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The Appropriate Tune: "Song of the River", by Hari Prasad Chaurasia
While I have made efforts to broaden the scope of films that I have covered over the years, there has been one region that I have heretofore shied away from: India. I have no issue with the peoples of India, but the reputation of Indian film from the outside perspective has been daunting. Films which balloon out over three hours long, packed full of more song and dance numbers than a Sondheim double feature, which is a hard sell for someone who deals mainly in genre films. Assumptions are no excuse however, so when the previous entry didn't pan out I decided to take the step in favour of international cinema. It helped that it was on netflix and I didn’t have to try too hard.
Released in 2020 through Clean Slate Filmz, Bulbbul is the directorial debut of Anvita Dutt (she was also the writer), a writer and lyricist of several film and television projects. In the year 1881 in the Bengal region of India a young girl named Bulbbul was married to a rich old man named Indranil (Rahul Bose) and moved into his palatial manor, largely isolated except for her new in-laws. 20 years later Satya (Avinash Tiwary), the youngest brother and childhood friend of Bulbbul, returns to the family home to find a very different situation. Indranil is nowhere to be found, his brother is dead, his sister-in-law has gone into monk mode and Bulbbul doesn’t seem like the sweet, wholesome girl she once was. Unfortunate on a personal level, but it also coincides with a rash of grisly murders that have taken place in the nearby village, the work of a mysterious backward-footed being known only as the Demon Woman. Satya, fresh off of studying law in London is on the case, but will he like what he discovers? Will we, the audience, like what we discover about the life of Bulbbul? I’m going to go out on a limb and say no.
Bulbbul is not a Bollywood movie, if that’s what you’re apprehensive about. Actually, I would say that it more closely resembles Wuthering Heights, or the Southern Gothic stories of Tennessee Williams. A crumbling manor out in the middle of nowhere, housing a motley crew of decaying aristocrats who are hiding a dark and terrible secret? Just give Bulbbul a mint julep and you’d barely be able to tell the difference. With that comes a certain lack of subtlety; The film’s twists and turns are telegraphed so early that even the casual movie watcher will likely be able to predict most of the plot, but I think there’s enjoyment to be had in seeing just how those pieces fit together.
As I said many of Anvita Dutt’s film credentials were in the music department prior to this, and while music is used well it’s interesting to note that Bulbbul is a very visually oriented film. Not just in regards to the cinematography, but in the use of color. Bulbbul drapes itself in reds and oranges and blues, full-on colored stage lighting style, and while it occasionally informs the real world (like an orange filter for sundown) it more often than not pushes things firmly into the world of cinema. It’s rather simple but I found it appealing, especially when it was used in the more dramatic scenes of the film.
In terms of acting everyone does well, although I keep coming back to Paoli Dam as Binodini, the sister-in-law. She does great work in expression; The bell curve of emotion on her face whenever she’s set against the aggressive charisma of Tripti Dimri’s Bulbbul is very well done. Credit goes to Rahul Bose as well for playing two characters in the stoic Indranil and his brother Mahendra, visually identical and yet ultimately distinct.
Aside from the fact that it is a simple revenge fantasy story, I also found its inclusion of supernatural elements sloppily applied. Bulbbul does a good job of building up the reality of the Demon Woman, establishing her humanity if you will, before tossing in some pure surreality into the mix. Earlier I praised the use of colored lighting to place the audience firmly into the world of film, but in this case I think it ultimately harms what the film was building towards up until that point. The Demon Woman goes from this mysterious creature, into a vengeful yet sympathetic figure back into the realm of mystery, removing much of the climax’s emotional impact and ultimately leading towards an equivalency between Satya and Indranil as characters that I don’t think rings true given how the plot unfolds.
In spite of that, I think Bulbbul gets the recommendation. For those fans of Gothic literature or the old Universal horror films I think they’ll find a kindred spirit in this film. For those looking to ease their way into Indian cinema, although I’m certainly not an authority on that subject, this is easily digestible fare. Also don’t marry kids, in case you’re curious. It’s creepy.
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