Satrangee Parachute

Cast: Jackie Shroff, Kay Kay Menon, Zakir Hussain, Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra, Rupali Ganguly, Lilliput, Siddhartha Sanghani, Pappu, Rajvi Suchak

Director: Vineet Khetrapal

Kids the biggest customers of the world are the toughest to be pleased and in this growing age of CGI heaviness along with the bombarding of more and more bindaas, cartoon networks and Disney to name a few in the comfort of your sofa cum bed, this tiny little cinegoer is becoming more smarter and jazzier. Wonderworks Films ‘Satrangee Parachute’ takes the ‘Iranian route’ thinking telling a story via a child is cute. Produced and directed by Vineet Khetrapal, this supposed kidpic falls from the mindset of a child as it slips from the adults lap.

The helmer Vineet who is also the producer in association with screenplay writer Pulakesh Bhowmik makes an amateurish attempt to trap the 6 to 60 wala audience. What starts as a kid’s movie later turns out to be a not very inspiring drama. The hangover of T.V. is evident. Indian child by heart audience is already flattered by Disney uncles, Pixar brothers etc on big and the small screen respectively, so does Vineet story adds to any glory? The answer is No. The mindset over here is to be blamed. Why we give second hand treatment to kid flicks is unknown. In Hollywood kid teen flicks is a mighty industry in its own. Iranian cinema is well known to tell its story through a child’s psyche. Aamir exploited it brilliantly in his ‘Taare Zameen Par’ which was an inspiration from the magnificent Irani film maker Majid Majiddi’s ‘Colour of Paradise’. Anyways lets come to the parachute which we all want to know when it will take off Ironically, it never does. The Story Pappu (Siddhartha Sanghani), a precocious kid, wants to find a parachute for his visually impaired friend Kuhu. He sets out with a bunch of friends from Nainital to Mumbai in order to fulfill his mission, But Mumbai is murky city. Pappu and his buddies get embroiled with a gang of terrorists who are determined to create terror in the city with dubious parachutes. What to look out for? Siddhartha Sanghani as Pappu is confident, Rajvi Suchak is pious. Zakir Hussain and Rupali Ganguli are okay. Cinematography by Soumik Haldar is beautiful.

What not? The movie wastes many good talents like Kay Kay Menon, Liliput, Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra, and Jackie Shroff. The kids apart from Papu lack the naughtiness and they hardly excite. The movie lacks the much required kid teen spirit for such flicks. Conclusion: ‘Satrangee Parachute’ could have been a family packet of vanilla in this coming summer heat but alas, the inconsistency by the writer and the director to hold interest of the young and the old alike makes it a stale watery gola which leaves a lot to be desired. The attempt to make a film on kids still deserves a pat (an extra star for that) otherwise this flick has nothing to offer.Second time in consecutive weeks we have a children's film which is about running away from home. Last week Kaccha Limboo was about an early teenager running away from home and discovering life. And this week's Satrangee Parachute is about some children running away to get parachute, which will help them fly, and in the process gets some militants caught. Sadly, like Kaccha Limboo, Satrangee Parachute too has the director confused on who he wants to cater. Both films have innocent starts, targeted at spoon feeding it target audience kids. And then both lose their way trying to deal with complex situations.

The problem with Satrangee Parachute is that the crux of the story the kids running away comes only in the second half. And within no time the film is over, posing serious questions on the validity of the title of the film. And before this happen the director Vineet Khetrapal wastes the entire first half just to convey that his protagonist Pappu is smart and that he really cares for his visually impaired friend Kuhu. We would have understood the director taking his own time to unfold the story so that he could keep it simple enough for the kids. But the terror elements in the second half go over the top. He also decides to leave the screenplay too loose, and let go reasoning. The terrorist are not even confirmed before the police shoot them dead. When you have smart kids as protagonists in your film, you really cannot afford to think that your audience would be as dumb!

One good thing about the film is the location. Shot in beautiful Nainital the cinematographer captures the hill station beautifully. Splendid locations attract. The music too, though drags the movie, is very soulful. Coming to performances, the director fails to extract performances from the kids. He however has a very established adult cast, who do their jobs beautifully. Zakir Hussain, Kay Kay, Rupali Ganguly are good. With all its faults Satrangee Parachute ends up being another disappointing watch. If at all, it will appeal to kids below 10 years of age.