As this film opens the eponymous Bulbbul, who is about five years old, learns that she is to be married. As the is taken away she believes her husband is to be Satya, who is a similar age, but when she arrives at her new home she learns he will merely be her brother in law. Indranil, his adult brother, is to be her husband. Growing up Bulbbul and Satya are friends; together they tell scary stories of a demon-woman known as a chudail. Indranil's twin brother Mahendra, who has mental difficulties takes a disturbing interest in Bulbbul.

Twenty years pass and Satya returns to the family home after years studying in London. Indranil has left and Mahendra is dead; the victim of a chudail if the superstitious locals are to be believed. Bulbbul is now running the estate. There are further deaths of local men and Satya, convinced there is a more earthly explanation sets about investigating. Through a series of flashbacks we learn what happened between Bulbbul's childhood and Satya's return.

I thought this was a really solid film. The story is interesting, although those hoping for a scary horror movie may be disappointed. It is more of a drama with supernatural elements and a revenge theme. The sets and costumes are sumptuous and the film has a stylish look. The cast is solid; particularly Tripti Dimri, who plays Bulbbul; Avinash Tiwary as Satya; Parambrata Chattopadhyay as Dr Sudip and Paoli Dam as Binodini, Mahendra's widow. Rahul Bose, who mainly appears in the flashback scenes also impresses in the dual roles of Indranil and Binodini. I enjoyed how the story incorporated elements of Indian folklore, particularly the idea of the chudail; not being from that part of the world this felt fresh to me. The classic horror elements aren't too scary but there are some distinctly unpleasant scenes that are disturbing, although not gratuitous. Overall I'd certainly recommend this.

These comments are based on watching the film in Hindi with English subtitles.

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.

Bulbbul (given name) is cinema where technical brilliance, thanks to its rich and grand beautiful production setup, beautiful photography, and bold colour scheme, outsmarts all other elements including the plot. Or at least that's what you feel when you start watching this supernatural drama (horror is a misnomer here in the literal sense but very appropriate if you think about it after watching it) about a girl who is child-married off at a young age to a man, who is old enough to be her father but is in reality of royal blood. Twenty years since this marriage, things take a ghastly turn for the girl, who is now the lady of the manor, and for her husband (Rahul Bose),her brothers-in-law, and her sole sister-in-law (Paoli Dam). Bulbbul takes time to tell its story and it is evident that patience of the viewer is in test here. But in that slow-burning rests the cinematic brilliance of Anvita Dutt and her crew who carve out a narration that is slow-paced yet attractive, lethargic yet mythical, and overall enigmatic. The sequences are nicely stitched together and it's actually fun to spot those finer elements between sequences that throw hints at you, making you guess what might be what. And in all this splendour shines Tripti Dimri in her effortless performance as the titular woman, helpless yet powerful. She holds the film together along with good support from Bose and Dam who have equally important roles in suggesting that "some men are insane but..." There's cliche hidden somewhere in the proceedings, but I would request you to ignore them for the superior elements that make up this clear shift from pedestrian thrillers in Bollywood. It is not a scary movie as you might expect but it will surprise you if you let it. That one scene involving Bose's character on a mirror is enough to make you sing praises for this magical ride that goes from 10 to 100 quickly.

Bulbbul is about a woman, and it manages to chase subtexts of social menace grappling women of the modern world even through its late nineteenth-century setting. If you stick with it till the end, goosebumps are guaranteed. It is when you realise who the real evil is and if the demon woman is someone to be hated that you will begin to see Bulbbul for what it is. TN.

(Watched on Netflix.)