Bulbbul (2020) User Reviews

Predictable story but Great in all other aspects!!

[namannavineet · 7/10 · 24 June 2020]

7.5/10 Bulbbul is a unique story circling around a girl who's married to an older man and goes to a Haveli. 20 years later, she's a respected Thakurayan but what follows after is a well written but predictable mystery. The movie is great in all aspects. I loved the performances of all the actors. But I think the character of bulbbul could have been developed better and there'd have been twists in the tale.

Nevertheless a great watch!!!

Watch it for Tripti Dimri's brilliance and beautiful act!

[sn-shinde2006 · 8/10 · 24 June 2020]

Though, it becomes predictable at instances, it is a enjoyable watch. Especially, for Tripti Dimri's brilliant act!

Hard Hitting Plot highlighted in a Folklore

[pritambag · 8/10 · 25 June 2020]

A hard hitting social issue highlighted with the help of a folklore that too set in the early years of Bengal. One thing I must appreciate is Anushka Sharma's initiative as a producer to help in the making of such a content. Secondly, the narrative itself is much much realistic and matured. But it more over belongs to a revenge drama genre than a horror film. The writing of the film is remarkably done. Each and every character have their own shades to show and own ideology to follow. The performances were gold be it Rahul Bose in dual character, or Paoli Dam as a catalyst in every situation. But the showsteller was Tripti Dimri. Yes, there some issues with the screenplay and background score. But overall the film deals with some realistic approach of feminism. I personally loved the idea and will highly highly recommend it. Its a must watch.

My kinda Horror!

[premmgor · 7/10 · 25 June 2020]

Bulbbul is a multilayered Story with not so linear but powerful storyline. Cinematography, CGI, and color palette (mostly Red) are spectacular. Performances are at Best; Tripti Dimri is Impactful and Gorgeous as always. And her chemistry with amazing Avinash Tiwari is the Highlight of the film. There are no Unexpected Jump scares or loud BGM but story tackles with issues like Child marriage, Gender Inequality, Sexual Assaults, Domestic Violence which make the tale itself scaring. it's my kinda horror. Highly recommended! ❤

Tripti Dimri and her smile..

[babaisudipta · 7/10 · 24 June 2020]

First the cinematography is mind blowing. The location, color, costume, great set design creates a great visual experience.

The ensemble cast really did a great job. Rahul Bose and Avinash Tiwari they are brilliant. And most importantly Tripti Dimri and Paoli Dam... leaves great impression on the audience. Specially Tripti Dimri, after her Laila Majnu, she did a spectacular job. Her smile thats what explain a chudail(don't compare it with the storyline).

As the trailer shows it as a horror movie, but the movie is something like mystery crime, but its predictable, main drawback of the movie. Hope someone haven't watched the trailer before watching the movie. The story is dark, the secret of somewhat a society and its not everyone's cup of tea.

But still the story is fresh and it will engage the audience for 1hour and 34mins. Great effort by everyone related.👍

Horrific story but not your usual horror movie!

[sharonmahapure · 9/10 · 24 June 2020]

Loved the movie. Phoenomenal job by the whole cast especially the lead actress Tripti Dimra playing Bulbul. The story suits the modern era as instead of showing jump scares n gory faces, it actually shows the anguished soul and the pain behind it. It also sheds light on Child marriage, Gender inequality, Patriarchal society & dirty secrets in rich families. Watch it if you're interested in a good story, great acting, and perfect visuals. But if you just wanna see a typical horror movie, this is not the one for you. I'm taking 1 star off coz I was kinda disappointed by the ending. Other than that it's a well made movie.

Special mention to Rahul Bose, Paoli Dam, Parambratha, Avinash Tiwary for the fantastic & a very realistic portrayal of their respective characters. Kudos to writer for writing this brilliant story and last but not least congratulations to Anushka Sharma for bringing another gem under her production.

All in all it's a great one time watch movie.

Impactful aesthetics & Perfomace with weak climax

[khayaldave · 7/10 · 24 June 2020]

Bulbul.2019. Anvita Dutt.

Set in a pre independent Bengal, Bulbbul narrates a story of a child bride & her emotional & physical abuse at various stages of her life. Just like the production house's earlier films Phillauri & Pari Bulbbul also majorly focuses on female oppression, trauma & various stigma attached to their behaviours. The cinematographer has used heavily saturated tones of Red in almost every frame to justify violence, anger & seduction. Most frames & its aesthetics resembles majorly by Indian mythological folklores & celebrated paintings by Raja Ravi Verma. Even though the entire film looks opulent & magnanimous with fairly decent performances from its major lead, it lacks in giving importance to its subplots, character journey and entire intelligent messaging.

Good movie, cud hav been better with a black n white cinematography or with the avoidance of the over indulgence of colors.

[Fella_shibby · 8/10 · 27 June 2020]

Set during the colonial regime, men from a village who has history of female abuse turns up dead. An aristocratic man returns from London to the same village. One of his elder bro was also found dead like the rest of the men, his another elder bro moved outta the family's ancestral mansion. People claim that the murders r done by a witch as inverted footprints r found near the crime scenes.

I liked the film as it has the same vibe of The Hound of the Baskervilles. It has a creepy forest filled with year round fog, a chariot, old ruins, big mansion, swamps, etc. The climax is predictable but the story is thought provoking n very relevant. This ain't ur typical Bollywood film with the songs n unnecessary subplots. The drawback is the red color n lack of suspicious characters. Since it is a period film n a gothic horror story based on a folklore legend, the over indulgence of too much color ruined the feel of the movie. Everything is colorful from the peacock feathers to the paan leaf. They shud have aimed at the black n white cinematography for the atmosphere n tone.







One q. Where exactly did the elder bro moved out n why the hell did he come back later n why sleep alone in that mansion.

Unique, surprisingly awesome

[gauravsharmam · 7/10 · 25 June 2020]

Nearly 18 years ago Guillermo del Toro introduced us to a whole new genre with his movie (Pan's Labyrinth) , a fairytale not for kids and now we got it here , it's way too ahead of that level but it's better than many typical Bollywood horror movies.

A whole different storyline with mythological elements, outstanding performances and a cinematography which is out of the reach of Bollywood movies (gorgeous) .

If you're looking for some jumpscares and horrifying sound effects- comes suddenly and loud, you will miss them ,if u count horror as a horrifying storyline and full of dark secrets then it's a treasure for you.

Great movie , Tripti Dimri 👌🤘

An average mediocre storyline. No horror! Nothing unique. Can be skipped!

[ektasharma · 3/10 · 24 June 2020]

The story is predictable and very average. We have seen similar story in bits and pieces so it has nothing unique to offer. It slightly highlights the women power concept but due to lack of strong story, everything went in vain. Overall its an average drama movie with a bit of supernatural power touch but not at all Horror/Thriller (plus those shots in red light irritates you).

This 3 star rating is purely for decent acting by Tripti Dimri. Paoli Dam, Rahul Bose & Parambrata chatterjee performed well too. Avinash Tiwary didn't act convincing enough.

Its ok to watch once. But even if you miss it, there isn't anything great you're missing out.

Engaging and Layered Story!

[SaanyaChopraDua · 8/10 · 24 June 2020]

This movie is thoroughly engaging from the start. From the get go I was connected to Bulbbul and her story.

Many stories have been told about the turmoil of women but what works in this movie is the layered storyline as well as the characterization of all the characters in the story.

The story is told in a non-linear timeline which is another reason why it works. Had it been a story told in a linear fashion from start to finish, it wouldn't have been as engaging. I love how the different sequences were all jumbled up to convey the message beautifully.

If I could ask a question to the Director, Producer or Writer of the story I'd love to know if the story was written the same way or did they decide to jumble it up to make it more engaging.

The cinematography is spectacular. There was a creepy and disturbing undertone to the film from the start. The reason why they use the red tones throughout the film becomes clear in the end when Satya's character tells his brother that the Blood ties them all together. That was a stroke of genius right there.

Honestly I love writing horror genre the most, as a screenwriter I feel that it's one of the best genres and unfortunately the most abused one too. There are very few horror stories truly this engaging and Bulbull ticks the boxes of horror, mystery and psychological thriller elements.

Entertaining, Worth watching.

[sophimatar-81901 · 7/10 · 26 October 2021]

The plot was revealed from the start, but that didn't spoil the movie.

The lead actress did a great job, A fact that will change your view of Indian films.

Bad!

[hsn345-657-904334 · 2/10 · 30 June 2020]

It had all the promises. Just could not deliver. Such a great cast fully wasted. Bad making, very bad and predictable story, weak dialogues, altogether a very average experience from the movie. Disappointing!

A great visual tale that demolish patriarchy, should've been backed by a tighter script.

[theyuvrajtyagi · 7/10 · 24 June 2020]

I can see people trashing this movie on various aspects but I loved this and it's not at all a bad movie and I loved maybe because I love the asynchronous screenplays and slow paced dramas. People were expecting some horror and this movie delivered something beyond their expectations. But there is a lot in the movie to admire. In few scene the reddish tone that was used for portraying revenge and blood was overdone and could've been avoided. There was not any other visual flaw there. The background music was good in pieces.

Everything was revealed and explained in the climax but this is not a unique story neither the revelation is unexpected. But the way screenplay unfolded was quite good. Most of people must have guessed it already halfway through the movie. The debutant director, Anvita Dutt failed to deliver the best horror movie of the year, which this movie had potential of, only if it would've designed and presented properly. But a one time watch won't harm your IQ either.

Bulbbul: A story about Revenge

[soumyalal2 · 7/10 · 24 June 2020]

Commendable acting by Tripti Dimri & Rahul Bose. Story is bit slow but holds on afterwards. Background music is mindblowing. If you pay attention you can predict but this movie wont disappoint you. Kudos to directors and producers for trying something new. I would love to see these kind of movies.

Intruiging, compact, powerful

[t_badruddin · 9/10 · 25 June 2020]

When I read comments about feminist take, I can't help but smile. Though across time we have worshiped the feminin in form of nature, wealth, knowledge, universal energy and bloodladen anger, yet what we have grown to adopt is oppressive and egotistical masculinity. That's the unfortunate contradiction of our present state. It is very good to see the prowess with which this movie blends in folklore, period and horror genres to bring forward the message. And the delivery is further enhanced by intriguing cinematography and powerful performances. I particularly liked the part towards the climax when the doctor corrects the other saying she is 'Devi', the moment powerfully captures that the journey towards realization of Devi starts with respect.

Predictable

[daman-95513 · 6/10 · 24 June 2020]

6 stars for acting, visuals and background music. Predictable from the beginning, no horror.

A movie meant for thinkers

[sumitkar-03417 · 10/10 · 24 June 2020]

This movie is what Netflix needed and infact what Our movie industry needed. Its intense, gripping and has a sense of purpose. The actors portray their roles exceedingly well. Mainstream movie industry in Bombay should take a cue from this.

All the 6 stars for acting and Cinematography

[bhalla-sumant · 6/10 · 24 June 2020]

The movie is very predictable but the cast does justice to the story telling and beautiful cinematography. The ending is very just to the whole story line, if at all there were some better surprises but then this is not a typical horror flick. It has a message of recovery from pain and non-justice. The movie is more of a revenge story inspired by mythical reincarnation. The lead actress does pretty good job at acting. Wish if could have given more stars but for the predictability that makes movie watching less interesting 6 stars seem apt.

Boring!!!! WHY NETFLIX INDIA WHY?!!!!!!

[vigneshsmailid · 2/10 · 26 June 2020]

I am a Netflix binge watcher and have been a subscriber for years. I was thrilled when Netflix India started making local content. But now after so many pathetic shows and movies I have come to hate the content made in India. Bulbbul is a bore...Could not sit through it. Good visuals don't mean good storytelling. You have to keep your audience engaged. This was predictable and amateurish. C'mon Netflix India..Wake up!

An awesome thriller

[agnomen-agnomen · 8/10 · 24 June 2020]

I really don't understand why some people have rated it so bad, amazing performance by almost the entire cast, for a change it was nice to see Paoli been overshadowed, matching visuals and tempo keeps you latched on to your screen

It's a fairytale movie

[dy38493 · 6/10 · 24 June 2020]

Good movie to watch for especially the tripti dimri best performance and brilliant acting all to say about this movie is it is a fairytale good story.

Hodgepodge

[Anik99 · 4/10 · 26 June 2020]

Bulbbul tried to showcase some spiteful traditions and truth of the Indian high societies of villages from few hundred years back in a unique way, but failed to do so. The trailer was misleading, as it delivered mainly the feeling of horror movies, but the movie itself was nothing more than a drama with predictable story. One can easily predict the story after a few minutes into the film. Also, the introduction of a twin was unnecessary as it lead to nothing. Moreover, the color was too much red. I understand it went with the theme, but it felt disturbing sometime. The story was slow, the big reveal was totally messed up. But again, nice try.

Haunting in the dark night

[ridi-arahan · 7/10 · 24 June 2020]

What worked:

• background score steals the show. The set design and cinematography adds much needed flavor to the movie.

What did not work: -screenplay; the movie fails to maintain the momentum, and loses its track somewhere down the line. The movie eventually lacks the thriller and horror, making it a decent crime movie, nothing more than that. I would have expected more from the production. Final verdict: you can skip it mostly

Great Experience

[IPyaarCinema · 7/10 · 21 August 2020]

Review By Kamal K

There is a lot to appreciate in Bulbbul. Hindi cinema has rarely made a decent horror flick and there are very few films in this genre that are of some quality. Bulbbul is one such film. It's an experimental dark fable immersed in realism and surrealism. And it's this aspect that makes it such a unique film. It's not perfect, not at all. The film is actually quite predictable from the get-go. And the writing could have been better at places, so that some characters could be developed better. But apart from those issues with this film, I found it to be really good. It's an easy watch for most of it's runtime as it's only 95 minutes long which makes it largely an engaging watch but also because it's light in tone for the 1st half until all of a sudden everything changes and tone becomes much darker and much sinister and it's at this point that the film becomes much more layered and deeply powerful and impactful. I wouldn't delve much into it as it would spoil the experience but it ventured into quite darker territories. Initially, it was disturbing to watch but later on I could feel the pain Bulbbul went through and the narrative felt justified.

This would not feel as much effective if not for the incredible acting by the cast especially Tripti Dimri as Bulbbul. The transformation in her performance from a naive and innocent girl to a matured and mysterious woman was a treat. Her eyes speak volumes, there is a sadness and depth in her eyes which you feel once you know her pain and suffering and how this was 'normal'. She's a revelation and I would love to see more of her in films. Without her beautiful and haunting performance, this wouldn't have been so effective. The rest of the cast is also used very well. I particularly liked Rahul Bose more than the rest. Some of the other actors had a very small role and wished they had much more developed arcs but they did good in that limited time. My favorite scene is a conversation involving Bulbbul and Satya towards the end of the film which, for me, is another turning point in the film where Bulbbul's feelings towards Satya changes, shown very subtly but it's quite heart-breaking.

The music is a bit underwhelming but quite good and suits the eeriness of the film. The production design is beautifully done. The period setting is pitch perfect. The greatest achievement, however, is the cinematography by Siddharth Diwan. It's extraordinary. He has done an excellent job in transporting the audience into the late 1800s as well as communcating the fantastical fairy tale aspect of the film. It's at times gorgeous to look at, at times unsettling and sometimes both. The crimson filled moonlit nights after a point, felt right. I'll go as far as to say that it's some of the best cinematography I have seen in Hindi cinema. The direction was also very good. This is Anvita Dutt's debut and she has done a great job in pulling this off. It's really a very moody atmospheric kind of a film without any reliance on jump scares. A solid tale of revenge/justice in the disguise of a gothic horror with a strong message. Worth a watch.