Bodhon is a drama series directed by Aditi Roy and stars Sandipta Sen, Ditipriya Roy, Chandreyee Ghosh, Koushik Roy and Honey Bafna, alongside other cast members. The series has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 30 minutes.
Hoichoi describes the series as:
When college student Shinjini gets raped, her professor, Raka Sen, emerges as the only ray of hope at this bleak time in her life. In a society where women are seemingly always at fault, can Raka and Shinjini bring the perpetrators to justice?
– Bodhon Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
Hoichoi’s last release, Sampurna, focused on a topic that Bodhon also dabbles with. Rape is a horrendous crime, and the guilt and shock that people go through post such an incident is tremendous. The latest series talks about that and then some more, but unfortunately, it doesn’t really make a very different watching experience other than the shock of the crime itself.
Bodhon focuses on good-girl Shinjini’s life being turned upside down and social justice warrior Raka’s need to prove a point and get justice served against our victim-blaming society.
Raka, however, comes off as rather intrusive and tone-deaf in her quest for said justice. There’s a limit to wanting justice as the third party in a situation, regardless of how that affects you. Taking decisions on behalf of the victim and their family, regardless of what they feel, is wrong and takes away the victim’s power.
Either way, I can’t say that she has bad intentions behind what she is doing, so you can’t really blame her deeply. In spite of trying to make an impact with the storyline, it feels repetitive and stale. As I said, we just came out of another shockingly similar story a few weeks ago; it’s still fresh in our minds, and thus, this becomes stale.
I also feel like Bodhon paints the bad people as comically bad. I mean, don’t take me wrong, I believe people just bring out their worst sides when they hear the word rape, but the way those bad vibes are brought to light is sometimes hilariously silly. You don’t feel very scared or concerned, just really grimy and sometimes it’s all even unintentionally hilarious.
However, I do think the series does a good job at bringing about the problems and stigma that people face in the face of similar adversaries. It’s heartbreaking and infuriating, but at least there’s light at the end of the tunnel. More often than not, things don’t go as smoothly as they show in the show.
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One thing I must say, Bodhon is a rather hopeful show, even though it’s a difficult watch. It’s amazing to watch true camaraderie and support, and you feel some sort of way for Shinjini. Ditipriya Roy plays Shinjini with so much love and care that you feel for her struggles and are invested in how she stands up for herself.
The story flows well and fast, so you don’t have to sit with heartbreak for too long. However, it does feel a bit rushed at times, especially with how fast things go towards the end. Bodhon ends on an odd cliffhanger which just comes out of nowhere and leaves you scratching your head. I wonder if they expect to come out with a second season to keep things so badly unfinished this time. Plus, it also seems like the show introduced some moments for the sheer shock factor and some to pad the runtime – it’s truly confusing!
Whatever the thought process may be, however, the series feels unsatisfying thanks to its rushed and unfinished ending, which, surprisingly, is how Sampurna also ended (not quite as unfinished, but similar)!
Sandipta Sen and Chandreyee Ghosh are great. Ghosh comes in for 2/3 episodes, but she’s great. Sen, on the other hand, is rather annoying at first, but she’s a symbol of power and support in a situation such as this. The performances from everyone, actually, are great except for a few extras, who are hilariously bad.
Summing Up: Bodhon
Bodhon is a weirdly unfinished and rushed series that is a bit too similar to Sampurna is different ways. It doesn’t do anything new and repeats the same points that we have previously witnessed in other forms of media, just without a satisfying conclusion.
Bodhon is streaming on Hoichoi.
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