| A still from the movie  | Critic's Rating: **1/2 Cast: Atul Kulkarni, Sarika, Taher Sutterwala, Chinmay Kambli Direction: Sagar Ballary Genre: Drama Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes Readers Rating:*** |
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Story: Thirteen-year-old Shambhu (Taher Sutterwala) is the archetypal adolescent who wants to get a hold on life, but ends up all awkward, antsy and alienated, both from the bizarre adult world and the bullying peer world. When things get too rough, he runs away from home, finds a new friend in a precocious street kid, Vitthal (Chinmay Kambli) and decides to run further with him in order to find a perfect world. Is this the great escape or is it a coming-of-age for the confused teen?
Movie Review: When the credits begin to roll, you see director Sagar Ballary saying thank you to Gulzar for Kitaab and Francois Truffaut for 400 Blows. Naturally then, the paramount question is: Does Kaccha Limboo live up to its inspiration?
The film begins on the right note as it traces the dysfunctional world of oddball Shambhu who just can't fit in...Neither in school, where he becomes the butt of jokes due to his ungainly body image (he's overweight, untidy, refuses to wear shoes, sports shorts instead of trousers) nor at home where he just can't seem to connect with his over-effusive step daddy (Atul Kulkarni) and pregnant mom (Sarika). In a telling scene which sums up his isolation, the self-immersed Shambhu asks `Tara, who?' when his dad tells him to pipe down the music because his infant sis, Tara is sleeping.
The film is replete with such interesting little details which make it a promising viewing. But suddenly, the film changes track and Shambhu's misadventures at home and school are replaced by his encounters with a bunch of slum kids in Mumbai's underworld. Whatever happened to the cracker-like and thoroughly explosive situations where the teenager was fumbling with a teen crush and trying his best to fit in with the snooty coterie in class. Shambhu's extended encounters with Vitthal, the bustee kid derail the plot and leave you fidgety and bored.
Sad, because Kaccha Limboo could actually have been a great comeback from the director who gave contemporary cinema one of its smartest comedies: Bheja Fry. Nevertheless, watch out for the performances by the kids and by Sarika and Atul Kulkarni as the stressed-out parents. Why can't we have more of Sarika, please?
Movie Review: When the credits begin to roll, you see director Sagar Ballary saying thank you to Gulzar for Kitaab and Francois Truffaut for 400 Blows. Naturally then, the paramount question is: Does Kaccha Limboo live up to its inspiration?
The film begins on the right note as it traces the dysfunctional world of oddball Shambhu who just can't fit in...Neither in school, where he becomes the butt of jokes due to his ungainly body image (he's overweight, untidy, refuses to wear shoes, sports shorts instead of trousers) nor at home where he just can't seem to connect with his over-effusive step daddy (Atul Kulkarni) and pregnant mom (Sarika). In a telling scene which sums up his isolation, the self-immersed Shambhu asks `Tara, who?' when his dad tells him to pipe down the music because his infant sis, Tara is sleeping.
The film is replete with such interesting little details which make it a promising viewing. But suddenly, the film changes track and Shambhu's misadventures at home and school are replaced by his encounters with a bunch of slum kids in Mumbai's underworld. Whatever happened to the cracker-like and thoroughly explosive situations where the teenager was fumbling with a teen crush and trying his best to fit in with the snooty coterie in class. Shambhu's extended encounters with Vitthal, the bustee kid derail the plot and leave you fidgety and bored.
Sad, because Kaccha Limboo could actually have been a great comeback from the director who gave contemporary cinema one of its smartest comedies: Bheja Fry. Nevertheless, watch out for the performances by the kids and by Sarika and Atul Kulkarni as the stressed-out parents. Why can't we have more of Sarika, please?
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