Suvrat Kakoti’s Assamese feature film, Bidurbhai, has characters and situations from his popular web series of the same name, released three years ago. It tells of the struggles of four ordinary villagers who, overwhelmed by the difficulties of life, realize that they can never live honest lives and devise one last, desperate plan. They decide to pull off a massive theft, make a fortune, and use it to rewrite their future. Though the plot is familiar, what sets this film apart are its realistic characters, authentic settings, and comic situations even if some feel much too laboured.
Taking off from the end of the web series, which ended on a cliffhanger, the four principal characters, Ujjal (Ujjal Rajkhowa), Deep (Trailukya Borua), Bolin (Bolin Bora), and Nitu (Nitu Khanikar), are repentant for stealing the agarwood trees from the garden of Pabon (Pankaj Mahanta), the manager of Microfinance. So, they decide to confess their crime to them. Upon reaching his home, a twist of fate makes the angry Pabon forgive the four miscreants. He also agrees to help them secure a loan for a startup. As the four friends embark on their journey to secure a contract for establishing toilets in the village, they fall prey to a maze of corruption run by a local MLA (Ashim Sharma) and his nephew (Hirok Jyoti Bordoloi)…
Unlike the web series, the tone and treatment of the feature film are more restrained with moments that demonstrate how a comedy can also be crafted with sincerity and even nuance. The bulk of the film details the struggles of the four friends in setting up their startup. As they visit the various government departments, from agriculture to fisheries, the film precisely shows how the so-called productivity of government machinery is just an illusion and never actually shows results or changes in the lives of the poorest and deprived citizens.
Once they get a contract from the government to set up the toilets and build them with higher-quality materials, they are forced to use cheaper alternatives due to money used up by the MLA and his nephew to maintain their extravagant lifestyles. In one of the sequences, Deep, a home guard, has to transfer his twins from a government hospital to an expensive private hospital due to a lack of ventilators at the former. It becomes a mammoth task for Deep because the government has not been able to pay his salary for a long time. These are the moments that make the film poignant and underscore the harsh realities faced by those working within a flawed system and the failure of government as a body to support the needy.
The four characters in the film are consistently shown negotiating with their difficult economic situations, and the film’s comic moments arise when they make fun of their flaws and shortcomings in an ironic way. Their predicaments become more relatable and even endearing as they acknowledge their imperfections. Fortunately, they are believable and credible as none of them are given a superhero-like treatment. In the final moments, when under compulsion from a police official, the four friends are forced to burn their stolen goods, the film convincingly underscores the futility of their ever continuing struggles.
As the story of the film focuses more on the four friends, the other characters take a backseat and seem to be used more as necessary fillers. The female characters are mostly reduced to serving as love interests for the protagonists and little more. The film does not provide them with any significant moments to fully capitalize on. Though there is one instance over the phone where Kusum and Minoti discuss their grief, it comes across as little more than a token gesture. On the other hand, a scene involving the sexual assault of a male character is given a comedic overtone, which minimizes the seriousness of the issue and undermines the gravity of such experiences. Even the action sequence before the interval seems redundant as it fails to advance the plot effectively while the climax feels a bit haphazard.
The cinematography by Bitul Das effectively heightens the emotional impact of the film. The editing by Kakoti brings a smooth flow to the narrative though in the second half of the film, a little more ruthlessness in the cutting could have enhanced the storytelling further. The swelling background score by Pranoy Dutta dominates the sound design but to its credit, synchronizes well with the story. Among the songs, Pe Pe Ne Ne fits well in moving the narrative forward but De Bhagawan looks more like promotional material and little else.
Performanse-wise, Ujjal Rajkhowa, Trailukya Borua, Bolin Bora and Nitu Khanikar all bring energy and spontaneity to their roles. Sumki Kachari, as Kusum, exaggerates in her comic timings while Ashim Sharma and Hirok Jyoti Bordoloi are stereotypical antagonists. Pankaj Mahanta, as the manager Pabon, makes the most out of a small role.
Kakoti succeeds in leaving his stamp all over Bidurbhai, making our hearts go out to the four friends on a mission. It is a well-crafted potboiler that checks all the boxes for entertainment. For all its flaws, with its engaging plot and lively performances, it represents a commendable effort within the Assamese film industry.
Assamese, Comedy, Color