A very commendable effort by Rima Das on portraying the life of three students in their adolescence trying their best to find meaning of their simple yet very different lives. It shows how our society have set certain moral codes and stereotypes which destroys our innocence while growing up.
Simple but Deep.
12 Reviews
Not a Bollywood flick
mridulsarma18 July 2020
People who are only think of Bollywood when think about Indian Cinema, regardless of being Indian or non Indian, will expect in the wrong direction and will get disappointed by this movie. Open your boundaries and you will love this. I'm not here to tell you how good the movie is. Only problem with the movie is the soud recording which I know Rima knows as well as it's her way of recording sound. Still at some points the voices are inaudible. I hope she looks into it in her future movies. Great job once again. S
Not a Fairy Tale!
bawan-2473320 October 2020
Bulbul Can Sing that deals with actual reality of the society and not a fairy tale.
It is a story about a teenage girl, Bulbul, living in a village in Assam, fighting her way through love and loss as she figures out who she really is.
It is a story about a teenage girl, Bulbul, living in a village in Assam, fighting her way through love and loss as she figures out who she really is.
Awsome story
sparkleshakil1 October 2020
Real and restrained, a poignant coming of age drama in rural Assam
rahulmailsonix20 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
In a world that desires everything pretty, life can be harsh for those cursed with beauty.
For one, it ogles at them without any inhibitions; for another, it assumes that things come easy to them easily by virtue of them being so desirable.
Rima Das' Bulbul Can Sing tells the story of Bulbul, a pretty teenage girl, and her friends in a village in Assam. Rima, similar to her earlier 2 films, sets the tale in a land she grew up in - a land whose tales and prejudices she understands. Early in the film, Suman asks Bulbul to tie her hair, as flowing hair is considered a bad omen - an invitation to spirits of young dead women with unfulfilled desires. Bulbul (translated as 'nightingale') and Bonnie, both young, at the age of discovering love and developing bodies, find companions among boys in their school. Suman (translated as 'flower'), a boy yet to understand his own sexual identity, finds it comfortable to hang out with the girls, a fact for which he is regularly bullied in school.
There's a scene in the middle where the gang plays Ludo, a game that relies on equal parts skill and chance, and Bulbul appears to be winning, when Suman insists it is by chance, akin to how she is favoured by their teacher for her looks. Suman, conflicted and repressed by the social norms of the land, would lead to a series of tragic events later. The girls are captured along with their boyfriends by a group of village men, who thrash them, in a tensely framed scene, though the violence is primarily psychological and forebodes further ostracism. Unlike Bulbul, who I believe knows better about the unfair world, Bonnie couldn't face it anymore.
Rima, a one man army, writes, directs, designs, shoots and produces the film. The set of non-professional actors, and Rima fulfilling the various demands of filmmaking, make a film that is raw, giving a sense of urgency - there is a genuine urge to tell this story. Not every shot in there is perfectly focused, and one sees people new to the camera - but everything in there belongs there - real people in their actual environments.
I can only imagine the restraint with which Rima tells the story - Bulbul finds herself accompanying Bonnie's mom after the incident, sitting by the river side, tying the hair. I kept asking why would a film with events of such tragic proportions would want to end in visuals of beauty. Bulbul's father wished she would sing, though she could't sing confidently in an audience. But she can sing, and she now sings when she is alone, with no one to hear it. I can only try to answer it - she, as well as Suman, and Bonnie's mom, are survivors, of one manner or another, a fact they have accepted and assimilated, to survive in this otherwise 'pretty' world.
Rima Das' Bulbul Can Sing tells the story of Bulbul, a pretty teenage girl, and her friends in a village in Assam. Rima, similar to her earlier 2 films, sets the tale in a land she grew up in - a land whose tales and prejudices she understands. Early in the film, Suman asks Bulbul to tie her hair, as flowing hair is considered a bad omen - an invitation to spirits of young dead women with unfulfilled desires. Bulbul (translated as 'nightingale') and Bonnie, both young, at the age of discovering love and developing bodies, find companions among boys in their school. Suman (translated as 'flower'), a boy yet to understand his own sexual identity, finds it comfortable to hang out with the girls, a fact for which he is regularly bullied in school.
There's a scene in the middle where the gang plays Ludo, a game that relies on equal parts skill and chance, and Bulbul appears to be winning, when Suman insists it is by chance, akin to how she is favoured by their teacher for her looks. Suman, conflicted and repressed by the social norms of the land, would lead to a series of tragic events later. The girls are captured along with their boyfriends by a group of village men, who thrash them, in a tensely framed scene, though the violence is primarily psychological and forebodes further ostracism. Unlike Bulbul, who I believe knows better about the unfair world, Bonnie couldn't face it anymore.
Rima, a one man army, writes, directs, designs, shoots and produces the film. The set of non-professional actors, and Rima fulfilling the various demands of filmmaking, make a film that is raw, giving a sense of urgency - there is a genuine urge to tell this story. Not every shot in there is perfectly focused, and one sees people new to the camera - but everything in there belongs there - real people in their actual environments.
I can only imagine the restraint with which Rima tells the story - Bulbul finds herself accompanying Bonnie's mom after the incident, sitting by the river side, tying the hair. I kept asking why would a film with events of such tragic proportions would want to end in visuals of beauty. Bulbul's father wished she would sing, though she could't sing confidently in an audience. But she can sing, and she now sings when she is alone, with no one to hear it. I can only try to answer it - she, as well as Suman, and Bonnie's mom, are survivors, of one manner or another, a fact they have accepted and assimilated, to survive in this otherwise 'pretty' world.
A bunch of static, great planes of India country side, with some flashes of coming of age drama.
luis-afonso16 December 2019
Photography is great. Story is poor. Characters are stereotyped.
There is an opressive atmosphere dictated by the place and weather. When it is sunny, the movie is funny. When the rain started, it's all grim and despair.
That is.
And she could not sing at all.
Don't waste your time with this.
It gets deep everytime I watch!
rahuldutta-1320718 September 2020
Bulbul Can Sing is a beautiful and tragic tale of a girl named 'Bulbul'. This movie is directed by Rima Das (also the director of internationally acclaimed "Village Rockstars"). The movie is simple yet beautiful. The cinematography is marvellous. The beautiful scenes of a village of Assam coupled with the shots of loneliness is what I think to be a master-shot to capture the very essence and importance of that scene. The impact of social issues in a village is adeptly addressed and the emotionality of that scene is painful to watch. Arnali Das (Bulbul) acted brilliantly.
She controls the plot beautifully and, also hats off to Manoranjan Das (Suman) and his brilliant acting to bring out the social issues facing by certain sections of men. The impact created by Bonita Thakuriya is deep. Just Brilliant!
Sic_final_verdict: Experience the beautiful yet tragic tale of an Assamese girl. Watch it now. It's worth it.
Sic_score: 8.9⭐/10
Insta a/c: @sic_mundus_hub
Sic_final_verdict: Experience the beautiful yet tragic tale of an Assamese girl. Watch it now. It's worth it.
Sic_score: 8.9⭐/10
Insta a/c: @sic_mundus_hub
Pretty but pointless: Where's the story?
mamlukman21 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I love Bollywood movies, and I am very interested in India. So of course I had to see this at the Toronto Inter. Film Festival in September.
I think the director was very sincere, and the movie was beautifully filmed, and it certainly gave an idea of village life in Assam.
Now I realized all along that this was not going to be a Bollywood movie, and that's fine. But a basic story might be nice. Without a story, a movie is just some pretty pictures strung together. Everyday scenes of village life are NOT a story. It goes nowhere, but of course you keep expecting it to. Then it ends. And you say "What???"
However it struck me that it was (to a non-Indian) sort of an out-of-fashion anthropological study. It was very much like those programs in the 1950s (yes, I remember the 1950s) that advertised "Now we are going to show you how the headhunters of Borneo live! Thrill to the savagery of the natives!" etc. Now I know that Indians, despite constant talk of "harmony and amity," are very class conscious, and, frankly, racist. They refer disparagingly to "the tribal areas"--i.e., Assam. This MAY have been a sincere attempt to sympathetically portray a struggling teenage girl in Assam. But it didn't come across that way to me, and I suspect other non-Indians would have the same reaction. It came across as a "let's go look at the backward natives" sort of movie. It actually made me uncomfortable to watch. A shame, because I don't really believe the director was trying for this effect. But it does show how different cultural groups can see the same movie and come away with totally opposing points of view.
I think the director was very sincere, and the movie was beautifully filmed, and it certainly gave an idea of village life in Assam.
Now I realized all along that this was not going to be a Bollywood movie, and that's fine. But a basic story might be nice. Without a story, a movie is just some pretty pictures strung together. Everyday scenes of village life are NOT a story. It goes nowhere, but of course you keep expecting it to. Then it ends. And you say "What???"
However it struck me that it was (to a non-Indian) sort of an out-of-fashion anthropological study. It was very much like those programs in the 1950s (yes, I remember the 1950s) that advertised "Now we are going to show you how the headhunters of Borneo live! Thrill to the savagery of the natives!" etc. Now I know that Indians, despite constant talk of "harmony and amity," are very class conscious, and, frankly, racist. They refer disparagingly to "the tribal areas"--i.e., Assam. This MAY have been a sincere attempt to sympathetically portray a struggling teenage girl in Assam. But it didn't come across that way to me, and I suspect other non-Indians would have the same reaction. It came across as a "let's go look at the backward natives" sort of movie. It actually made me uncomfortable to watch. A shame, because I don't really believe the director was trying for this effect. But it does show how different cultural groups can see the same movie and come away with totally opposing points of view.
THE DAILY ROUTINE IN A VILLAGE.
MandalBros-520 January 2021
This is one of the most relatable film I've ever watched. The reason behind this is that there's no such a specific story in the film. Rima Das showed us the daily routine of 3 students in their adolescence period at a small village in Assam.
I don't think anyone acted in this film, they're just doing their work and director was capturing it. They're so natural. Rima Das showed us the nature of a village in the most beautiful way. The movie deals with a lot of themes like stereotype nature of society, adolescent love, sexuality, friendship and self acceptance.
If you want to witness a whole new take on cinematic expression, this one is for you.
You can watch the film on Netflix.
© MandalBros.
I don't think anyone acted in this film, they're just doing their work and director was capturing it. They're so natural. Rima Das showed us the nature of a village in the most beautiful way. The movie deals with a lot of themes like stereotype nature of society, adolescent love, sexuality, friendship and self acceptance.
If you want to witness a whole new take on cinematic expression, this one is for you.
You can watch the film on Netflix.
© MandalBros.
It is very raw yet has may layers in it.
rrishi21 April 2021
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