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Friday, April 26, 2024
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BOLLYWOOD GATTU
EDITOR'S PICK
`Gattu`
delicately-threaded morality tale (IANS Movie Review)
Rating: ***
Films with children as the main characters are no longer a rarity. Thank god for
that! It`s imperative that our cinema cultivate a culture of entertainment that
children can empathize with without the content becoming overpowering in its
message-mongering motivations.
Gattu is a delicately-threaded morality tale about a poor little
boy, never sorry for himself except when play-acting the role of the bereft waif
to get his way, who is taken in by his uncle (Naresh Kumar, brilliantly in
character).
Now here`s where the subtle often slyly humorous film gets tangled. It tells us
that contrary to stereotypical expectations the uncle is no slave-driving
villain. He has his good and bad moments with the kid.
Gattu tells us there are no black and white zones to bring up underprivileged
children. While child labour is prohibited, it can also be a way of providing
sustenance for homeless kids. While Gattu longs for a school education, he uses
the academic premise to hoodwink the students and teachers to implement his own
devious plans.
While on the surface Gattu is a breezy blithe and effervescent
look-see at the pangs and pin-pricks of growing-up at the grassroots, under the
surface it ponders sensibly on the question of raising a poor child with dignity
outside the rarefied precincts of a school.
All the kids, specially Mohammad Samad in the title role, are delightful in
their natural ability to own the camera space.
Director Rajan Khosa enters the world of innocence with devious intent. He
penetrates the surface of juvenile guilelessness to explore the cunning that
often underlines the machinations of the the very young.
Gattu portrays heart-warming moments within and outside the school premise.
While making a fervent pitch for every child to attend school, the narrative
never misses out on a chance for a bit of fun on the fringes.
Gattu is an endearing peep into a child`s life as he struggles with
intuitive intelligence to bring together the two incompatible worlds of poverty
and the solace of schooling.
Mohammad Samad as the boy who who would fly higher than a kite is a prized find.
Sandesh Shandilya`s ebullient songs and music brings its own spot of sunshine in
this not-to-be-missed tale about coming of age.
Gattu carries forward the recent trend of sensible, intelligent
funny and moving films about child protagonists, namely Taare Zameen
Par, I Am Kalam and Stanley Ka Dabba. Add one more
film to that luminous list of cinema on little wonders.
If it's the time for short films-making-it-big, then director Rajan Khosa's film "Gattu" is making the most out of it.Read More
In a nation that is obsessed with flying kites, the story is staged in a small town in central India. The blue skies above the town is dominated by a kite named with mysterious origins. Out of the many kids who dream to defeat Kali, Gattu is more determined. He does fail on number of occasions but one fine day, his will finds a way. He discovers a local school having a roof that renders him some strategic advantage. Impersonating as a student, he sneaks into the school and must now pretend to study. The only problem - he cant read and write! The little street urchin takes up the challenge as when the desire is strong, dreams aren`t impossible.
