Bhonsle is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Devashish Makhija and co-produced by Piiyush Singh, The film stars Manoj Bajpayee in the title role: a retired Mumbai police officer who befriends a North Indian girl and her brother who are targeted among other migrants by local politicians. Its first look was launched at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
The film premiered in the ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ section of the 2018 Busan International Film Festival and was also screened in the non-competitive India Story section at the MAMI Film Festival, the 2018 Dharamshala International Film Festival, the 2019 International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Bengaluru International Film Festival and the Singapore South Asian film festival. It won the Best Screenplay and Best Director Award at the Asian Film Festival Barcelona. It was released on SonyLIV on 26 June 2020.
Constable Bhonsle retires from the Mumbai Police to live in a dilapidated chawl (a small apartment block for factory workers). He occasionally meets with his former superior about extending his service. An idol is shown being prepared for the ten-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
Homeless taxi driver Vilas is a foot soldier for a local political party which upholds local cultural identity, and blames migrants from North India for taking local jobs. He frequently gets into conflicts with Rajendra, who wants to lead the migrants. Vilas networks and unites influential locals to assert their identity. Bhonsle is respected in the community, but refuses to join Vilas.
Sita and her teenaged brother Lalu move next door to Bhonsle. Lalu refuses to join Rajendra’s gang, but one night is tricked into vandalizing the billboard of Vilas’s political party. The next day Vilas is irate and Lalu is frightened. After confessing to Sita, they inform Bhonsle who warns them that he will tell the police if it happens again.
A few days later, there is a grand procession for Ganesh Chaturthi which involves everyone from the chawl. Bhonsle collapses in his room from fading health. Lalu gathers their neighbours to take him to the hospital where Sita works, and she nurses him to health. She also takes care of the paperwork at his discharge, and he is given a discount on the assumption of being her family member. Bhonsle forms a bond with the siblings and helps Lalu secretly repaint the billboard. Sita receives Bhonsle’s medical tests and informs him that he has a terminal brain tumor. Having acquired supplies to fix the billboard, Vilas takes credit when he finds it repainted in the morning. Bhonsle exposes his lie, and Vilas is humiliated that Bhonsle took the migrants side instead of his own.
Bhonsle is heartbroken when he is informed that his service extension with the police is contingent on a medical check-up. As Sita returns from her night shift, Vilas kidnaps her and then rapes her. Bhonsle finds Sita badly injured, and confronts Vilas, finding bloodstains in his taxi. The two fight and are both fatally injured, while on the last day of Ganesh Chaturthi the idol is sunk into the ocean.
Directed by Devashish Makhija
Written by Devashish Makhija, Mirat Trivedi & Sharanya Rajgopal
Produced by Shabana Raza Bajpayee, Piiyush Singh, Abhayanand Singh, Saurabh Gupta & Sandiip Kapoor
Starring Manoj Bajpayee, Santosh Juvekar
Cinematography Jigmet Wangchuk
Edited by Shweta Venkat Mathew
Music by Mangesh Dhakde
Production Muvizz & Manoj Bajpayee Productions
Distributed by SonyLIV
Release dates 5 October 2018 (Busan) 26 June 2020 (India)
Running time 128 minutes
Country India
Language Tamil
