Bhanwra

Bhanwra is the story of Shalabh, a 9 year old boy who assumes the world around him as simple and innocent as he is. The story revolves around Shalabh and his love for elder sister Sulekha, who appears to be an amalgamation and paragon of mother, sister, womanhood and all other womanly relations. It is a testimony of the essence of innocence that fades with time. It's about happiness, notoreity, sadness, ambitions and romance; all from a 4 feet vantage point.

It’s a warm morning in Mathura. Shalabh (8), a lanky, 4 feet tall boy, is sitting on the cusp of a boat in Yamuna, managing to look beyond the river and his sister simultaneously. Sulekha (22), an average looking, rustic, confident and sophisticated girl, is sitting on the other end of the boat where she is physically present but mentally, miles away. Like every Sunday, both siblings are out on their journey to the other side of the village; to fetch honey from the beehives.

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Shalabh runs towards the beehives the moment he gets down from the boat and thumps them with his long wooden rod. He squeezes the fallen lumps and runs away from the attacking bees. When they are done with it, Sulekha bathes him in Yamuna and the tacit love that Shalabh holds for her appears on surface; how affectionately he splashes water on her, sprinkles flowers on her face when she lays down on the grass, plays with her hands and sleeps beside her every night, burying his head close to her chest. For Shalabh, Sulekha is the paragon of love, selflessness and beauty; festivities, sweets and games didn’t hold much significance for him.

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But holi has always been special to him. It is for the simple desire of witnessing Sulekha dressed in colorful clothes, with Sandalwood fragrance, where for a day, she ceases to be his elder sister and becomes his companion, a small girl who shares the same oomph for Holi as Shalabh. He used to sit beside her in pooja, innocently touching her hands and smelling them occasionally. Its 21st March. His school vacation is going to start from tomorrow which makes him happy for the small reason that he would finally spend more time with her at home.

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The story is set in the Mathura where we plan to capture its mystic divinity (Ghats, temples, Yamuna) along with kirtan, bhajans and religious orations, which serves as a running metaphor of Shalabh’s adoration and sense of worship for his sister Sulekha. The rustic cultural nuances of U.P West, which have not been projected accurately in the passing years is something which would tackle with acute precision as we would strive to capture the film as a human document rather than a glossy and beautified world.

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The film deals with the undertones of Oedipus Complex, casteism and child marriage which makes the story more relevant and culturally imbibing, where we portray the setting of the cinematic world as it is; with its good and bad rituals and traditions brought down together.