Disney Plus’s original series, Star Wars Visions, Season 2 Episode 7, “The Bandits of Golak,” taking place on the planet Golak, explores the story of two siblings, Charuk (Suraj Sharma) and Rani (Sonal Kaushal), and their journey to a Golak Motel where surviving Jedi and Force-wielders hide from the Empire. The two siblings started their journey on a hovertrain. During the trip, Rani revealed herself as a Force Wielder in front of the hovertrain passengers, mostly scavengers, when she used the Force to get her flute from Charuk’s bag. This action caused the scavenger hovertrain passengers to report Rani to the hovertrain’s Imperial stormtroopers. However, the stormtroopers became distracted when Jangori tribal insurgents attacked the hovertrain.
After finally arriving at their destination, Charuk and Rani headed to the Golak Motel to find help until an Imperial Inquisitor (Neeraj Kabi) and two Purge Troopers found the two siblings. Before the Imperial Inquisitor could capture Rani, the hidden Jedi Rugal (Lillete Dubey), owner of the Golak Motel, dueled and killed the Imperial Inquisitor. To keep Rani safe, Rugal takes her to a secret tunnel to help Rani find safety from the Empire. However, Charuk cannot join Rani because he doesn’t want to compromise his sister’s safe passage. Nevertheless, Rani left Charuk her flute behind, which left Charuk feeling relieved. The short episode ends with Charuk playing his sister’s flute and leaving the Golak Motel.
Star Wars Celebration LIVE! 2023 – Day 4
Director and writer Ishan Shukla and those involved with the episode “The Bandits of Golak” in 88 Pictures did an excellent job creating a Star Wars story of a heroic older brother working to bring his sister to safety due to her status as a Force Sensitive. During the Star Wars Celebration 2023 Day 4 event, Director and writer Ishan Shukla was unavailable because he had a child when he directed and wrote the short episode. Therefore, the founder and CEO of 88 Pictures, Milind D. Shinde, represented the short episode at the event.
Shinde explained that the inspiration for the short film revolved around “sibling dynamics” and how an “older sibling must take care of their younger sibling,” similar to how a “parent would take care of their child or children.” The sibling dynamics in the short episode were what made the story emotional and touching to the end. He also explained that the short episode included many Indian cultures: food, colors, language, tribes, geography, and music. Other Indian cultural inspirations they added were the Inquisitor and how his characteristics and appearance were based on Indian Mythology’s demons called Asuras. Asuras were war strategist demons with green bodies, red eyes, golden armor, and a large Indian mustache. Overall, Director and writer Ishan Shukla and those involved in 88 Pictures did well in creating a great sibling dynamic story and journey that utilized a lot of Indian culture in the short episode.
The Inquisitorius
During the rise of the Galactic Empire, Emperor Palpatine (Darth Sidious) created the Inquistorius. The Inquisitorius consisted of fallen Dark Jedi that Palpatine converted to the Dark Side to become assassins that hunted Jedi survivors (Jedi that survived Order 66) and awakened Force-Sensitive people across the Galaxy. During the Inquisitorius’ early years, Palpatine gave control of the group to his apprentice Darth Vader because of Vader’s desire to hunt down Jedi, specifically Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Over time, the Inquisitorius became a menace to Jedi survivors, awakened Force-Sensitives, and the growing Rebel Alliance. However, the group’s power waned over time because of their members’ demise at the hands of Jedi survivors such as Kanan Jarrus and Cal Kestis. In unique situations, some Inquisitors were executed or exiled by Darth Vader for failure or betrayal. Examples include when Vader executed the Second Sister for failing him and exiled the Third Sister for her betrayal.
Rating: 9/10