Bheed is a 2023 black-and-white film from India. With its stories, it touches upon real-life incidents in March 2020 that took place in the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdown. Maybe it is a timely reminder about focusing our attention towards the challenging lives of India’s forgotten people, who are poor and helpless.
Thankfully, the Fourth Estate of India reported the various incidents happening in the aftermath of the unplanned and unprecedented country-wide lockdown announcement by you all know who. Now, all those incidents are in black and white, literally.
When The Unplanned COVID Lockdown Hit Poor Very Hard…
Spoiler-Free Review of the Bheed (2023/Hindi) Movie
The synopsis
A border cop’s assignment to stop migrant workers from crossing during a lockdown erupts into a fight for humanity amid prejudice and suffering. It narrates the untold story of a crisis that shook the whole nation. A time when borders of disparity divided the people. It is a moving tale and one man's fight for humanity. Chaos, violence and fear erupt when East Indian workers hit a checkpoint during a COVID-19 lockdown that restricts travel.
The movie title Bheed (भीड़) means the crowd of poor people in India.
The Fact versus The Fiction
Although this movie is declared as a tale of fiction in its disclaimer, we all know the truth, even though some of us may deny these heart-breaking realities of modern India. This film is a stark and important reminder of the recent dark chapter in India’s history. At that time, the democratically elected governments turned a complete blind eye towards the plight of migrant workers belonging to low-income groups. On orders from the highest echelons of the government, the bureaucratic authorities even went a step ahead to treat the poor labourers inhumanely.
COVID-19 pandemic & unplanned lockdown
They unwittingly became refugees in their own country of birth during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only because these underprivileged people are voiceless and powerless in the modern Indian structure. Then there are references to the iron-clad caste structure prevalent in India, which often to the fore when the country faces challenging times. This movie talks about the widely prevalent class divide as well as the caste divide in Indian society in today’s time. This kind of division perhaps reminds people of the infamous and tragic events of the 1947 partitions, which resulted in many heart-breaking true stories. Both tragic incidents turned the lives of common people, upside down.
All kinds of social divisions came into play, once again
Coming back to the present era, the privileged (usually and predominantly high caste members of the society) live inside the safety of their small gated community township in metropolitan areas. Their maids, watchmen, household service providers daily wage earners and other migrant workers (usually and predominantly low-caste members of the society) were forced to go back to their villages from these big towns during the sudden and unplanned lockdown announced on the national broadcast.
In a way, it depicted the widening economic disparity in the country. The gaps between the haves and haves-nots are widening rapidly. The government authorities not only took their basic rights of dignity but also snatched their freedom away. Treating the members (and their families) belonging to the economically weaker sections of Indian society like a herd of sheep and/or any other pliant animals), the government machinery continued to behave viciously and cruelly with all of them, who simply wished to get back to their loved ones to the safety of their homes, during the initial period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Actors depicted the harsh realities of India
There are far too many scenes in this film, depicting the harsh realities of India’s society. And then there are quite a few liberal uses of censorship (as per details shared below) in this brave movie of recent times.
A strong script, a group of talented actors, a good director and their entire team come together to document this important moment in the country’s history. Kudos to all of them for their brave efforts.
The conclusion
For us, it is a sad and difficult film to watch because of its painful subject matter. Still, we did so, as it is a must-watch, good Indian movie for anyone who is interested in the recent history of India.
While watching this black-and-white movie (perhaps just like Schindler’s List), we relived and confronted those painful memories once again that many people endured in real life, so that we do not forget, forgive and move on.
Rating of the Bheed (2023/Hindi) Movie
| FM’s rating | 3.75/5 |
Poster of the Bheed (2023/Hindi) Movie
Key Details about the Bheed (2023/Hindi) Movie
| Genre | Drama, History |
| Original language | Hindi |
| Title | It (भीड़) means Crowd |
| Released | March 2023 |
| Writers | Sonali Jain, Anubhav Sinha & Saumya Tiwari |
| Director | Anubhav Sinha |
| Cast | Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Kapur, Dia Mirza, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Aditya Srivastav, Kritika Kamra, Veerendra Saxena, etc. |
| Taglines | The toughest times people had to face just to reach their homes. |
| Network | Netflix |
Trailer of the Bheed (2023/Hindi) Movie
Kamzor ke hath Nyay alag hoga | Bheed | Anubhav Sinha | Pankaj Kapur | Rajkummar Rao | Benaras Media Works | YouTube.
Now, let us Focus on censoring of the Bheed movie by the CBFC (censor authorities) in India
The above image is courtesy of the tweet link (of Aroon Deep) shared here.
If you like good movies about the forgotten people of India, then do check out the Jai Bhim movie too.
Featured & Other Images: Bheed | Netflix.
