Bhavni Bhavai

A gujarati movie set in a fairy tale, told in a modern times. The movie, with a simply yet effective plot, tells much about the lives of the sudras or Harijans, the people essentially forced into forced labour and neglected from all walks of society. The movie aptfully ends with a question mark on "freedom" as attained by India. Are the people of India still "free"?

Bhavni Bhavai, Kanku and Kashino Dikro - are three best made films in Gujarati.Bhavni Bhavai literally means ' Play of Lifespan ', Life span is described as plot of play (Reminds of Shakespearean phrase "all the world is astage" .Bhavai is a traditional folk play played mostly by Taragalas- a cast which specialises in profession of acting. It is street play which depicts various facets of social life.

Misintrepretion of cast system by vested interest have resulted in belief that some castes are superior to others. The people of superior cast oppress and humiliate lower cast, but the irony is a superior cast man will sleep with lady of lower cast at will but will not drink water touched by her !!! The story is told in lyrical form ( an important attribute of Bhavai play ).Though writing credits are given to Ketan Mehta the director the plot borrows heavily almost word by word from play written by Dhiruben Patel.

Ketan Mehta's BHAVANI BHAVAI (THE PLAY OF LIFE, 1980) made me wonder why Mehta doesn't try comedy more often. The comedy may be only in the playing of Naseruddin Shah, as an arrogant, stupid king, but he's entertaining indeed. This is one of Smita Patil's more thankless roles, partly because the musical play that she and the king's long-lost son perform in front of the king should have been done in long-shots, to enhance their dance and their costumes. When this film was new, it was noted for its Rajasthani costumes, designed by Mehta's wife, but in this print, blown up from 16mm to 35mm and then transferred to Blu Ray, everything is so faded that that aspect of the film is almost lost. The National Film Archives of India should have the funds, courtesy and desire to go back to the original material for its current releases, rather than just produces cheap, diminishing copies of its own copies, but it does not. As seen at the Pune film festival.