Taking a long-held trope of inverted feet of a village witch and toppling it on its head with an exploration of motives and life experiences of the bygone era is what makes this series an artistic triumph.
A commentary on the perceived notion of a witch from a feminist prism, this series masterfully paints the 19th century Bengal with all its rituals, ornaments, folklore, and aesthetic.
Chief Creative heads of redchillies.vfx weave their VFX magic with their red brush strokes to buttress the narrative. With greenscreens, background replacements, and impressive fire-effects, the imagery evoked metaphors of poetic proportions.
Notable imageries include the red pattered magnificent moon across which the little girl strides, overhead camera ascent as the raindrops plummet to the ground, geometrically congruent cinematography, forest fires, longing for her lover at the window, yearning transitions and colour grading that evokes a variety of emotions which all come together to create a classic cinematic masterpiece.
We can’t help but wonder if these picture-perfect scenes are products of a long and comprehensive process of scene-by-scene storyboarding which presumably helped them portray the 19th century Bengal in all its hues and fashion.
After the return of Thakur, Red sparkle-like dust swirls into a woman which marks the return of Bulbbul. The scene is a work of seamless visual effects work.
The animated piece in the begining is both nuanced and striking which lays out the theme of the movie
The ruddy environment where the pink backdrop is encircled by the moon and tree-dwelling witch with inverted feet glides across from one tree to another is a magnificent piece of imagery that illustrates the ghost story narrated by the boy.
Bulbbul is a supernatural horror movie that tells the tale of an intrepid child bride whose yearning for emancipation pulls her into a dark abyss. Climbing trees, scrumping mangoes, and enjoying stories is what she enjoys until she is oppressed into an inhibited and obedient wife who is married off to a much older husband. Enduring his male ego-driven domestic atrocities cripple her until the work of supernatural deity suffuses her with a seemingly witch-like power. Avenging the wrongs becomes her attribute as she goes about unleashing her fury upon criminals of her village.
The long and wide shots, the elevating overhead rain scenes and picturesque cinematography with a colour palette signifying the moods enrapture the viewers despite the obviousness of the storyline.