Bheed: Hansal Mehta reviews Rajkummar Rao, Anubhav Sinha film; calls it 'an important document of our times'

Directed by Anubhav Sinha of Mulk, Article 15, and Thappad fame, Bheed is set during the Covid-19-induced lockdown in the nation in 2020 and shows how its mismanagement affected the ordinary people, especially the poor migrant workers who had to walk a million miles to go back to their villages for their survival.

A day ahead of the film's theatrical release on March 24, the National Award-winning filmmaker Hansal Mehta shared his review of Bheed on his Twitter account. He called the film 'an important document of our times' and heaped praises on Rajkummar Rao's 'superlative' performance.

"#Bheed in theatres tomorrow. This film besides being an important document of our times is dramatic and engaging with perhaps one of the best ensembles since Maqbool. @RajkummarRao is superlative in his portrayal of a conflicted ‘in-charge’. @anubhavsinha is on top of his game. Pankajji, Virubhai, Ashutosh Rana, Aditya Shrivastava, Bhumi and the entire cast put together by @CastingChhabra is terrific. Particularly heartbreaking is Aditi Subedi. Don’t miss #Bheed", the director tweeted.

Pankajji, Virubhai, Ashutosh Rana, Aditya Shrivastava, Bhumi and the entire cast put together by @CastingChhabra is terrific. Particularly heartbreaking is Aditi Subedi. Don’t miss #Bheed.

— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) March 23, 2023

Apart from Rajkummar Rao, the Anubhav Sinha directorial features a bunch of talented actors forming a powerful ensemble consisting of Dia Mirza, Bhumi Pednekar, Pankaj Kapur, Virendra Saxena, Ashutosh Rana, Aditya Srivastava, Kritiki Kamra, and Aditi Subedi among others in pivotal roles. 

Hansal compared the film's ensemble with Vishal Bhardwaj-directed crime drama Maqbool. The 2004 crime drama, which was the official adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, features Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Pankaj Kapur, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Piyush Mishra, Shammi Narang, Murali Sharma, and Deepak Dobriyal among others.

Bheed has been in multiple controversies since its trailer dropped on YouTube as people called it an 'anti-India' film for showing India in poor light. Later, the trailer was uploaded back but PM Modi's speech announcing the lockdown was removed from it. T-Series also backed out from the film and it is now solely produced by Anubhav Sinha under his banner Benaras Mediaworks Production.

READ | Anubhav Sinha reveals why he removed PM Modi's voiceover in Bheed trailer, reacts to being called 'anti-national'