Bhakshak, produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and which has been released on Netflix, is inspired by a shocking true incident. The plot and some of the scenes remind one of the Oscar-winning film Spotlight. But the risk faced by the journalists in Bhakshak is far more and that adds to the tension. Director Pulkit adopts a no-nonsense approach and the focus is firmly on the story. He thankfully doesn’t try to titillate the viewers and understands the sensitivity. The film, however, is lengthy and some of the developments are not convincing and also not needed. Bhumi Pednekar delivers a terrific performance and it’s easily one of her best. Sanjay Mishra is terrific and he reminds yet again with this performance that he’s one of the finest actors we have. Aditya Srivastava and Durgesh Kumar are terrific, to say the least. Sai Tamhankar is too good and one wishes she had a longer role. Gulista Alija (Baby Rani) and Tanisha Mehta (Sudha) are actors to watch out for. Others like Chittaranjan Tripathy (Mithilesh), Vibha Chibber (Rajni Singh), Pravin Kumar Sisodia (Brijmohan Singh), Shakti Sinha (Pappu Thekedar), Danish Iqbal (Suresh Sinha; Vaishali’s brother-in-law) and Pubali Sanyal (Mamta; Suresh Singh’s wife) do well. All in all, Bhakshak is worth watching for its performances and plot.
My rating – *** ½ out of 5!