The narrative structure, mise-en-scene, and sound are used in different degrees to paint

the raw and real lives of marginalised characters, their socio-economic background and identity.
One of the focal themes of the movie is the accurate and unfiltered portrayal of the marginalised
people living in the slums situated on the outskirts of Dhaka. Their semi-urban lifestyle, the
social stigma that shadows their identity, and how the government neglects their issues are
represented through the eyes of the protagonist. All the characters battle some sort of social
stigma or belong to a marginalised group, for example, Kali is intersex, her adoptive children are
orphans or children born out of wedlock, Golenoor is pregnant with an ‘illegitimate’ child,
Hekmatulla is impotent and takes drugs, Mala and her friends are garment workers, the
protagonist is an orphan himself. All of them represent people in our society who are most times
neglected, or even shunned. Their stories go unheard. This movie does an excellent job painting
such stories.

The exposition features a plethora of establishing shots that take the viewer to take a peek
into the lives of the characters, each having a different identity. The protagonist is seen to wake
up alone in his bamboo house in the middle of the river, the scene of the house being in the
middle of the river, distanced from the slum portrays his being alienated from the rest. He feels
alienated due to his lack of family and a vague sense of identity. Kali is seen rearing the donkey
and reminding the kids to be safe, depicting a sense of maternal aura. The viewers witness a
sneak peek into the lives of Mala and the women working in the garment factory through the
conversation between them and the old man. It is seen to be the source of income that feeds their
family. The conversation between Kali and Hekmotulla reveals how both individuals are
perceived in society. Both of them are shunned for their biological makeup, something they can
never change. Kali who is intersex, cannot bear children, and Hekmotulla who is impotent, who
cannot either. Consequently Golenoor, in her conversation with Kali, admits that she is pregnant
and fears the future of an illegitimate child who will remain without a ‘name’ in a society that
values the father's name being attached to the child. The rising action begins as Alpha discovers
a body floating on the river under his house. The question of what is the identity of the body
starts presenting itself in subtle ways. This starts a narrative to question the identity of all the
characters. News reveals the tragic death of Mala and the garment workers showing even though
they work to the bone to uplift the economic backbone of the state, their safety and work
conditions are the least of anyone’s worries even after frequent accidents. The climax is when the
police finally discover the body and want to give it the last rites as an ‘unidentified’ body. Here it
can be seen through the conversation between the man working at the morgue and Alpha that the
body has disintegrated to the point that it does not have a private organ and Alpha remarks that
now the body is not limited to its identity of male or female, but just a human. The most
important identity of all. The falling action shows Alpha deciding he wants to give the body its
last rites, returning the body to the water it originated from. The resolution comes as Alpha finds
his peace letting the body go in the water, paying the deceased the respect that he deserves. The
genre is a fantasy crime drama that goes into the lives of the marginalised and depicts how
crimes and the justice system failing them multiple times lead them to the person they become.
Alpha’s father was killed unjustly, which caused his alienation from society and to question his
identity. The garment factory’s working conditions brought Mala and her friends to their
unfortunate deaths. Society’s way of shunning impotency pushed Hekmotulla to drugs.

From the very first few scenes, the setting consists of the bamboo structure serving as a
house on top of the river, the marketplace of a densely populated slum which is evident of the
socio-economic background of the characters. It can be inferred from the setting that the lives of
people living there are difficult, yet again the marginalised who are shunned by the upper-class
society can find a place for themselves in this setting.

The costumes, hair and makeup are up to perfection. The bright coloured saris for Kali,
the mellow dishevelled sari of Golenoor, the stereotypical fitted salwar kameez of women
working at the garment factory, and the simple yet poetic aura of the protagonist’s clothes
portray their identities. Kali adorning a red lipstick for the majority of the scene remains
authentic to the portrayal of an intersex, it also denotes her inner craving to be seen as a woman.

The prop that is used the most in the movie is Alpha’s artwork. The historical rickshaw
paintings which are a local art form that is slowly becoming extinct, the glass paintings, and the
wall hangings at his home, all relay his identity and the taste of the marginalised class. His art is
reflective of the likes, dislikes and interests of the people he is surrounded with. The most
significant artwork is the one he works on throughout the movie. The portrait of an entity half
painted with the male features of Lord Krishna and the other having the feminine features of
Lady Radha. According to Hindu mythology, Radha and Krishna are two pieces of one soul,
inseparable. The questions of identity and fitting into a box made by society’s constraints reflect
the murky waters in the protagonist’s mind.

In the case of lighting and colour, the exposition features a black and white tinted image
of the Tajia rally on the event of Holy Ashura. The black and white colour reflects the past as
well as the sullen beginning of the young boy who gets separated from his family, the start of
him losing his ‘identity’.

The casting is top-notch. Especially for Kali who enacted the difficult role of an intersex
individual with extreme grace, it aided in making the character come to life with her body
language. The protagonist also looked his part as an artist with his lanky frame and long unkempt
hair. The performance made the characters believable and accurately representative of the
marginalised people living in the slums on the outskirts of Dhaka. Most of the actors are of
darker complexion and skinnier frames making it a fair portrayal of the people living with lesser
means.

Assessing the sound, the tone of voice of the protagonist reflects the soft comparatively
high pitch of the artists. He has a soft talking voice that suits his character as a curious individual
who is in search of his identity. Kali also has a higher-pitched voice that suits her character as an
intersex. The accents of the characters are reflective of their socio-economic background and
portray a realistic image of the slums. The dialogue delivery of the curses that the characters
throw at each other is a raw portrayal of the manner of speech of people living there. When the
protagonist sees a team of musicians, the act portrays a man who, similar to his painting, adorns
the fluidity of genders by dressing two halves of his body as a god and the other as a goddess.
The song and the performance make Alpha question his own identity and where he falls into the
picture. The sound effects of the birds chirping, and water flowing add to the setting. The crowd
murmurs and footsteps of the busy slum marketplace strengthen the atmosphere of the setting as
well. This setting is inseparable from the lives, identities and social construct of the characters.
The setting of the slum is inevitable in discussing the unfiltered lives of these people.

All in all, the movie does a wonderful job of portraying the lives of the marginalised, the
ones that are often shunned and forgotten. It sheds light on the lives of people who live under
social stigma and in fear of the scrutiny of society, adding to their already heavy burden of
poverty, and poor working and living conditions. The narrative structure, mise-en-scene, and
sound portray small details that make the movie authentic to the experiences of these people.