Mumbai: Anubhav Sinha’s upcoming social drama “Bheed,” starring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar, is a rarity in contemporary Indian cinema in that it is made completely in black and white.
Images from the film, which is set during the 2020 Indian pandemic lockdown and tells the hard-hitting story of migrant workers stranded without basic necessities while trying to go home to their villages, are deliberately evocative of the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan and people were uprooted from their homes in the largest migration in history.
RAJKUMMAR RAO – PANKAJ KAPUR – BHUMI PEDNEKAR: 'BHEED' FIRST GLIMPSE… #FirstGlimpse of #AnubhavSinha’s black-and-white film #Bheed… Stars #RajkummarRao, #PankajKapur and #BhumiPednekar with #AshutoshRana and #DiaMirza. pic.twitter.com/LAuJ1zVPHa
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 3, 2023
Sinha said: ” ‘Bheed’ is a story of the most perilous times which changed everything for humanity. The key objective of shooting the film in black and white was to showcase how the visuals of the social disparity during India’s lockdown were strikingly similar to what people went through during the 1947 India partition. This story is about people whose lives changed in a snap and the colors from their lives were lost when the border was drawn within the country.”
The film is produced by Indian studio T-Series and Sinha’s Benaras Mediaworks.
T-Series head Bhushan Kumar said: ” ‘Bheed’ is a special film as it communicates the story of the toughest times people had to face just to reach their homes. It is a very important story and who better than Anubhav to direct it? The film has been shot in black and white as it depicts the struggle in our society that we often overlook. I’m glad that we are able to bring such an important story to our audiences with a unique cinematic experience.”
The ensemble cast also includes Pankaj Kapur, Ashutosh Rana, Dia Mirza, Virendra Saxena, Aditya Shrivastava, Kritika Kamra and Karan Pandit.
Reliance Entertainment is handling international distribution for “Bheed,” which is due a theatrical release on March 24.
