Bulbul Can Sing

Film description

Girls should be modest, girls should be polite – this is the refrain which has always accompanied 15-year-old Bulbul in her growing up. But wild meadows of the Indian state of Assam have plenty of space to hide secrets of the youth. Bulbul and her two friends, Bonny and Suman, live with passion every minute of this magic period when childhood innocence segues into the challenges, fascinations and mysteries of adulthood – and its dangers.

It is difficult to believe that this brilliantly shot and mature coming-of-age portrait was accomplished with low budget by a modest film crew. The director, Rima Das, is also the author of the screenplay, the cinematographer, the editor and the producer. Thanks to her documentary style we can discover the world of the film personages from a natural, unforced perspective, which allows us to plunge deeply into their reality and experience it with all our senses. The precise, nuanced story resonates on many levels and captivates with its images, subtle narrative guidance and irresistible charm of young actors' talents. A history of girlish rebellion and a tale about growing up in conservative environment, the power of friendship and artistic sensibility developing in the midst of wild nature and traditional rites.

The author continues the threads present in her award-winning debut, whose protagonist is a girl that dreams to have her own a guitar: it looks like we have a contemporary female response to one of the most important cycles in the history of Indian cinema – the Apu trilogy by Satyajit Ray.

Jagoda Murczyńska