And in 30 minutes, this sharp film delivers several punchlines, raises issues about our society with graceful subtlety, and yet never loses its spunk. We have seen variants of RK Laxman ’s Common Man in our pop culture for years. He is the archetypal silent protagonist, observing but never commenting. Several films – both long and short – and shows have experimented with variations of this trope, if we can even call it that. The idea is always how one entity sees all that is happening around them. Shivam Shankar’s Bhed Bakri Bhoot flips that premise on its head by using an inanimate object as that silent protagonist – a public toilet, or rather, its walls.
Because that is where our discussions and discourse take place. But Bhed Bakri Bhoot doesn’t need to venture out of our toilet. It is a cross-section of our society, very aptly imagined as a public toilet. It doubles up for our living rooms, our neighbourhood chaupals, and, quite fittingly, our social media. But it is not academic. It remains in the territory of fun, while often rising to a sharp enough point that it may pinch or make you chuckle (depending on which end of the socio-political spectrum you are). Bhed Bakri Bhoot tackles a host of issues, and surprisingly moves past each in seconds. There is some schadenfreude over demonitisation, one discussion in the background over inter-faith marriages, a stunning subplot about women lacking agency, lots of angst about the government having their way with you, and some jibes at our social system. Director Shivam Shankar never hides his view, his vision, which remains left of centre but never gets anarchist. For he injects some hope, too. Not all those who enter this toilet and ‘leave their mark’ are frustrated or jaded. Some are hopeful that ‘woh subah kabhi to aayegi’ (it will be bright again). But what caps off this near-perfect short film is how it ends, with someone deciding that the ‘matter’ should be buried before it is escalated. Can it get any more Indian bureaucracy than that? Bhed Bakri Bhoot is streaming on YouTube.
And this film is one giant discourse – men and women interacting with each other without meeting, adding on to what the previous person said by drawing from their life experiences and their biases, both political and social.
