Watch Kids' Reviews of
BISHWA

What to know: Wonderful cinematography, beautiful story.
BISHWA is in the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival - it may not be a regular, endorsed title
Recommended age 12-17
116 minutes
FeatureFilm
NILAMADHAB PANDA
Listen to reviews on our radio show Listen to KIDS FIRST! Radio Coming Attractions on VoiceAmerica
BISHWA cover image
Quarantine has made me a sucker for sunrises and sunsets, so I loved the cinematography of the mountains and the village of Chilika in Bishwa. They are stunning.

Surrounded by ghosts and superstitions in his home village, an inquisitive blind youth, Bishwa, tries to understand what the people around him fear about this so-called ghost. His stubborn, yet fierce love for his family proves to cause trouble and solve problems along the way.

While every part of the film adds value to the story, it sometimes drags, making the film slow to watch at times. There are some uncomfortably long or redundant scenes. Also, the ending does not entirely make sense to me and doesn't wrap the story up completely. The nature shots are beautiful and the film nears IMAX quality. However in one scene, when showing a video within the film, the video plays over a shaky shot that shows that the screen is not actually playing anything. I love the authenticity of the sets and locations as India's villages and cities really do look the way they are portrayed it in the film. There were some adorable Hindi songs included that give a good Bollywood music video feel to the film. But there are two English songs in the film that feel out of place, especially since the entire film is spoken in Hindi. Also there are a few moments when the dialogue changes in quality or doesn't match the actors' mouths when they speak. Siblings Bishwa, Shyam and Hira are played by child actors Yagya Bhasin,, Mann Gandhi and Mahi Soni respectively. The three have a strong bond and work together to solve the issue of the village ghost. No matter how much Bishwa gets himself into trouble, his siblings always have his back. Hira is just as outspoken as her brother and may be even more feisty than he. Shyam is the calmer elder brother.

The message is that loving families, no matter how much they fight, are boomerangs. Family members will get mad at each other, sometimes because they want to protect one other. But, they will forgive because their love is stronger than their pride. Differing beliefs can be so strong that they rip apart family members, but even if a family is broken apart, they will always come back together in the end. Note: there is some smoking shown in the film.

There is a commentary about faith and how, sometimes, people give blind faith to corrupt religious individuals. They will believe anything about things they don't understand, just to have something to hold onto. And, the people that are telling them what to believe in, line their pocketbooks from those that believe in them. It makes us question what institutions we put our belief in and how they are actually affecting our lives.

My favorite part is when Bishwa runs the race and the other contestants purposefully go slowly. Bishwa starts to run outside of his lane without realizing it and others follow him. The men holding the finish line move with Bishwa to ensure that he finishes first and wins the race.

Yagya Bhasin who plays Bishwa and Mahi Soni who plays Hira definitely have star power. They both played their strong willed characters powerfully.

I give this film 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 17. Reviewed by Anokhi L., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

Quarantine has made me a sucker for sunrises and sunsets, so I loved the cinematography of the mountains and the village of Chilika in Bishwa. They are stunning.

Surrounded by ghosts and superstitions in his home village, an inquisitive blind youth, Bishwa, tries to understand what the people around him fear about this so-called ghost. His stubborn, yet fierce love for his family proves to cause trouble and solve problems along the way.

While every part of the film adds value to the story, it sometimes drags, making the film slow to watch at times. There are some uncomfortably long or redundant scenes. Also, the ending does not entirely make sense to me and doesn't wrap the story up completely. The nature shots are beautiful and the film nears IMAX quality. However in one scene, when showing a video within the film, the video plays over a shaky shot that shows that the screen is not actually playing anything. I love the authenticity of the sets and locations as India's villages and cities really do look the way they are portrayed it in the film. There were some adorable Hindi songs included that give a good Bollywood music video feel to the film. But there are two English songs in the film that feel out of place, especially since the entire film is spoken in Hindi. Also there are a few moments when the dialogue changes in quality or doesn't match the actors' mouths when they speak. Siblings Bishwa, Shyam and Hira are played by child actors Yagya Bhasin,, Mann Gandhi and Mahi Soni respectively. The three have a strong bond and work together to solve the issue of the village ghost. No matter how much Bishwa gets himself into trouble, his siblings always have his back. Hira is just as outspoken as her brother and may be even more feisty than he. Shyam is the calmer elder brother.

The message is that loving families, no matter how much they fight, are boomerangs. Family members will get mad at each other, sometimes because they want to protect one other. But, they will forgive because their love is stronger than their pride. Differing beliefs can be so strong that they rip apart family members, but even if a family is broken apart, they will always come back together in the end. Note: there is some smoking shown in the film.

There is a commentary about faith and how, sometimes, people give blind faith to corrupt religious individuals. They will believe anything about things they don't understand, just to have something to hold onto. And, the people that are telling them what to believe in, line their pocketbooks from those that believe in them. It makes us question what institutions we put our belief in and how they are actually affecting our lives.

My favorite part is when Bishwa runs the race and the other contestants purposefully go slowly. Bishwa starts to run outside of his lane without realizing it and others follow him. The men holding the finish line move with Bishwa to ensure that he finishes first and wins the race.

Yagya Bhasin who plays Bishwa and Mahi Soni who plays Hira definitely have star power. They both played their strong willed characters powerfully.

I give this film 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 17. Reviewed by Anokhi L., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

A rumor starts to grow about the emergence of a ghost, in a tiny fishermen village of India. Bishwa, a born blind kid, gets curious and starts asking for a description of ghost to the people. Clueless, they share their imaginary ideas about how a ghost looks. Fearful of the ghost, the villagers stop stepping out after sunset. The kids do not get to play in the evenings. It confuses Bishwa and he decides to go catch the ghost on his own. What does he discover? Can a blind boy catch a ghost? The film attempts to explore the idea of vision
You too can become a film critic!
KIDS FIRST! Goes Local: Submit a review & win!

NEW SEARCH
Entertainment News for Kids:
Join KIDS FIRST! on Twitter Join KIDS FIRST! on YouTube Join KIDS FIRST! on Instagram Join KIDS FIRST! on Tik Tok Join KIDS FIRST! on Facebook