conscience of the film industry. The movie takes a hard-hitting route and provides a no-holds-barred approach when it comes to portraying the criminals and those with criminal mindsets within the political class. The film’s bravery can be seen also from the fact that the makers have named the state of Bihar instead of creating a fictitious state in India, like quite a lot of films.
On the other hand, we have films that take the easiest way out where they pretend to tackle something of national or social importance but eventually and indirectly end up pleasing the government or its ideology. In some cases, however, they have even stopped pretending to be neutral.
Interestingly, this is the second film by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment that has dared to show the mirror to the perpetrators of heinous crimes by the powerful. Just a few months ago, the banner did the same with Jawan, which presented not just one but several humongous loopholes and injustice in our system.
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