Bhakshak, meaning predator in Hindi, is a crime thriller directed by Pulkit. It takes inspiration from true events which took place at Muzaffarpur’s Shelter Home. Starring Bhumi Pednekar in the lead role, the movie showcases the brutality the girls faced due to the people in power. The storyline is crisp and predictable but sends across a strong message. Check out this review of Bhakshak to find out if it’s worth spending 135 minutes on.

A local journalist trying to uncover a heinous truth

Bhumi Pednekar plays the role of a small, local journalist, Vaishali Singh. She lives with her husband and family, who constantly tell her to leave her job and plan for a kid. But Vaishali is determined to focus on her career. Unfortunately, despite years of working, she is doing news pieces that would barely sell along with her colleague Bhaskar (Sanjay Mishra). That is until an informant hands her the audit report that shows discrepancies in a girls’ shelter home in Munawarpur. It indicates torture and sexual abuse of the girls living in the shelter home. And even after two months of it becoming public, no action has been taken against it.

Soon, Vaishali decides to stop doing pointless pieces and fights to shed light on what the young girls are going through. But this doesn’t come without its struggles. Vaishali and her family are intimidated by the owner of the shelter house, a very influential MLA, Bansi Sahu (Aditya Srivastava). They are threatened to back off, or else Vaishali will be found dead on a railway track, and no one will know of her whereabouts. But Vaishali is firm and uses her wit, determination, and power as a journalist to bring the culprits to court and get justice for the girls.

A social cause that doesn’t go wasted

Bhakshak isn’t the first movie that showcases the trafficking of women, powerful men doing nasty deeds, and the government staying mum out of fear. But Bhumi adds a punch to her role and tries to send a clear message across the screen. And Sanjay Mishra, as her trusty colleague, does a fantastic job of standing by her through every ordeal and never backing down even once. Along with him, Aditya Srivastava, as the disgusting and powerful MLA, makes your skin crawl with every look.

To conclude, Bhakshak is not the perfect tale, but it is a tale of substance and makes for a good watch over the weekend. That’s all for the review of Bhakshak. It is streaming on Netflix.

Can you watch it with your family?: Bhakshak has disturbing scenes, foul language, and physical abuse and isn’t the best movie to watch with your family.

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