‘Bheed’ movie review: A compelling portrayal of the Covid migration

Express News Service

“You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about the kid’s burnt socks lying on the road.” Richard Price’s writing tip finally hits home for director Anubhav Sinha in his latest Bheed. The film deftly avoids crowding ideas. Secondly, he has toned down the preachiness. Most importantly, he lets the images do the talking. But then, he piles up another image conveying the same message. And another is added because he probably thought the previous one didn’t quite hit the spot.

Still, Bheed paints a poignant picture of a turbulent period. It starts off with a message appearing on the screen, conveying that the film is telling the story of a time when fake news on Covid-19 was spreading faster than the virus itself. This satisfied my burning query as to why characters were not wearing masks in the trailer. Bheed also comes to the point quickly. It doesn’t resort to migrant workers’ plight-porn. There are no low-angle shots of labourers dizzying under the sun or singing songs of resilience. Once the stage is set, the action jumps to a state border and is contained there. Director Anubhav Sinha’s writing shines when events unfold in restricted environments.

Most of Bheed happens around a stretch of road, a vacant shopping mall, and a row of barricades. The plot concerns three types of characters: the affected, the authority and the witnesses. All of them are concentrated at the state border, waiting to pass through. Each tale, like a wrench, ably tightens the nuts of the narrative. One of them, though, threads through the entirety of the film, and surprisingly, it’s a love story. Rajkummar Rao plays Surya Kumar Singh Tikus, a cop from a scheduled caste, in love with Bhumi Pednekar’s Renu Sharma, a medical practitioner.

With Bheed, Sinha touches upon the psychological trauma of caste discrimination. In a telling scene, after being unable to perform in bed, Tikus confesses to Sharma that since childhood he has been told what to touch and what not to, so when he touches her, his hand trembles. It is a scene that stands on its ground but then Sinha’s commercial director genes kick in and we get an unnecessary sequence of the couple making love. Except for cheap titillation, it adds nothing.

Rao plays Tikus with charming humility. His cop is torn between following orders and looking out for his people. Another star act is Pankaj Kapur’s Trivedi. The veteran actor embodies the role of a mercurial watchman with humorous volatility. Ashutosh Rana and Aditya Shrivastav bring necessary humour to a serious narrative. 

Bheed touches upon a lot but leaves out even more. It sticks to being a social commentary and distances itself from political overtones. After the screen fades to black, white texts keep on appearing, in quick succession, informing us of the happenings that weren’t covered. Stories of migrants dying after a lorry toppled or them being run-over on the railway track. It misses out on a crucial one: “No data available on migrants’ deaths during lockdown, says government in Parliament.”

Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Pankaj Kapur, Ashutosh Rana

<br /> “You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about the kid’s burnt socks lying on the road.” Richard Price’s writing tip finally hits home for director Anubhav Sinha in his latest Bheed. The film deftly avoids crowding ideas. Secondly, he has toned down the preachiness. Most importantly, he lets the images do the talking. But then, he piles up another image conveying the same message. And another is added because he probably thought the previous one didn’t quite hit the spot.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Still, Bheed paints a poignant picture of a turbulent period. It starts off with a message appearing on the screen, conveying that the film is telling the story of a time when fake news on Covid-19 was spreading faster than the virus itself. This satisfied my burning query as to why characters were not wearing masks in the trailer. Bheed also comes to the point quickly. It doesn’t resort to migrant workers’ plight-porn. There are no low-angle shots of labourers dizzying under the sun or singing songs of resilience. Once the stage is set, the action jumps to a state border and is contained there. Director Anubhav Sinha’s writing shines when events unfold in restricted environments.</p> <p>Most of Bheed happens around a stretch of road, a vacant shopping mall, and a row of barricades. The plot concerns three types of characters: the affected, the authority and the witnesses. All of them are concentrated at the state border, waiting to pass through. Each tale, like a wrench, ably tightens the nuts of the narrative. One of them, though, threads through the entirety of the film, and surprisingly, it’s a love story. Rajkummar Rao plays Surya Kumar Singh Tikus, a cop from a scheduled caste, in love with Bhumi Pednekar’s Renu Sharma, a medical practitioner.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });</p> <p>With Bheed, Sinha touches upon the psychological trauma of caste discrimination. In a telling scene, after being unable to perform in bed, Tikus confesses to Sharma that since childhood he has been told what to touch and what not to, so when he touches her, his hand trembles. It is a scene that stands on its ground but then Sinha’s commercial director genes kick in and we get an unnecessary sequence of the couple making love. Except for cheap titillation, it adds nothing.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Rao plays Tikus with charming humility. His cop is torn between following orders and looking out for his people. Another star act is Pankaj Kapur’s Trivedi. The veteran actor embodies the role of a mercurial watchman with humorous volatility. Ashutosh Rana and Aditya Shrivastav bring necessary humour to a serious narrative. </p> <p>Bheed touches upon a lot but leaves out even more. It sticks to being a social commentary and distances itself from political overtones. After the screen fades to black, white texts keep on appearing, in quick succession, informing us of the happenings that weren’t covered. Stories of migrants dying after a lorry toppled or them being run-over on the railway track. It misses out on a crucial one: “No data available on migrants’ deaths during lockdown, says government in Parliament.”</p> <p>Directed by: Anubhav Sinha<br /> Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Pankaj Kapur, Ashutosh Rana<br />