When Anvita Dutta’s Bulbbul landed on Netflix, it was critically and commercially lauded as a supernatural period drama that doubled as a feminist revisionist take on tacking patriarchal wrongs.
Set in 19th-century Bengal and revolving around the life of the child-bride Bulbbul, the film lays bare the patriarchal horrors that prey on and haunted women in the decadent zamindari households of colonial India.
Bulbbul is beaten and crippled by her much-older husband, Indranil, on suspicions of infidelity and raped to death by his mentally ill twin, Mahindra. However, she is divinely brought back to life with a feminist purpose. She ‘awakens’ and transforms into a “pichal peri” or a witch whose legs are twisted behind her ankles.
Though a human during the day, Bulbbul metamorphoses into a frightening goddess by night, a manifestation of the Goddess Kali herself. Under the shadow of a blood moon, marching to a ghostly humming on warped feet, she looks out for her village’s womenfolk—’rightfully and justly’ murdering wife-beating, sexually abusive men.
Bulbbul And Her Fitting Fit Of Feminist Rage
The central themes of Netflix’s Bulbbul explore the harrowing themes of gender oppression and trauma. The movie sheds light on the experiences of women who endure the harsh realities of a patriarchal society, facing child marriage, sexual violence, and stolen childhoods.
The psychological profile of the protagonist Bulbbul (and to some extent, the character of her scheming sister-in-law Binodini) is that of a trauma survivor. The film sensitively explores the mental health conditions prevalent in dysfunctional aristocratic households, where depression, anxiety, isolation, PTSD, and the internalization of negative emotions plague oppressed women.
Bulbbul, married off to a much older-man, reels in a lonely and loveless marriage. She finds companionship and support—and possibly affection—in her brother-in-law Satya who is closer to her in age. However, their friendship is looked down upon and dealt with harshly.
Satya is hastily dispatched to London, leaving behind an abandoned and frightened Bulbbul in a lonely mansion with unfriendly inhabitants. Manipulated by Binodini, Bulbbul’s husband beats her with a poker, damaging her legs. Disabled and lonely, one night, her mentally ill brother-in-law rapes her to death.
Following this incident, Binodini attempts to clean up Bulbbul—comforting her with a monologue that revealed her to be a victim of the same patriarchal system. The older woman dresses Bulbbul in the fineness that befits zamindari wives and dolls her up to reflect the feminine ideals of beauty and civilization.
She not only covers up the gore and trauma of the proceeding occurrence, but also suggests to the younger woman a justification and a coping strategy for the said oppression. The status, respect, and material that come with wifely submission are worth the suffering, Binodini reasons. In a scene that is eerily lacking in dialogue but loud in its ideological saturation and pain, Binodini tells Bulbbul:
“Bari haveli mein baare raaz hote hai … Chup rehna.”
“Big mansions hold big secrets … Keep them quiet.”
Binodini rightfully identifies the opulent zamindari mansion in the film as the nucleus of patriarchal ideology and oppression. The men who frequent and dominate the mansion are all agents and expressions of toxic masculinity and a misogynistic society that views women as mere puppets or inhuman chattel to be controlled by men.
Bulbbul, in her folkloric avatar, rebels against this very stronghold of patriarchy. As a witch with bended feet, she symbolizes the collective feminine frustration and the feminist rage that builds in women under the chauvinist patriarchal yoke. She challenges traditional gender roles and acts out against outrageous male domination.
Through her use of supernatural powers, Bulbbul seeks retribution for the injustices inflicted upon women like her, thereby reclaiming agency in a male-dominated world. Her rebellion becomes a cathartic female method of processing trauma and anger and correcting societal wrongs that otherwise have no consequences.
A Win In The Portrayal Of Women’s Mental Health …
The film uses supernatural elements to depict Bulbbul’s transformation and empowerment, creating a parallel between her internal emotional turmoil and the external struggles faced by women in the society of colonial Bengal.
In the trademark of the rape-revenge genre, Bulbbul kills Mahindra. She does not stop there, proceeding to kill men guilty of patriarchal oppression and exploitation of their wives and other females. In a befitting but brutal agenda, she attempts to wipe out the oppressive agents and expressions of patriarchy around her.
Through her character, the film sheds light on the impact of male dominance and the lack of agency women had during that era. In this context, female agency appears to be a right that has to be battled for and won through violence and murder.
However, Bulbbul does not harm Binodini, who triggered Indranil’s rage against her. She recognized Binodini as both a product and a victim of patriarchy and let her be. Similarly, she does not harm Satya who begins to manifest the same oppressive temperament and prejudices as his brothers.
In the climax, even when he shoots her, mistaking her for a witch who is murdering villagers, she does not fight him back. She embraces her end in the forest fire that encircles her from Satya’s overturned lantern.
Bulbbul appears to sympathize with their sorry development—a disturbing truth that Satya acknowledges in his letter to Indranil as he leaves home for the last time. He recognizes himself as a patriarch and states that Bulbbul’s blood in their collective patriarchal hands unites them in an oppressive brotherhood:
“Thakurdada,
Hamesha sochte the baare hoke aap jaise banenge. Paar aaj yeh ghar chhor kar jaa rahein hein issi daar se kaahin aap jaisein na baan jayein. Issi daar se ki kaahin aap jaaise baan hi gaye hein.
Aaab toh sach mein khoon ka rishta hain hum sabka … yoh khoon jisse hum saabke haath range hai. Aab koi faark nahin hein hum saab ka.”
“Respected Brother,
Always thought that, when I grow up, I would become like you. But today, I am leaving this house for fear that I will become like you, for fear that somewhere I have already become like you.
Now, we are all really related by blood … that same blood which we have on our hands. Now there is no difference between us.”
… Not So Much When It Comes To Destigmatizing Mental Illness
While Bulbbul commendably addresses patriarchy, feminism, and women’s mental health through its protagonist, it falls short when it comes to Mahindra, a mentally under-developed character.
Mahindra, Indranil’s mentally ill twin, is portrayed as an unwanted nuance throughout the film. From the very beginning, he gets physically abusive with Bulbbul, playfully or otherwise.
His wife disregards him and turns to his brother to satisfy her marital wants. His behavior and perceptions are talked down upon and made insignificant. He is labeled a “child” and relegated to harmless insignificant fringes to exist.
Mahindra, though mentally under-developed, is not without feelings. The dissatisfaction and rage that he experiences from being on the neglected sidelines builds up and breaks out. The film’s writing does not give him a proper character arc, but it does give him a terrible agency. Mahindra is made a plot device and his mental state becomes a means to facilitate Bulbbul’s feminist transformation.
After Mahindra rapes Bulbbul, Binodini justifies his actions with the words “Thoda pagal hain [He is a little mad]!” Pitiful of Bulbbul’s state, she communicates to her how she too is a victim of the patriarchal golden cage, though she describes her mentally unfit husband like a mischievous, even passionate lover.
Bulbbul, as a witch, starts her own version of honor killing with Mahindra, avenging not only her wrongs but also the injustice meted out to her rival Binodini.
Netflix’s Bulbbul culminates in the extermination of its mentally ill male character, offering no room for corrective treatment or therapy, which further stigmatizes men and others dealing with psychological disorders.
This approach sidelines the importance of mental health education and demonizes individuals with mental disabilities, inadvertently aligning with the typical tropes of a rape-revenge drama.
Mental health advocates stress the significance of language in shaping perceptions of mental health, and the use of such language in mainstream popular culture can have detrimental effects on real-life patients struggling with mental health issues.
Content creators, including filmmakers, need to become more conscious of these issues, facilitating nuanced discussions about mental health, and creating a safe space for individuals facing psychological distress (irrespective of gender).
By avoiding stereotypical portrayals and embracing more empathetic and informed representations, the media can contribute positively to mental health awareness and understanding.
