Bouma review: A tight slap to patriarchy in hilarious short film

Debatma Mandal’s short film Bouma cannot be termed as a dark comedy yet it gives a tight slap on the face of patriarchy through a humourous tale. More than witty dialogues, Rajatabha Dutta’s performance is delivered with apt timing and the scene divisions make the short film a thoroughly entertaining watch.

Though the film is set in 1960, its content has relevance in the present day too. Dutta plays a middle-aged middle class man, who has married a beautiful lady (Bidita Bag), quite younger to him. Right from the first scene, in which Dutta refuses to shift his watchful look from his wife while travelling in a bus, each and every following sequence gives testimony of his insecurity over having a beautiful wife.

Dutta with his lively facial expressions brings out his frustrations alive in every moment — when he tries to cover up his insecurities with his imposing conduct or tries to hide his wife from the onlookers' gaze.

The unexpected climax of the short film brings the narrative a full circle and it is hilarious as well. Paran Bandopadhyay’s character plays an important role in this part of the film and adds to the comic elements a great deal.

In the climax, the wife, who has been submissive throughout, dons an unprecedented avatar in front of her husband, knowing that the latter cannot act anymore, as an act of revenge, which is not grim, but ridiculous for sure. The absurd climax also saves the short film from turning into a predictable story and it also conveys a common message in the most surprising way.

Bandopadhyay’s eyes and caricatures add to the laughter invoked by Dutta’s dedicated performance. Bidita Bag is subtle and makes her contribution to saving the film from having a serious tone even for a single moment.

Mandal’s writing is crisp, which serves well for the light narrative. Deeptarko Bose and Rajkumar Sengupta’s background score lends a satirical tone to film.

Though Dutta claims his presence throughout the film, Bouma (Bidita Bag) takes the cake in the end and hence, the title of the short film seems thoroughly justified.

Bouma is not only worth watching for its hilarity, but also for the message it subtly conveys by pointing out the evils of toxic masculinity, with dollops of humour.

Bouma is available on video-on-demand platform VOOT.