The teaser of Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar-starrer Bheed, dropped on Friday, compares the plight of migrant workers during the 2020 Covid-19-induced lockdown with the horrors of the 1947 partition between India and Pakistan.
The social drama, shot in black and white, throws light on how the curbs on interstate travel wreaked havoc on the lives of daily wagers during the pandemic.
Helmed by Anubhav Sinha, known for directing films like Mulk, Article 15 and Thappad, the film is based on true events that followed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown in March 2020 to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
Sharing the teaser of the film on Instagram, Rajkummar wrote, “Hum kahaani bata rahe hai uss waqt ki jab batwara desh mein nahi, samaaj mein hua tha. #Bheed, a story of the darkest times, in black and white. Releasing in cinemas on 24th March 2023,” he wrote.
The one-minute-12-second-long teaser uses cross-cuts between archived photographs from the 1947 partition and shots of migrant labourers struggling to return to their home state during the 2020 lockdown, drawing parallels between the two events.
It shows crowds gathering at bus depots, train stations and even walking on the road with children in their effort to reach home amidst strict travel restrictions.
Watch the trailer here:
Even though the teaser does not show any of the film’s cast, it sets the tone for the upcoming social drama. The tagline of the film reads, “Our darkest times in black and white.”
Last month, Bheed actress Bhumi Pednekar took to Instagram to share a behind-the-scenes image of her along with Rajkummar and Sinha. She captioned it, “Presenting #Bheed, a social drama, shedding light on the dichotomy and complexities through the toughest times our country faced! Releasing in cinemas on 24th March, 2023”
Speaking about his choice to make the film in black-and-white, 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.”
Rajkummar will be playing the role of a police officer while Bhumi will essay the role of a doctor in the film, set for a March 24 release in theatres. Apart from the leads, the ensemble cast for the film also features Pankaj Kapur, Ashutosh Rana, Dia Mirza, Virendra Saxena, Aditya Shrivastava, Kritika Kamra and Karan Pandit. Bheed is produced by Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series and Singha’s Benaras Mediaworks.
