In an era where streaming platforms are brimming with content that claims to tackle social issues head-on, the Bollywood film ‘Bhakshak’ (Predator) emerges with a premise that promises to shine a light on systemic abuses. Nevertheless, the film has received mixed reactions, particularly for its approach to storytelling and character development. Directed by Pulkit, ‘Bhakshak’ aspires to narrate a chilling episode of crime without resorting to sensationalism. However, it has been critiqued for lacking the necessary aesthetic depth required to transform a news story into a compelling movie experience.
The narrative is inspired by the gut-wrenching Muzaffarpur shelter home case in 2018 that sent shockwaves across India. The case involves the heinous sexual assault of young wards of a state-run shelter, exposing the deep-rooted corruption and exploitation within the system. The incident’s horrifying nature requires a nuanced storytelling approach that many feel ‘Bhakshak’ falls short of achieving.
One might have high hopes that the narrative would grip the audience with its authenticity and rawness, but instead, it is presented almost like a “dour visual essay.” The director places the information before the audience with little to decipher or engage with emotionally, consequently impacting the overall effect of the powerful performances by a cast of seasoned actors like Sanjay Mishra and Aditya Shrivastava, who portray characters that unfortunately come across as stock stereotypes.
Bhumi Pednekar, known for choosing significant and challenging roles, stars as Vaishali, an intrepid journalist running a local news channel alongside a grumpy cameraman Bhaskar, played by Mishra. Vaishali becomes entangled in a damning social audit report that implicates a politically influential figure, Bansi Sahu (Shrivastava), and his accomplices in a scandal involving the sexual assault of shelter home inmates. Despite the gravity of the discovery, the structure of the film tends to sideline other key figures in the story, such as those who conducted the social audit, thereby risking a one-dimensional perspective centered solely on the protagonist.
As Vaishali delves deeper into the investigation, her journalistic acumen is called into question, particularly when she conveniently encounters a cook who provides a first-hand account, feeling more like a narrative contrivance than an organic development. Additionally, the portrayal of her struggle to balance activism with personal risk, in a family environment that doesn’t support her endeavors, doesn’t break new ground in cinematic storytelling.
The film also attempts to depict the trials and tribulations faced by local journalists who strive to cover significant events with integrity. Yet, it seems to miss the mark in realistically capturing the dynamics of news gathering, often resorting to sensational leaks rather than nuanced investigatory journalism. As Vaishali becomes the predominant voice of the narrative, the film loses an opportunity to reflect the complexities of her world.
What is arguably a much-needed exposure of the maladies within the child shelter system appears to falter when it comes to cinematic execution. ‘Bhakshak’ intends to be insightful, but the delivery is marred by a screenplay that doesn’t leverage the potential of its actors or the gravity of the real-life events it seeks to portray.
As the film moves towards its conclusion, the audience sees Vaishali laboriously finding her footing, while Bhaskar throws questions that border on the inane. In real-life journalism, capturing a predator requires sharper strategy and finesse, which seems to be lost in the film’s narrative. To capture the complexity of such a layered issue, a more nuanced and artful storytelling approach was required, something not fully realized in ‘Bhakshak’. The persistent need for content to populate the libraries of streaming services like Netflix, where ‘Bhakshak’ is currently available, might be leading to a compromise in the quality of storytelling, a phenomenon this film succumbs to.
