Bheeti

Bheeti (fear) can take many constructs. During a raging pandemic, fear is omnipresent, and it manifests itself in some form or the other in every mind. A young boy, staying safe at home, has his own demons to deal with. The uncertainty that haunts the world does not leave behind his little soul untouched. He hopes for an official announcement from the authorities cancelling his annual exams. Waiting indefinitely for news that could put this uncertainty to an end, the boy spends his days in limbo, unable to do anything worthwhile with his time. As the days go by, the situation becomes more intense, both in the world outside and inside of his mind. With the second wave of the pandemic on a rampage claiming victim after victim, it comes very close to unsettling the boy’s mental equilibrium. Should he study for the exams, or should he wait it out?

‘Bheeti’ is a lockdown film directed by ‘Vidhan Sharma’. It is noteworthy to mention here that Vidhan is a sixteen-year-old teenager. Vidhan uses simple shots set inside his room to explain the mental turmoil of a student hoping for the cancellation of his exams. Using repetition as a powerful tool to illustrate the mental state of someone locked down at home, with nothing else to do, the young filmmaker recreates on screen those long months of isolation that the world now accepts as lockdowns. ‘Bheeti’ also uses ambient music from the music player, a repeated stage property, as an effective background score adding a humorous touch to the otherwise gloomy scene on screen. ‘Bheeti’, by this young filmmaker, is a promise of more to expect from an aspiring filmmaker.

The pandemic brought with it challenging times, leaving no one untouched in its wake. This film is a documentation of how human response to the situation brought about a new set of problems. This film is the social memoir of a teenager from this period of human history that needs to find its place in the social commentary of the times.