Speculum IndyaAnima: Reflecting An Indian Animation Identity
Bacha Chor / Bacha Chor
Synopsis
In a neighbourhood in Kolkata, three little kids look on as a gathered crowd tries to calm down a woman who claims a 'bham' (civet) broke into her house and tried to steal her baby. The three friends whisper scary stories to each other of this elusive 'bham' monster they have heard of. The protagonist, Khoka laughs off the scary stories and says he will catch the 'bham'. Later that night, Khoka has his first encounter with the 'bham' where he sees a scary shadow on the wall of his neighbour's house. He catches a glimpse of the dark animal with glowing eyes before it runs away. Encouraged, Khoka makes a mask and a slingshot and searches everywhere for the bham, even distributing missing posters! Few nights later, Khoka wakes up to hear noises in his kitchen. As he barges in to confront the 'bham' monster, he comes face to face with a scared shivering little civet cat, no bigger than a housecat. The bham escapes in fear, but the neighbourhood is alerted of his presence. Men gather sticks and stones to finally catch the animal. Khoka watches the terrified bham escape into an old garage. Grabbing some food, Khoka runs to the garage and offers the food to the hiding animal. As he watches, he realizes who the real hunters are and how misunderstood the civet is. He leaves the garage in defeat. In his last attempt to save the civet, Khoka misleads the crowd to the location of the civet, thus allowing it to escape.Details of Crew
Editor, Music, Producer andSound Design
Sagarika Dam