Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
“Bhakshak” begins with an inconspicuous street in Bihar on a winter morning, a shawl-clad man gets off a motorbike and heads towards a dingy building filled with the distressed screams of a young woman. The creators spare viewers sensational, graphic imagery, but let the screams and conversations convey the savagery inflicted upon the woman – an orphan, who is disposed off like trash.
Directed by Pulkit, who has co-written the story with Jyotsana Nath, the 2024 movie “Bhakshak” stars Bhumi Pednekar and Sanjay Mishra as Vaishali Singh and Bhaskar Sinha, independent journalists running a small news channel. Relying on a report by their source, the two tirelessly work to expose the brutal sexual abuse of underage orphans in a government-funded shelter home, a story nobody else is willing to cover. Red tape, corrupt cops, and an endless bureaucratic maze is only the beginning of their problems.
Both Bhumi Pednekar and Sanjay Mishra are riveting and entertaining as working colleagues Vaishali and Bhaskar, struggling to keep their small channel afloat, while going after a story that could possibly shut them down for good. Vaishali and Bhaskar belong to a depleting breed of independent journalists who chase stories that matter over TRPs. While Bhumi’s Vaishali is passionate, vocal, and a stubborn go-getter, Sanjay Mishra’s Bhaskar is a lot more laid-back, lackadaisical, yet enterprising when needed. Aditya Srivastav who is known as Senior Inspector Abhijeet from the hit crime series “C.I.D”, was almost unrecognizable for a second in “Bhakshak”. He plays the primary antagonist Bansi Babu and vividly exudes the sleazy, corrupt nature of a local strongman with political links who runs the shelter home accused of abusing orphans.
The cinematography is straightforward, conjuring up a foggy Bihar, with the winter smog serving as a grim metaphor for the corrupt grime the state is blanketed in. Vaishali’s newsroom is a rundown little room, with nothing but a map of India serving as her backdrop, but the lack of funds or sponsors doesn’t hold her dreams back. A small subplot follows Vaishali as she confronts derisive relatives who belittle her job and pressure her to have children, showcasing the pervasive sexism women endure across society. Surya Sharma portrays Vaishali’s husband, who oscillates in his support for her journalistic ambitions.
With a 2-hour 14-minute runtime, “Bhakshak” is often slow in its pace, and simplifies the complexity of investigative journalism into a story which involves several powerful players. The creators should’ve added timestamps each time Vaishali and Bhaskar visit a shelter home, government office, or any relevant location to establish the extensive time, effort, and patience required for such cases. Without a timeline, it seems as though the journalists resolve the case within weeks. The orphan children and their lamentable conditions in shelter homes deserved more screen-time. Despite their plight being the central theme, they are ironically depicted as precisely what the story aims to dispel them as – anonymous, nameless, forgotten children. It’s a missed opportunity for the script to give these characters the attention they deserve and to fully explore their narratives in bringing them to justice.
While there are no songs, the background score of “Bhakshak” flits between subtle and overtly sentimental. In some scenes towards the climax, distinctly sad music plays at the back underscoring the importance of the moment, like an underhand tactic to evoke sentimental feelings in viewers. The climax finally closes with a maudlin little monologue by Vaishali as an news anchor, instead of a punchy report that would’ve made the triumph more satisfactory.
Well, regardless of its plot pitfalls and execution, “Bhakshak” is a tale worth watching, where the creators subtly salute the power of independent, fearless journalism. Bhumi Pednekar and Sanjay Mishra make a great team and I would love watching an entire series where Vaishali and Bhaskar solve more crimes, one news report at a time.
You can watch “Bhakshak” on Netflix.
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