Summaries

Synopsis

It is said that our nation is a reality of two countries:1. INDIA - The India of the 21st century, of gleaming malls, cloud piercingskyscrapers, expressways and air conditioned metro rails, of English speakingyouth making their mark in the modern worldAnd2. BHARAT - Rural, agrarian, still bound to old traditions and cultural roots,lacking the basics of modern amenities and influences.Both are true and both exist and the nation continues its progress in slowlyamalgamation the best of both worlds to create an India we all dream of.Our story is the story of a young tribal girl, Budhni, from rural India who haseducated herself and aspires for the basic dignity of life in the 21st century.Budhni, our protagonist belongs to a community called "musahar", a termderived from "musah" meaning rat and "ahar" meaning food, the communityis actually a poor tribal community that subsists on farm labor and rats, evento this day.No one knows Budhni's real age as mushars don't document the date of birth,but she is not more than 16 years old at the time of our story. She is one ofthe rarest in her community, male or female who excelled in primarygovernment school and continued studying. But as her board examsapproached, her family was far more concerned with getting her married.After all all girls even a year or two younger to her in her community weremarried. Budhni's dream of higher education is set to be quashed underfamilial and societal pressure, especially in an environment of patriarchaldominance. But she resists though it's more than clear that her forever drunkfather will soon quash her resistance. Along some, Sugan, a young man whoseems to love Budhni and wants her to continue studying after marriage. Heseems to be enamored with the idea of an educated wife. Budhni sees theopportunity to keep her dream alive and also keep family and society happyand she agrees to his proposal. The fact that both her and sugans father workfor the same feudal landlord, helps and they are married off with as muchpomp as their families can dream off. The scale of the marriage itself isan indicator of how small people dare to dream in some segments ofmodern day India and provokes deep thought about the disparitybetween haves and have nots.It's not that people have different means and abilities, it's about thehuge difference in dreams & dreams are supposed to be free.

Sugan is surprisingly progressive and wants Budhni to continue studying butbreaking the news to his family, esp his father will take some doing and timeand with each passing day her board exams come closer.Now Budhni faces another problem, stuck at her inlaws for a while and notbeing able to go to school deprives her of the use of the schools toilet and sherefuses to go to the fields to relieve herself like the other women of thecommunity.The pre dawn culture of rural women of completing their dailyablutions in the fields or river banks inspires the name of the film,"BHOR" meaning dawn. BHOR also is a metaphor for a new dawn orthe first ray of hope and that's what Budhni's struggle could mean forher community, esp it's women, a new ray of hope.Sugan temporarily solves the problem by making a makeshift toilet for her athome and it's a testament to the courage of this young, uneducated anduntouchable man who's progressive thought can put many a educated citydweller to shame, that he Braves the snide comments from family and friendsto do this for his wife.Sugans suggestion that his wife continue her education is finally made to hisfather and Sugan is rewarded by a literal kick up his backside that sends himsprawling into the mud of the farm they are working on, as they converse.But as per norms all important decisions are referred to the zamindar and hegets impressed by Budhni's ability to speak in english and commands them tolet her study. Budhni appears for her board exams and top the districtbut the family doesn't realize the importance of her feat till they aresummoned to the DMs office.A dazed Sugan and his father watch dumbfounded as the DM asks her whatshe wants and Budhni says she wants a toilet at home. The DM immediatelysanctions the money.Now the story takes a turn, Sugan and his father who have never seen onetenth this amount in cash, blow it all up in a drunken celebration accompaniedby a performance by a dancer, who is the dream of even the landlords andBudhni's dream of a toilet at home is crushed.She refuse to cow down and begins a fight that begins at her home, a tinythatched one room mud Hut and ends in the capital and corridors of power inDelhi. Here Budhni is stunned to learn that her problem of dignity andsanitation is shared by many in the slums of Delhi and is a mission priority forthe government. But there is the proverbial slip between the cup and the lip,the government desires but the multiple layers between the govt and thepeople are a black hole where dreams and good intentions disappear.

What happens, does the first educated girl of her community bring boon orcalamity, does the will and intent of a young girl break down centuries ofneglect or is broken down by the wall of ignorance?The highlights of the film:uu Shot live in real locations in Bihar.u The main characters who are actors from Mumbai and Delhi theater,spent 2 months before filming, living on location to learn andunderstand the reality of the characters they were playing.u All the other actors are real musahars living there.u All costumes are real and locally sourced.u The one song performance in the film is shot in one go and the musichas been recorded live on location.u 'Bhor' deftly captures the nuances and emotions that define therelationship between Budhni and Sugan.u Budhni was now fighting not only for education but also for sanitation.The story is a study in contrasts that exists within the society, as wellas the similarities that are not limited within geographical bounds. Theprotagonist realizes the problem of inadequate sanitation facilities wassomething that not just existed in rural, but urban India as well, aftershe reaches the capital, Delhi.'Bhor' is an attempt to see the reality of an unglamourised ignored forgottenrace of people and a realization that their problems are sometimes exactly thesame as ours, lack of respect for the dignity of a woman, basic sanitation andhygiene, the right to education for women and so much more.In this day and age of the #metoo movement, BHOR is a wakeup call,the struggle for dignity, education and rights of a woman is a lot morebasic in the interiors of our nation and something that we so take forgranted in our lives that we forget that it even exists.