Bhola and Shambhu are two children who live in rural India, in a small town. They receive their teachings from Pandit-ji, a man who essentially explains the world through Hindu mythology, molding the children of the village in that way. Since they have no idea of any other alternative, the two never question what their teacher tells them.
However, things begin to change when Bhola's father returns to the village after working in Mumbai, bringing with him a television. Although electricity is scarce in the area, Bhola watches for hours whatever program is on whenever the appliance can be turned on, and the first questions begin to arise in both him and Shambhu.
Director: Shiladitya Bora
Writers: Sudhakar Nilmani Eklavya, Mohit Chauhan
Stars: Satendra Soni, Sparsh Suman, Vinay Pathak
When the two later go to a "proper" school, the conflict between what Pandit was teaching them and science causes a deep dissonance between what they have previously learned and what their peers with previous educational experiences already know, thus creating even more more conflict in his mind. Since their uneducated parents cannot help them with questions, frustration soon takes over and inevitably leads to violence.
Shiladitya Bora directs a very sensitive film that focuses on how the lack of proper guidance from all sides as well as the contradictory information they receive confuses children, essentially making them completely frustrated and eventually prone to violence. Bhola and Shambhu hear things from Pandit-ji that make them think that the gods are responsible for every phenomenon that occurs in the world, since the man is only interested in teaching Hinduism, instead of giving children a proper education.
When they go to school on the outskirts of town, they encounter a teacher who is supposedly willing to teach them science, but who essentially only cares about their career, as much as the rest of the teachers, as the episode with the inspector eloquently highlights. . As such, instead of being patient with Bhola about the things he had learned in his village, he beats him up for embarrassing him in front of the inspector.
Violence always begets violence, but the problem does not end there. Having a mother who, although she loves and cares for him, cannot answer her questions about what the truth is, and a father who could but is constantly absent, Bhola's anger and frustration inevitably grows every day. Questions between science and religion have plagued people for years, and it is even more difficult for children who absorb every information they receive without being able to process it for themselves. The violence that ensues is explained in this way, but Bharose is also responsible for presenting it in the darkest colors, as well as its consequences, without sensualizing it in any way, but rather presenting it as the tragic result of everything that came before.
The commentary is eloquently presented throughout the story, and the choice to have the film take place in the '80s, when technology and particularly the internet was not prevalent, works well for the narrative. On the other hand, not all the episodes make sense, and the truth is that the film lags at times, although the 92 minutes are definitely economical. The kite competition, for example, seems to be here only to present a few moments of beauty, which highlight Surjodeep Ghosh's excellent overall cinematography, but add very little to the narrative. Likewise, Suraj Gunjal's editing results in a relatively fast pace that suits the overall aesthetic very well, but some cuts would definitely benefit the film.
Bora draws very convincing performances from Satendra Soni (Bhola) and Sparsh Suman (Shambhu), who portray their characters with a maturity beyond their years, with the former in particular stealing the show several times. Masumeh Makhija's eyes and her smile as Radha, Bora's mother, fill the screen whenever she appears, contributing to the overall beauty of the film, which is also represented in the numerous idyllic shots of the rural setting.
Much more than a children's film, "Bhagwan Bharose" may have some problems with the story, but overall it emerges as a very entertaining film that also makes a fairly direct and realistic commentary on how violence is created in a particular environment.
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