Bhediya—Man vs. Wolf

In Sriram Raghavan's Badlapur, Varun Dhawan plays Raghu, a troubled man seeking revenge from a bunch of criminals who killed his family. His quest for revenge consumes him so much that he undergoes a badla, becoming a stone-cold monster like the very men from whom he seeks revenge. The hero has transformed into a villain. In Amar Kaushik's Bhediya, Dhawan undergoes another transformation, becoming a bhediya from a man. Like Badlapur, he undergoes another (symbolic) transformation where he realizes that he is not the hero; rather, the wolf, whom everybody calls the villain, is the hero.

Dhawan plays Bhaskar, also known as Bhaski, who travels to Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh to get approval for the construction of roads in the area for his firm. He is joined by his cousin Janardhan (Abhishek Banerjee), also known as Jana, who is preparing for his Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exams. Bhaskar's friend Jobin (Palin Kabaak), a local, helps him navigate the area. Bhaski pitches his idea to the town's young people that they need Netflix more than nature and Starbucks more than Blackbucks. The conflict arises when a mysterious vishanu, a protector of the jungle, bites Bhaskar. After that happens, Bhaskar himself becomes a vishanu and turns into a werewolf on full moon nights, acting as a protector of the jungle.

The film's overarching theme is 'prakriti hai toh pragati hai.' There is development only if there is nature. Like Amit Masurkar's Sherni, Bhediya also makes the point that it is the humans who are outsiders and intruders in the jungle. For animals, the jungle is their only home. Only mutual respect between man and animal can lead to development. Bhediya also depicts the discrimination faced by people in northeastern India, who are treated as outsiders in their own country. Jana frequently makes racist jibes at Jobin. A look at Kaushik's oeuvre depicts his penchant for using humor to tackle serious issues. Stree depicted a feminist ghost with laughs and chills. Bala tackled the issue of people being discriminated against because of lack of hair and the color of their skin. Both films received praise for some themes and criticism for some elements (item numbers, brownface). It is the same with Bhediya. The humor in the film is often hilarious. The scene related to Tera Surroor was one of the best scenes in films last year. It came so unexpectedly that I squealed. But some of the humor is also discomfiting and perpetuates the same stereotypes. I was also put off by its scatological humor.

For all its humor, Bhediya does succeed in bringing some nuance to its story. There were two tracks where it came across. All through the film, Jana keeps making fun of Jobin. He is mocked and made fun of with racist comments. Jobin, after a while, had it. He bursts out at Jana. At this point, Jana realizes that he has become a bully, just like the kids in school who used to bully him. Now, the thing to note is that Jobin behaves the same way with Panda (Deepak Dobiryal), like the way Jana behaved with him. Jobin never missed an opportunity to call Panda an outsider, even though he has lived there almost all his life. Even in normal discussions, Jobin calls him out as an outsider repeatedly. This also reminds me of the scene in Anubhav Sinha's Article 15, where all the policemen discussed the castes and sub-castes and their hierarchies. At one point, one of the Dalit policemen says that he is a Chamar and he will not touch the food by Pasis. Everyone becomes a bully by virtue of their power or privilege.

The other theme that the film brings out is the nature of wild animals. The film opens with a dog barking, and Bhaski looks terrified of it. Later, he says that he dislikes dogs. It is also shown that Bhaski is a vegetarian. After he turns into a werewolf, Bhaski undergoes a change. He builds muscles in his body. His sense of smell gets heightened. He can smell prey from miles away. He develops affection toward dogs. He starts eating meat. His role as protector of the jungle does not conflict with his love for animals because it is in the wolf's nature to eat meat. It is the cycle of nature, the relation between hunter and prey. Likewise, when Bhaskar turns back to a human after mauling some men, his friends do understand that it is in the nature of a wolf to kill. So, he is not punished for the same. This is again seen in the end when he is fed meat and tied so that he does not run away to hunt. We often forget this aspect while dealing with wild animals, and Bhediya makes the point beautifully. 

The film also incorporates elements from fables and other stories of animals in the narrative. It opens with a man telling his young daughter a story that is inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. At another point, Bhaskar channels the boy from The Boy Who Cried Wolf, where he tries to scare his friends about the wolf. Later, there is a hilarious and fitting reference to Chaddi Pehen Ke Phool Khila Hai from The Jungle Book. The visuals of the final scene seem to be recreated from The Jungle Book. Bhediya also adds references to horror films of the past. There is the mention of Jaani Dushman, where a man becomes a monster and seeks revenge by abducting and killing brides. There is the mention of Junoon, where a young man turns into a tiger every full moon night. At another point, Bhaski sings Aap Ke Pyaar Mein from Raaz, another horror film where a woman saves her husband from a ghost. Finally, Bhediya also refers to the horror film Mahal by adding its song Aayega Aanewala at a crucial point in its narrative.

Bhediya adds humor from topical memes. There is Meri koi feelings nahi hai song by Yashraj Mukhate. At another point, a character says, "Aap chronology samjhiye"—another popular meme. There is also Gangadhar hi Shaktimaan hai. The interesting part is that earlier films provided content for memes; increasingly, we see the reverse happening as well, where popular memes are ending up in films as well. There are also other interesting little details. Bhaskar is often called Bhaski, which seems similar to a husky (a dog that looks like a wolf). He also wears a fur jacket.

The suspense in the film is not hard to guess. It is quite visible that Anika (Kriti Sanon) had something to do with the vishanu as the film opens with a young girl. Also, the Ojha who comes later in the film is the same one who was there with Anika and her father when a wolf attacked them. One of the most beautiful scenes in the film is when Anika takes Bhaski to her favorite place. She makes him see a new world opening his eyes to the beauty of the jungle. It is reminiscent of the deep sea diving scene from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara where Laila (Katrina Kaif) takes Arjun (Hrithik Roshan) on a tour of the ocean, making him realize his every breath. Kabir sees a new world. It is women who lead and make the men realize the emptiness of their lives. Bhediya ends when the two wolves again go together to the same place after they escape captivity.

The music of the film is composed by Sachin-Jigar, while the lyrics are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya. Apna Bana Le is a wonderful composition. There is a line in the song, "Saweron ka mere, tu suraj laage." It also reminds me of the title song of Kalank that had the line, "Main gehra tamas, tu sunehra sawera." There is also the peppy Baaki Sab Theek which might be the only song that uses the word laghushanka in the lyrics. Thumkeshwari is shot on Shraddha Kapoor. In Stree, it was the opposite, where Kriti Sanon performed on a song (Aao Kabhi Haveli Pe) in a Shraddha Kapoor film. The ending title credit song in Bala also had a reference to Stree. The meta-commentary is further seen in the surprise appearance of two characters from Stree who come to visit Jana, who is also reprising his role from that film. Abhishek Banerjee is the scene stealer in Bhediya. He does the expressions of goofy Jana brilliantly.

In Shoojit Sircar's October, Dhawan played Dan, a manchild with no real purpose in life. A friend's last words before a tragic fall—"Where is Dan?"—profoundly impacted him. He started caring (perhaps, too much). He was often irritated earlier but became empathetic and mellow. By the film's end, he seems to be a completely different person as he matures and grows up. Like Badlapur and October, Bhediya is another feather in the cap of Dhawan, who shines in these life-changing roles. Bhaskar used to think of himself as the hero in the conflict between the wolf and him. By the film's end, he realized that it was actually the opposite. He was the one who was acting like a villain. He realized his mistake. He then found an alternate way to finish his project as he truly understood the meaning of prakriti hai toh pragati hai. The wolf brings a change in him. It is perhaps why the coming of age that still works wonderfully. It is propelled by an external agent but succeeds only after an internal conversation.

Other Reading:

1. On Sriram Raghavan's Badlapur—Link.

2. On Shoojit Sircar's October—Link.

Dialogue of the Day:
"Prakriti hai toh pragati hai."

—Jana, Bhediya