[Reality Check]: Oh That's Bhanu - documentary film: A collection of amnesiac remembrances

Director: R. V. Ramani

Oh That's Bhanu is based on the elder stage of the late Bhanumati Rao, who performed as a classical dancer & a theatre actress throughout the major part of her long life. The title of the non-fictional narrative somewhere comes from her itself. The director (he also essays as the cameraman & an interviewer almost throughout the film), during the beginning, asks the eponymous character, what could be the name of the film based on her. To which she reverts with a couple of phrases, ''Is that Bhanu?'' ''Bhanu, Bhanu Bhanu'', along with furthermore examples - all having the similarity of the word ''Bhanu.'' Her elder daughter, Maya Krishna Rao, a notable theatre artist, also present in this scene, takes a dig at her in the notion of each of her suggested titles having the same recurring word within them. During the film's discussion, director R. V. Ramani mentioned that during his first meeting with Ms Bhanumati, he decided that the film he'll make with her would be called ''A Beautiful Mind.'' He then added that he sought permission from her daughter, Maya Krishna Rao, which she obliged - then further commenced the making process. There was an intimate connection, Mr Ramani added, that he's unable to express in words, which he felt while meeting initially with Bhanu.

The documentary film consists of some Malayalam/Tamil phrases, along with a few Hindi phrases, since nearly all the characters/interviewees spoke and also seemed to be rather comfortable, in the English language, including the lead, Ms Bhanumati. The camera usually follows her around, as she goes for a walk, goes to vote with Maya and goes to the hospital for her ear-check up, accompanied by Maya. The director attempts to experience and gain insights into Bhanumati's life from her and her daughters. But in that process, it also reflects upon the director himself, as many times Bhanumati casually reverses the role and becomes the interviewer herself, putting R.V. Ramani in a position to answer, especially the recurring one, ''What is the source of your income/how do you make money?'' I refer to recurring here since Ms Bhanumati suffered from a short-memory span. A meeting with her, after a certain gap, could feel like a mini back-to-square-one moment. 

Tara, her younger daughter, is the one who seems to be more playful and casual with her mother. While with Maya, it's stricter, albeit sometimes harsh, as she performs her obligatory responsibilities of being the elder daughter. She's also the one we see  Bhanumati spending more of her 'screen time' with. We do not witness both sisters coming together in these years (the film was supposedly shot between 2014 & 2019) and neither they reference each other much throughout. Having said this, it could be highly unintentional too, since both Maya & Tara stay in different cities respectively. In one scene featuring Maya's house, a song is being played via YouTube, with Ms Bhanumati dancing to it. Eventually, she feels tired and starts leaving for the adjacent garden. She becomes fond of the music playing in the background and is keen to know where Maya got the song from. After a slight persuasion from her daughter, she even resumes her steps in the garden, for some seconds. If only she could get the details of the music's source, I thought. I felt the director shall soon reveal it. Her several askings felt unheard, as Maya continued with chores while also bringing water for her mother. Finally, to fill up this curiosity, she herself goes near the computer system, tries to read the details and keeps viewing the music video till the music finishes - and to my much impulsive relief. Bhanumati then asks Maya why she hasn't heard this earlier - to which Maya reverts that Bhanu has already witnessed the artist's performance earlier. During the post-film discussion, Maya (her birthday, as stated, happened to be two days before the screening session) mentioned that in several instances she had to play bully with her mother so that she could play comfortably in front of the camera & the director. Although, one can witness instances in the film where Bhanu says she 'loved being filmed'.

The film is largely shot in an informal way; it doesn't have a voiceover, nor any interviews are structured in a linear manner. The camera is handheld, sometimes shaky, giving the effect of being an extended home video. The design for Oh That's Bhanu reminded me of an individual assignment, during the second year of my post-graduation at a media & communications institute. We needed to create and execute a 4 to 5 minutes documentary on ourselves or someone one has the curiosity to know about, within the campus. In one scene, there's a photo from Bhanumati Rao's previous album, which Maya feels is an interesting one, and shows it to her. To which, the director exclaims, ''Show me also,'' implying to let the audiences have a look at it too. However, the camera seems to be at a certain distance, with the photo not being properly visible. The shot then cuts to the next scene, quickly, thus I do not remember what the photo was much about. In another scene, Bhanumati speaks to the director, as to what is in the schedule for his routine for today. Which, the director pauses for certain seconds, then adds if she can show him the photos of her early birthday(s). Although, there has already been a point where the mother & elder daughter viewed the photos together. I'm not saying that there shouldn't be more photos shown of her or anecdotes shared from the past. Going with the flow can certainly add impromptu aspects. However, if there was an early prep for this scene (given that this situation can arise, as it being after meeting her several times) then perhaps there could've been further insights received, from the veteran artist's psyche. The narrative sometimes breaks into Maya's theatre performances/rehearsals, which sometimes seemed contextually perplexing.

Oh It's Bhanu could be considered an experimental film; it might not be everyone's cup of tea, as it demands patience. But, Ms Bhanumati, putting her woes of old age aside, was quite a curious personality. Some of her viewpoints, as viewed in the narrative, could be a reflection of memories in general. For instance, there's a scene where Bhanumati Rao adds that the memories we want to forget are the ones that we remember. We try to forget them, but in the process, they turn out to be the ones we end up remembering.

I attended the screening & its subsequent discussion with the Director accompanied by Mrs Maya Krishna Rao, at National Centre for the Performing Arts.