Bhavai preview: All you need to know about the Pratik Gandhi-Aindrita Ray starring film

A film that has come into a lot of controversies recently, Bhavai is a movie that revolves around the character of Raja Ram Joshi (Pratik Gandhi), who plays Raavan on stage. Bhavai was previously named Raavan Leela. However, the makers had to change its name to Bhavai post a controversy on social media. When theatres started functioning, the makers (Pen Studios) announced the release date of this film. Bhavai, starring Pratik Gandhi and Aindrita Ray in lead roles, will now release on October 1, 2021.

What's Bhavai about?

Bhavai focuses on two personalities - real-life and stage life. It is the journey of Raja Ram Joshi, who falls in love with Rani (Aindrita's character). Raja plays the role of Raavan on stage while Rani plays Sita. Thus, the whole village objects to their love saga. The irony here, however, is that Raja had originally applied for the role of Ram for the play.

Who plays what in Bhavai?

Ankur Bhatia is likely to play the role of Laxman in the film. Rajesh Sharma, last seen in Srijit Mukherji's short Forget Me Not, plays the role of Hanuman in the film. Abhimanyu Singh and Gopal Singh play the role of antagonists in the movie. While it appears that they play the role of politicians, there is still no clarity on their exact role in the film. Television actors Rajendra Gupta and Anil Rastogi also appear in small but pivotal roles. Pratik's real-life wife Bhamini Oza will also have a cameo in the movie.

Pratik Gandhi's first Bollywood project as a lead actor.

Pratik Gandhi is a renowned Gujarati actor who had made cameo appearances in the Bollywood films Mitron and LoveYatri. However, he got his first Bollywood project as a lead actor in Bhavai.

The Scam 1992 connect.

Pratik became an overnight star with Scam 1992. He played the role of stockbroker Harshad Mehta in the Hansal Mehta directorial web series. However, the actor was offered Bhavai (named Ravan Leela back then) before the show happened to him.

The controversy and title change.

Bhavai was previously titled, Raavan Leela. It also had a pivotal scene where the evil questioned Lord Ram about the acts of injustice. This caused a stir among people who believed that the movie was dissing the Hindu culture and promoting evil against the good. Thus, the makers changed the name of the film and assured netizens that the film does not hurt anybody's sentiments.

Pratik's take on the controversy.

The actor told Indiatimes that the controversy is affecting his family members. He said that anonymous users have dragged his family members into the mess, abusing them. The actor even went ahead and consulted the cyber cell but to no avail.

Where was Bhavai shot?

Bhavai was mainly shot in Rann Of Kutch. A few parts of the film were also shot in Mumbai.