Bheed Movie Review

Anubhav Sinha's movie Bheed highlights "Covid Warriors" much before they attained the supreme rank.

Indian coronavirus epidemic had only started when Bheed was written. A checkpoint in a remote area of North India turned into a labyrinth of opposing interests after it was built to stop people from going back to their homes during the curfew imposed at Covid times.

The checkpoint in Bheed has symbolic significance, much as in Paul Haggis's Crash (2004), when a collision of automobiles reveals societal and economic conflicts. The role is given to Surya (Rajkummar Rao), a police officer, by Subhash Yadav (Ashutosh Rana), who uses the role as an outlet for his social anxieties related to being a Dalit.

Ram Singh (Aditya Srivastava) offers assistance to Surya as he watches in dread as throngs of travelers of all social levels and religious backgrounds arrive at the barrier. As a medical officer who just so happens to be nearby, Renu (Bhumi Pednekar), Surya's upper-caste sweetheart, can help.

Sinha, Sonali Jain, and Saumya Tiwari wrote the script for the Hindi-language movie that is based on his narrative. The checkpoint is in the future location of a suburb named Lotus Oasis, making the movie a courageous (and uncommon) metaphor about modern India as viewed via a health issue.

Star Cast of Bheed

Rajkummar Rao, an accomplished actor from the Bollywood film industry, will be starring in the upcoming movie, with Bhumi Pednekar joining him as the female lead. Rao's most recent cinematic outing came in the form of a thrilling action film called HIT: The First Case, which is a remake of a Telugu motion picture with the same title from 2020.

Alternatively, Bhumi's most current release is a family-friendly flick known as Rakshabandhan, which was released on 11th August 2022 in recognition of the Rakshabandhan festival and has been receiving a lukewarm reaction from the public.

Direction

Anubhav Sinha has established a name for himself in the world of social dramas, and despite the fact that Anek wasn't the ideal fit this time, he still makes an effect. Balram Trivedi, played by Pankaj Kapur, has a line in which he says, "Gareeb aadmi ke liye kabhi intezaam hi nahi hua," and that is the message that the production team is attempting to convey via the film's many tales of those who have suffered and endured.

There are crowds, and then there are groups of individuals, and Sinha works to convey the same emotions through both lenses?fear, despair, and haste.

Date of Release

The leading role in the movie was played by Rajkummar Rao, joined by Bhumi Pednekar, Dia Mirza, Ashutosh Rana, Pankaj Kapur, and Kritika Kamra in supporting roles. The main photography ran from October 2021 to December 2021. While the film was met with positive reviews upon its debut in March 2023, regrettably, it failed to become a commercial success.

Why was Bheed Movie Shoot in Black and White ?

The decision was made to shoot the movie in black and white because it focuses on socioeconomic inequality and illustrates how the scenario was similar to the Partition in 1947.

In response to a question on why the movie was shot in black and white, he said, 'Bheed' is a narrative of the most dangerous periods which altered everything for humanity. The main reason for using black and white for the filming was to emphasize how the socioeconomic difference that was seen during India's Lockdown and what individuals experienced during the 1947 Partition were remarkably comparable.

The filmmaker continued by saying that he would depict genuine accounts of individuals losing their jobs and the lives of their loved ones as a result of the epidemic in this movie. The producer relayed that the film's narrative follows individuals whose stories had changed, and the vividness of their experiences disappeared upon the drawing of a national border. To correctly emphasize the characters' strife, Kumar specified that shooting the film in black and white was the best option.

'Bheed' is a unique movie since it tells the tale of the most difficult circumstances people had to endure in order to go home. Anubhav is the ideal choice to helm this tale since it is so vital. Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Kapur, Bhumi Pednekar, Ashutosh Rana, and Dia Mirza, along with Virendra Saxena, Aditya Shrivastav, Kritika Kamra, and Karan Pandit, feature in Anubhav Sinha's movie "Bheed" which was jointly produced by Anubhav Sinha's Benaras Mediaworks and Bhushan Kumar's T-Series.

The director mentioned that the film's choice in black and white was made to emphasize the struggles that exist in society that are often overlooked. He expressed his joy in being able to provide audiences with a unique viewing experience while exploring such an important topic.

Additional Details

• The first project Anubhav Sinha and Rajkummar Rao worked on was Bheed.
• The movie is being filmed in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow.
• Ankit Tiwari and Jeet Gannguli are in charge of the soundtrack for the movie.
• Sudeep Chatterjee is in charge of the film's photography.
• Shweta Venkat is handling editing for the movie.
• Benaras Media Works, Anubhav Sinha's production company, is responsible for making the movie.
• Zee Studios is in charge of the movie's distribution.

Does 'Bheed' by Anubhav Sinha fail to capture the actual agony of the pandemic?

The countrywide lockdown of 2020 Covid-19, one of this country's most terrible periods in history, is the main theme of Bheed. An occurrence that frightened the entire country is shown to us in the film's opening moments.

Several daily wage employees were killed when a train ran over them as they returned to their separate towns after becoming exhausted and collapsing on the tracks. After this catastrophe, which shook the nation to its core, the government was compelled to evaluate how effectively they could secure the safety and security of individuals they had welcomed to stay.

It was also a devastating incident that will endure forever in everyone's memory and serve as a continual reminder of the occasions when we all failed to act as a nation to save lives, if not on a regular basis.

However, in Anubhav Sinha's account of the catastrophic situation that was the Covid-19 lockdown, it is all but a passing instant. The scope of this tragedy and its consequences alone might fill a significant section of a movie. The incident does serve as a startling and unsettling introduction to his movie, but it is quickly forgotten and never brought up again.

The narrative of Bheed rapidly transports us back to the early stages of the lockdown as we witness a wide range of people attempting to leave an unidentified city and get to their separate destinations.

What if the wealthy neighbors who live nearby looked after these people? What if the government had organized for food and medical supplies to be sent to the communities they belonged to in their adopted city? What if the government could set up safe transportation for these folks if they couldn't survive in their existing homes? There were many possible outcomes, but none of them materialized, and what did occur tragically resulted in the death of many valuable lives.

It goes without saying that the city in question is modeled after Delhi and that most of the individuals seeking to leave are attempting to enter Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Then, Rajkummar Rao introduces us to police inspector Surya Kumar Singh Tikas.

From the first moment we see him, he is visibly shocked by the brutality the higher class is bringing to the lower-class people in an area where he is responsible for upholding the law. This is happening while the whole nation is under quarantine, leaving many of those living in rural India struggling to find enough food and water for their households.

The fact that he is in love with Renu Sharma (Bhumi Pednekar), despite everything, does not stop him. The recollections of a difficult upbringing and a time when he was still living under the control of members of a higher caste plague Surya now. Soon after, he receives a promotion to command and keeps an improvised blockade post on the Tejpur border.

Due to the blockade, he comes into touch with a wide range of individuals who are all attempting to reach various locations. Surya's transformation as a person occurs in one day, and this experience also compels him to look beyond the way people in his caste regard him. No matter their caste, faith, or religion, he sees the miserable conditions in which others find themselves, and this gives him far more authority to act morally.

The film's attempt to show us too many various aspects of the lockdown and the issues it caused, along with its failure to fully address any of these concerns with seriousness, belief, conviction, and heart, were my main issues with it. The movie thus frequently becomes a lifeless and uninteresting affair.

The movie's primary focus was indeed on how these individuals arrived at their destination and how their varied stakes were elevated until ultimately reaching a crescendo toward the film's finale, but this does not lessen the criticism of the movie. I emphasize this point by pointing out how few of the characters in the film truly make significant progress.

The covid lockdowns and their effects were far more astonishing and extensive than what can be shown by keeping the narrative focused on one specific point and creating a plot around the many people trapped at that moment in time. Many of the characters in this movie appear redundant, tedious, and filmy, which significantly lessens the effect of the story as a whole. However, there is a handful that captivates our attention and makes us experience the characters' particular sorrow and suffering.

One of the movie characters that needs to take the blame for the audience's lack of connection with the story is Rajkummar Rao.

Balram Trivedi, a private security guard guiding a sizable group of individuals out of the city and just two hours from his objective, is another standout character in the movie. He is played by Pankaj Kapur. He is tragically forced to watch the children in his group scream from hunger since he is unable to procure food for them or escape the blockage. He is compelled to steal guns from the cops and attempt to steal food from a neighboring mall. This entire section comes out as feeble and too dramatic.

The way this section ends is so cliched and Bollywood-esque that it drains the entire section of all its gravity, resulting in the squandering of one of Pankaj Kapur's greatest performances in the entire movie.

Diya Mirza portrays a divorced mother who is attempting to contact her daughter before her husband locates her and demands custody. Despite the fact that she is seen sitting comfortably in a luxurious SUV and making casual remarks about the unfortunate situation, she is nevertheless able to capture the irritation and tortured state of mind of a mother.

Bheed had the impression of being an aggregation of several unrelated occurrences from various pandemic outbreaks that were compelled and placed together at the same time and location in order to produce a cohesive story. It's unfortunate that it doesn't seem logical, interesting, or tragic.

A natural transition between sections of the tale is absent. There isn't enough shocking content to get people to sit up and pay notice. The tale lacks any amusement or captivation. Despite powerful acting, the mediocre script does not allow the viewers to empathize with any of the characters. The drab tones of black and white complete the dull and uninteresting atmosphere, amplifying the lackluster nature of the film.

Bheed Movie Review

With empathy for suffering being replaced by a narrow concentration on one's own society, this miniature India is torn apart by divisions. The word "crowd" or, more accurately, "mob" might be used to interpret the title.

Sinha has addressed the rifts in Indian culture in recent films like Mulk (about Islamophobia) and Article 15 (about caste-based violence). The issue with Bheed is that it is a collection of well-intentioned concepts that barely hold together, much like the hurriedly constructed check post that is in danger of collapsing.

If we were kind, we might praise Bheed for simulating the pandemonium that results when an unruly population is attempted to be brought under control. Thinking on your feet is essential for surviving and holding a disorganized story together - something that Kritika Kamra's determined television reporter drives home.

The movie, which was shot in black and white, seeks to have a news-reporting feel. A humanitarian catastrophe can be depicted in a number of ways, including in a documentary-style representation that is aesthetically bleak. There are times when the monochromatic palette helps the movie, but the rapid cutting, the uninteresting imagery, and the stiff conversation quickly undo those times.

Bheed is at a major disadvantage since it must compete with homemade videos of the most horrific parts of the lockdowns, such as citizens walking long distances back to their homes, those being misted with pesticides to mitigate the spreading of the virus, police intimidation, and a young girl cycling 1,300 kilometers with her dad to make it back home.

A number of web series and movies have looked back at this difficult time in our recent history, like India Lockdown by Madhur Bhandarkar and Vinod Kapri's 1232 Kms, which followed a group of migrants biking to their homes; both pieces offer a more streamlined and successful take on the anguish of the Indian poor during the first lockdown.

Its hesitation to act on its principles hurts Bheed just as much. Even though there is a lot of hand-wringing about India's issues, such as petty-mindedness and self-interest, the movie blames character motives on the epidemic rather than on intrinsic prejudices that emerge from behind masks.

Balram (Pankaj Kapur), a security guard who hurls insults at Muslims and members of lower castes, is rationalized as a victim of circumstances. Despite being a paragon of urban entitlement, the mother (Dia Mirza), who orders her chauffeur to drive faster so that she can get her daughter, is treated with child gloves. She is undoubtedly a descendant of the guy who injured Balraj Sahni's Tonga driver in Do Bigha Zamin by forcing him to drive too quickly.

Surya's attempts to take command are the track that, in the particular situation, works the best. The movie's highlight is Rajkummar Rao's subtle portrayal, skillfully complimented by Bhumi Pednekar, Ashutosh Rana, and Aditya Srivastava. However, it must contend with a wide range of extras who play the tired travelers.

The range of wrinkled cheeks and cracked heels ? the common Indians who suffered the most during the outbreak - stick in mind longer than the fabricated conflicts between the main protagonists. These expressions give the film, which is otherwise prosaic in visual and unsure of its message, some much-needed gloomy poetry.

Bheed Movie Performances

All the actors were successful in producing good performances, particularly Rajkummar Rao as Surya Kumar Singh and Bhumi, along with Pankaj and other actors. Raj's character was provided with a blurry background involving belonging to a certain social caste, which was made known to him on different occasions, finally causing him to take action. Bhumi's character as the physician was decent, although the romantic background between them felt almost superfluous.

Pankaj Kapur and Kritika Kamra did extremely well in their performances. Aditya Srivastava and Dia Mirza also contributed actively to the story. Kritika's powerful narration of the events, combined with Rajkummar's experiences, makes us consider the current issues with COVID-19, social class, and caste.

Bheed Box Office Collection

On its opening day at the box office, the much-awaited film Bheed debuted in theaters with a thud. Due to its star-studded cast and captivating plot, the movie was expected to do well, but the buzz it generated among viewers needed to be more. According to sources from India Today, Bheed only made 0.15 crores rupees on its launch day.

Indian Express claims that the movie would struggle to bring in between Rs 1.50 crore and Rs 2 crore net this weekend. The reasons why "Bheed" isn't popular with the general public include its sad theme, slow tempo, and black-and-white images.

In addition, compared to other recent releases, Bheed's occupancy rate was also rather low. Only 5.4% of the cinemas in India saw the movie. When compared to the industry standard of 40-50% for an opening-day collection, it is a considerable decline.

These figures suggest that the movie could have a difficult weekend and face stiff competition from other films that are now playing in theaters. Despite high expectations from fans and reviewers, Bheed is off to a sluggish start at the box office.

Conclusion

In conclusion, "Bheed" is a great movie that entertains and provokes viewers to think critically about significant societal concerns. It is a must-see film that creates an enduring impact due to its captivating plot, great acting, and fascinating topics. It serves as a reminder that in the face of difficulty, cooperation, bravery, and the maintenance of uniqueness are crucial to creating a better future.

In a moving ending, "Bheed" reminds us that, despite the overwhelming crowds and bustle of life, the relationships we build and the love we share really count. It is a film that provokes viewers to consider the significant effects of their decisions and the importance of interpersonal relationships in a society becoming increasingly dissociated.