There is one scene in the film where the protagonist is hooked on to Tom & Jerry cartoons ignoring the seriousness of the matter, the captivating closed door mystery thriller Bhram brilliantly uses this metaphor to drive the core of the subject.
Among the main characters in the film, Maya (Sonali Lele Desai) is a Dementia patient, so she forgets everything and does not remember. Nishma Soni plays the role of her daughter Shraddha. Mitra Gadhvi plays the role of Mehul as Maya’s caretaker. Maya witnesses the murder of her daughter Shraddha and the case of this entire murder mystery falls into the hands of Investigating Police officer Rakesh Parmar (Abhinay Banker). This results in twists and turns Maya’s life as there are moments where even she is the prime suspect for the murder.
Quite well edited and paced, the film keeps you on the edge of your seat till the end which unveils the suspense.
The IO Rajash Parmar portrayed by Abhinay Banker just stands out among the superlative performances of the entire cast. Sonali Lele Desai who plays the pivotal character displays a fine ability of conveying the happiness, confusion, dejection, childishness (when she is watching the Tom & Jerry cartoons), motherly love towards her daughter and of course the moments of fear which is the most impressive emotion she has conveyed so realistically.
Mitra Gadhvi gets into the caretaker’s character to the hilt. Nishma Soni as Maya’s daughter is an adorable kid. But it is the simplistic portrayal by DOP Shreekumar Nair that is noteworthy. It reminds you of the classic touch of Alfred Hitchkocks’s films. And then the editing by the duo Bhagyashri Thakkur & Vrutant Jagtap is upto the mark. There are some issues left unresolved by the writer-director Pallav Parikh which could have been deliberately left for taxing the intellect of viewers.
This engrossing thriller comes up with one point for sure, that now the filmmakers in Gujarati film industry are definitely thinking out of the box stories. And Bhram seems to be the trailblazer.
A big welcome from the new age Gujarati filmy buffs.
Cast of Bhram:
Mitra Gadhvi- Mehul (caretaker of Maya)
Sonali Lele Desai- Maya (a 42 years old Dementia patient)
Abhinay Banker- Investing Police Inspector Rakesh Parmar
Nishma Soni- Shradhha (Maya’s daughter)
Credits and crew of Bhram-
Production House – Cityshor Ahmedabad
Co-producer- Hard Raval
Written by – Pallav Parikh
Director- Pallav Parikh
Cinemotographer- Sreekumar Nair
Film editor- Bhagyashri Thakkur & Vrutant Jagtap
BGM score- Darshan Shah
Music (songs by)- Darshan Shah
Lyrics by- Tirth Thakkar Music & Munaf Luhar