Review: 'Bhakshak' Is A Raw And Hard-Hitting Narrative Which Exposes Society's Ills

Somewhere in the middle of the night in Munawwarpur, Bihar, a man walks across a dimly lit corridor of a derelict building. You hear the helpless scream of a woman.

It's obvious she has been sexually assaulted, and the perpetrator of the crime unremorsefully tells the visitor, "I told her to comply, but she screamed, and bit my finger, so I had no option but teach her a lesson."

The next moment you see her corpse being tossed, and the cremator says, "She is just an orphan, just get done with disposing of her body."

This disturbing visual sets the tone of director Pulkit's 'Bhakshak', which means predator, which is a hard-hitting crime thriller, exposing the apathy of the society and crimes against children and women.

We are then introduced to a local journalist from 'Koshish News' in Patna, Vaishali Singh ( Bhumi Pednekar) who is handed over a sheaf of papers, a social audit with details of young girls being physically and sexually abused in a girls' shelter home in Munawwarpur.

She is hesitant to take the information, which she is told is a goldmine, but her reasons are valid, "why is the police not investigating it?"

But when told it has been brushed under the carpet by the police and authorities, she takes the information and starts off her dogged investigation. As she finds herself little realising that she is against some political and rather influential heavyweights. As she struggles against the indifference towards the matter by the local authorities and the red-tapism, she realises the only way out is by putting herself in the line of fire.

One cannot help but recall the gruesome 2018 Muzaffarpur Shelter home rape case, where several incidents of sexual crime and violence against girls at an NGO called 'Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti' had come to light. The chief perpetrator of the crime Brajesh Thakur, who had deep pockets and connections, was arrested after the expose. The CBI investigated the case, Thakur along with 18 others were convicted by the court. Though given life imprisonment, the horrific incident once again brings out the chilling reality of the exploitative crimes against women and children which often go unreported.

Pulkit gives us a raw and gritty narrative and succeeds in making one uncomfortable as well as angry, as a society. The unfiltered colour palette accentuates the stark tone of the film.

Bhumi Pednekar shines as Vaishali Singh, a character that is simple, and subtle yet has a strength of character. There are no unnecessary histrionics, but a helpless, frustrated yet determined woman seeking justice.

Sanjay Mishra as Bhaskar Sinha, Vaishali's reticent cameraman, once again proves his brilliance as a performer. Aditya Shrivastava is the impassive Bansi Sahu, the perpetrator of the crimes, is unrestrained in his performance, and makes you recoil, as the scenario unfolds on screen.

The film which was in the making for two years, finally gets a platform and strong backing from Netflix and Shahrukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment. An uncompromising social commentary which questions the socio-political fabric of society, 'Bhakshak' is not for the faint-hearted.

3:5 stars