Yeh Hai Bakrapur

Yeh Hai Bakrapur is a social satire set against the backdrop of rural India.A multi-layered film, it is based on the complex belief systems that prevail in Indian society and the conflicts that ensue thereon. Yeh Hai Bakrapur was screened at the 37th Göteborg International Film Festival. Yeh hai Bakrapur was part of The Film Bazaar[6] in the year 2012 as work in progress and it was also premiered at the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image, 2013 Festival.

Weaving a plot in and around the anointment of a goat in a sleepy bigoted Muslim-dominated hamlet, Janaki's film creates a world that seems frozen in a state of incredulous backwardness and poverty. And yet Yeh Hai Bakrapur is not a sad film.

The stagnancy of the milieu interrupted by a silly excitement over a spiritually blessed goat, is staggering in its nullity. Celluloid portraits of rural poverty are generally grim and tragic. This one goes the other way. The world of Yeh Hai Bakrapur is flush with fun, not necessarily intentional.

The characters seem to exist on two levels, both as prototypes and individuals typifying the peculiarities of a community grappling with inner prejudices, and trying to balance out personal equations within the context of hugely eccentric circumstance that overtakes the soporific village.

The film's story revolves around the family of the Qureshis and their pet animal goat. Circumstances result in the goat acquiring rock star status in his village and beyond. Soon enough, people are fighting for a piece of the live goat,named shaik asif. A rollicking climax ensues that provides the perfect finale to the mayhem that preceded it.

Naming a goat Shah Rukh might be a good stunt to draw attention, unfortunately Janaki Vishwanathan's film Yeh Hai Bakrapur fails to rise above this gimmick. A social and political satire the film revolves around Zulfie and his pet goat Shah Rukh whose name draws it unwanted attention. Using the animal as a token to talk about religion, corruption and other topics the film's script is all over the place showing sparks of brilliance only in a few places.

Abinanadan Ramanujam's cinematography is spot on in capturing and creating the right feel for the story. The cast gives an average performance with Anshuman Jha and Suruchi Aulakh being the stand out performers. Fortunately Vishwanathan manages to keep a uniformity in the whole storyline. There is no attempt to inject doses of glamour or make the plot look more appealing with item songs or other gimmicks.

What works for Bakrapur is also the reason for its downfall. The idea of using Shah Rukh's name to create interest fades away in the first half and so do the jokes written around it. Also the writing is poor and mostly centered around the goat leaving no scope for the peripheral characters to develop. The pace is extremely slow and instead of using humor to propel the storyline forward it becomes a futile exercise in making the film more interesting.