Bulbul Can Sing

If you are thinking that Rima Das’s latest film ‘Bulbul Can Sing’ is about Bulbul attaining glory as a singer, then you are utterly mistaken. The main conflict in the story is between the teenagers and the society in a small village in Assam. The film revolves around three teenagers, two girls and one boy who are the best of friends. They belong to that age where the body is budding with hormones and sex becomes one of the primary needs of an individual. The society somehow fails to understand that and labels them as “uncultured” and “shameless”.

The film follows a linear style of progression and so do the characters. The writing is simple and the character arcs of all the characters are treated very maturely giving every character in the film a proper conclusion. The biggest strength of the film, according to me was the cinematography. Mainly handheld shots where the focus is intentionally off in places so as to make it feel real and not cinema like. The camera just follows the characters. The beauty of the village is captured excellently and the audience is also introduced to the rich and vivid Assamese culture. The acting is very natural and there are scenes which are brutal and bring tears in your eyes. My only problem with the film was that it feels a little dragged towards the end and there were some scenes which felt unnecessary and did not quite add up to the main narrative.

Bulbul Can Singh is one of those few films we see today that makes a very pertinent point without actually saying anything. It is bereft of preachy and heart thumping dialogue and the drama is minimalistic. A film which strengthens my belief that simplicity in cinema can do wonders.

Credits:

Rachit Daruka

Student – BBA (Media & Communication)