BISCUT (HOTSTAR-DISNEY RELEASE -2022) In an Indian village ruled by muscle and money, one man sparks a revolution without guns or bullets by betting his life on just the power of democracy. Biscut is the awe-inspiring story of Bhoora, a poor Dalit (lower caste) youth condemned to a daily struggle for survival, who turns a collective curse into a formidable force for change. BISCUT is the Hindi language word for a cookie or a biscuit.
At the strong insistence of his father, Ushimatsu Segawa conceals his origins from a “buraku” area of low-class “untouchables,” leaving his hometown to serve as an elementary school teacher where he excels and is loved by his students. But he constantly struggles with the secret of his low-birth status and is disturbed by all of the discrimination levelled upon his class. It prevents him from pursuing a romance with Shiho, whom he meets at the temple where he resides, but who descends from a samurai family.
An MLA and his son, who are from oppressed community, are forced to stand up against the privileged, arrogant scion of a late politician, who is determined to make them bow down to him.
Ramnarayan Tiwari, a Brahmin (uppermost caste as per the caste system in India) is a peon in a government undertaking, where recently, a Dalit (lower caste), has risen to become a big officer. Tiwari burns with resentment towards this officer’s hierarchical superiority because he considers himself superior as per the religiously ingrained caste system. Tiwari is also frustrated as his promotion has been overdue for years. The officer’s bathroom’s drain has choked. Tiwari tries to look for the official sweeper, also a lower caste man. This role-reversal story is about how Tiwari’s need for promotion, and his caste prejudice towards the officer, counterbalance each other to solve the problem of the choked drain.
"Buraku" or "Buraku-min" are the terms used for ethnic Japanese people who are believed to descend from the pre-Meiji castes. Today, neither "Buraku" nor "Burakumin" exist anymore in terms of laws and social systems. However, many Japanese people still have a deep-rooted sense of discrimination towards people who descend from those families. Why does something that should not exist continue to exist? How did this discrimination begin in the first place? This film takes a variety of approaches to unravel the history of accumulated discrimination and its intricately intertwined context, from its origins and evolution, vividly depicting the structure of discrimination that often remains hidden from the public eye.
