Bhoomi Hindi Movie Review

Omung is out at the box office with the latest Friday take on rape. Before this is perceived as a trivialising rape, let me hasten to add that our cinema is perhaps doing just that. The trauma around rape is getting portrayed with the same regularity as lost brothers in the Manmohan Desai era. It sure shocks, stuns and screams but in the process, it gets self-defeatist and creates an inoculated sensitivity to the people. While the theme is exclusively the prerogative of the maker, its reiteration is invariably seen in a context and lurks the question.
The story line is linear as is the treatment. Stripped of any layers it deals with an alcoholic Dad Arun (Sanjay Dutt – in his comeback vehicle – oh artists hate the expression come back. They see it as an accusation) dotes on his daughter Bhoomi (Aditi Hydari Rao). All is fine in the town till neighbour Vishal proposes to Bhoomi just before her marriage to Neeraj (Sidhant Gupta – who dances with a lot of grace). Her refusal of the offer leads to her being drugged and gang raped with the assistance and under the leadership of local villain Dhauli (Sharad Kelkar). The law only increases the trauma with evidence being painstakingly loaded against the victim. With the guilty out in the open the father and daughter embark on the path of vendetta. The manner in which they avenge the rapists and torture the viewer with their bizarre third-degree approach is what makes the script of the film.
Kaabil, Mom, Mitr… there is a list of endless recent films that deal with rape and with parental support to the victim. Thus far it has been the Mom, now it is the Dad. That much for novelty. While the audience laps up the heroics of the victims avenging the accused, it raises serious issues on how we are tackling the challenge on hand. We seem to have an entire chapter of our cinema which seems to suggest, any advocate the cause of anarchy and the method of the victim deciding to take law into his/her hands (specially, if they are muscular). This preaching of anarchy and disbelief in the legal system perhaps has a context but is it a conscious statement or is it one of convenience. The film is also marred by the fact that Sanjay cannot get his act together nor can Aditi. Both are contrived to a fault and just do not get enough empathy. I also have a serious issue with the manner in which we deal so callously with serious issues including juvenile justice – that makes the film a tad juvenile.

L. Ravichander.