Bulbul sings quite jauntily
Illustration/Uday Mohite
Rima Das's evocative Assamese film Bulbul Can Sing won the Generation 14plus Special Mention award at the Berlin Film Festival on Friday night. The section is for a range of audiences, including young adults. Das's mother and co-producer Jaya Das and actress Arnali Das were also present. The film has already played at the Toronto and Mumbai film festivals. In Berlin, it played both in the Generation 14plus section for young adults, as well as the Native section for indigenous cinema.
The Berlinale takes children very seriously: they are our future audience. So, exceptionally for an A-list festival, the Generation section for children (Kplus) and young adults (14plus) is part of the official selection. India has a remarkable, recent history of shining in the Generation section: Avinash Arun's Killa (The Fort, Marathi) won the Crystal Bear given by the Children's Jury in 2014; Nagesh Kukunoor's Dhanak (Rainbow, Hindi) won a Crystal Bear Special Mention in the Generation Kplus for children in 2015; Jayaraj's Ottaal (The Trap, Malayalam) won the Crystal Bear in 2016. Nagraj Manjule's Sairat (Wild, Marathi) got a rousing reception at its world premiere here in 2016. And now Rima Das's Bulbul Can Sing takes the torch forward brightly.
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A gentle, marvellous film, Bulbul Can Sing is a bittersweet coming-of-age story about the friendship between three close teenage friends — two girls and a boy — Bulbul (Arnali Das), Bonny (Banita Thakuriya) and Sumu (Manoranjan Das), on the threshold of adulthood. It beautifully evokes and celebrates boys and girls growing up together naturally, with spontaneous trust and affection, and forming deep friendships. Later, as the friends go out for a walk in the woods, a right-wing moral brigade thrashes them for being "immoral". The children are thrown out of school, with tragic consequences. Sumu is a gentle, slightly effeminate character and hounded mercilessly for it. The film reflects on how some people's moral opinions can have a powerfully destructive impact on others' lives. Tellingly, bullying men impose these codes; the women are far more liberal and mature.
Rima Das is a one-woman army: she is director, producer, writer, cinematographer and editor of the film. She not only tells a contemporary story, she weaves in myths, traditional and devotional Assamese songs and metaphors. She has a flair for imagery, for instance, the opening shot of Bulbul lying under a tree with a red flower on her chest: a metaphor for her heart that is passionate, but can be easily crushed. Or the wonderful shot of the three friends bathing and scrubbing each others' backs at the edge of the river. Sumu, who is a good friend, tells Bulbul to tie her long hair, otherwise, a ghost will haunt her. Both men and women internalise patriarchy; they are always telling women what they can do and cannot.
Das said the film was inspired by a real-life incident: "When I was a teenager, a close friend had committed suicide when something similar had happened. I could not be there for her, and this sadness remained with me. Recently, I read something similar happened again, so nothing has changed in all these decades."
Meenakshi Shedde is South Asia Consultant to the Berlin Film Festival, award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist. Reach her at meenakshishedde@gmail.com.
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