National Award-winning filmmaker Hiren Bora’s Burkha – The Veil (2025) is a story of freedom and aspiration that struggles in the hands of conservatism and an orthodox belief system prevalent among a particular religious minority community of Assam. Told through the eyes of a young school-going girl, the film deals with a range of questions linked to empowerment and education, the role of patriarchy, and authoritarian control in a rural setting in Assam.
The subject of the film is so timely that it resonates with many real-world concerns of our times. It also fits into the broader agenda of the state, which has been highly active in its crusade against social evils such as child marriage. But despite its serious intentions, the film fails to create any interest or emotion among viewers. In simple words, the story is plain, and the filmmaking approach is boring and done to death. The concerns also extend to its weak writing, which has led to an oversimplification of its characters, as a normative approach dominates the overall treatment of its sensitive themes.
The film follows Reshma, an academically gifted daughter of a poor farmer living in a char area of Assam. Reshma does well in her exams and aspires to study further. But her desire for higher education comes into immediate conflict with her father’s rigid interpretation of their religion. He justifies wearing a burkha and also the idea of an early marriage. While this conflict could have formed the emotional core of the film and defined its identity, the director’s approach reduces it to blunt moral messaging. It neither has the intensity of films like Secret Superstar (2017) nor the grace of films like What Will People Say (2017).
One of the film’s biggest weaknesses is its one-dimensional characters. Reshma is portrayed almost entirely as a symbol of exploitation. She is always righteous and always suffering, but she is rarely allowed to experience the emotional complexity of her character. Meanwhile, her father is depicted as an absolute authoritarian figure, with minimal attempt to explore the range of his internal conflict. And the fact that every theme or motif in the film is well pronounced makes the case even worse. To put it differently, the film says the same things that audiences are already aware of, and in a way that audiences are already bored with.
But there was scope to go deeper. There is a reason why the father thinks the way he does, which relates to his ideology as well as his social conditioning. He loves his daughter but also feels helpless. There is also a reason why the girl aspires to freedom so strongly, while many of those her age submit to the traditions of their religion. This helplessness, as well as the inspirational motive, is missing from the film’s perspective. Recall Adil Hussain as the conflicted patriarch in What Will People Say (2017) for a quick reference. Hiren Bora misses all such opportunities to achieve nuance and present a drama that matters from the larger perspective of humanism. He prioritises the micro themes over the broader ideological questions.
Further adding to the conflict is the predatory eye of the village headman, who already has three wives but does not miss an opportunity to stalk Reshma. He is boisterously declared a villain in a film that has already established the traditional and rigid way of thinking as its central conflict. This makes all the superlative actions of the village headman—such as leering and spreading false accusations against a schoolteacher—very predictable and exaggerated.
The subplot involving the death of a male schoolteacher is even more disturbing in this context. The false allegations against him lead to public humiliation, and eventually, he gives up and commits suicide. While the film presents this event as important, it does not give it the emotional weight or ethical examination it deserves. It is simply there to prove the cruelty of the headman.
Further, Reshma’s academic success and eventual journey to Guwahati are meant to represent a sense of liberation and hope. However, this transition is handled with too much convenience, to the point that it ends up feeling like an escape fantasy. This is because her success is abrupt and idealised to the point of no return. It lacks the struggle, fear, and uncertainties that such a journey would realistically involve. In between, the film also takes a moment to comment on the dilapidated conditions of people living in the char areas, with questions related to their healthcare and welfare.
Burkha – The Veil also suffers from rough pacing and melodramatic scenes that affect the realism of its storytelling. There are some emotional moments, but those too are without any successful payoffs. There are quiet moments, but without the required depth of silence. This is mainly because of the poor build-up, over-reliance on dialogue, and an extremely rushed resolution of the story. It ends up making it difficult for viewers to connect with either the characters’ pain or their triumphs. Nothing feels devastating or earned.
The only aspect that might deserve some praise is the cinematography of a few scenes. The sequences on a boat, as the family navigates a flood, are shot really well by cinematographer Papu Deka. Here, it must also be noted that while stories of religious minorities in Assam are less common in Assamese cinema, Burkha – The Veil adds to that representation. So, this film should definitely come up when studies on the representation of Muslims in Assamese cinema are conducted by academics and scholars in the future.
In conclusion, Burkha – The Veil is a film with an important subject, but its storytelling fails to do justice to the story. Its intentions may be progressive, but its lack of subtlety, shallow character development, and melodramatic treatment result in a disappointing overall experience.
The film stars Rodali Bora as Reshma, Jatin Khanikar as the father, and Durgashri Borah as the mother, along with Adrita Parasha Mahanta, Dipankar Bora, and others. The screenplay is written by Naren Patgiri, with music by Tarali Sarma. Produced by Hiren Bora from a story by Jitumoni Bora, Burkha – The Veil was selected for the National Competition on Indian Languages section at the 30th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) in 2024.