Bhakshak Review: Hard-hitting crime thriller on Muzaffarpur shelter case
Bhakshak Movie Rating: 3 Stars
Watched Bhakshak movie in Cinema. Let’s focus on the complete details, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this movie.
Cast: Bhumi Pednekar, Sanjay Mishra, Aditya Srivastava and Sai Tamhankar
Director: Pulkit
Release Date: 9th February 2024 on Netflix
Story: Set in Patna, Vaishali Singh (Bhumi Pednekar) and cameraman Bhaskar Sinha (Sanjay Mishra) run a news channel named Koshish News. One day, an informer, Gupta (Durgesh Kumar) provides Vaishali with a social audit report of a girls’ shelter home in Munnawwarpur. The report states that the girls residing over there are being abused physically.
As the government hasn’t taken action, Gupta asks Vaishali to probe into this case. Though Vaishali is reluctant initially, she later takes up the responsibility of exposing the truth. When they investigate, they find out that the man running the institute, Bansi Sahu (Aditya Srivastava) has been directly responsible for the heinous activities. He seems to be politically well connected and hence no action has been taken against him.
Vaishali and Bhaskar organise a relentless media campaign against the wrongdoers, posting facts as and when they get them. She faces many obstacles as she tries to expose the truth, including threats to her family including his husband Arvind (Surya Sharma). Their big break comes when a girl Sudha (Tanisha Mehta) who was previously working as a cook at the institute, gives them the insider details and later even agrees to turn witness.
With the help of a courageous girl named Sudha and a supportive police officer named SS Jasmeet Gaur (Sai Tamhankar), she fights against the powerful people involved in the abuse. How she able to expose the truth is all about this film.
Positives
1. Performances
2. Climax
3. Story
4. Direction
5. Dialogues
6. Cinematography
Negatives
1. Length
2. Screenplay
3. Music
4. Many unanswered questions
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this film planned to watch this movie in my free time as loved the trailer and it’s based on true incident.
An independent TV reporter Vaishali Singh and her only colleague Bhaskar stir up a hornet’s nest. In pursuit of truth, these small-town journalists strive to expose a human trafficking racket in Bihar.
Bhakshak movie is inspired from the real-life horror that unraveled at a state-run girls’ shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur. Details of the rampant sexual abuse of inmates at the home had hogged headlines back then (in 2018). Makers deserve appreciation for bringing to light such heinous crimes happening in our country. The opening sequence is heart-wrenching and draws our attention instantly. It is a sensitively handled, haunting and spine-chilling social satire that makes you question yourself on a number of occasions through its course. Everything about this film is worth appreciating, from writing and direction to acting and other technical aspects. The film questions the discrepancies existing in the legal system. It pokes at humanity’s collective conscience with respect to child abuse and juvenile rapes. The film manages successfully in showcasing the journey of an unwavering woman who leaves no stone unturned in the quest of seeking justice against a heinous crime that’s being committed by the people in power. Bhumi Pednekar’s performance is as realistic as it can be. The story is hard-hitting no doubt, but it could still have had a bit more of thrilling angle so as to make the audience as well be on the edge of their seats.
On the flipside, the subject is important and the lead performance sincere, but execution has a 90’s melodramatic hangover. Everyone mouths Bansi Sahu’s name at least 100 times in the movie and he doesn’t seem as menacing or influential as he is made to look like. Strangely, everyone has access to him at all times. The investigative-crime thriller lacks both investigation and thrill, making the film more exhausting and less gripping. The storytelling lacks a sense of urgency or even fear that are essential to make a hard-hitting issue like this deeply engaging. At no point are you emotionally invested in the characters or their trauma. Vaishali’s supportive husband too doesn’t get enough scope to express his inhibitions.
Overall, movie is a well-intentioned social drama that will catches our attention. Watch the hard-hitting film for its message and for the display of superior acting by the entire ensemble cast. It is a powerful piece of art that can bring about some real change and also gives a nice tribute to the small-town journalists who often risk their lives while trying to break stories that matter. My view on this movie Recommended.
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