Adapted from Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s Oscar nominated film Children of Heaven (1997), Priyadarshan directed Bumm Bumm Bole is a sweet little gem that has something for the kids and adults alike.
Khogiram (Atul Kulkarni) lives in a North East Indian small town with his wife (Rituparna Sengupta) and two kids Pinu (Darsheel Safary) and Rimzim (Ziya). Living an impoverish life as a daily wages worker in a tea plantation, the couple dreams of. To make matters worse, they lose their jobs. Khogiram sends his kids to good schools to secure their future. One day, Pinu ends up losing his sister’s shoes. Scared of winning the fury of his father and at the same time distressed by the fact that his father would not be able to afford a new pair, Pinu shares his own shoes with Rimzim, even if that means reaching late to his school which begins after Rimjhim’s closes. Even as Khogiram tries to make ends meet, Pinu and Rimjhim are seized of their own little shoe problem. Finally, Pinu learns of a marathon to be held, in which the third prize is a pair of shoes. He wants to participate in the race and win only the third prize.
Priyadarshan chooses to leave behind the mindless comedies that he has always been at ease directing and opts for a human drama. He succeeds in making it not only engrossing but a very endearing affair. Manisha Korde hits a hat-trick excelling in three departments that are – story, dialogues and casting. Her story has its heart in the right place the tender moments and situations she has come up with especially between the brother-sister duo are simply superb. She has managed to strike fine balance between the two tracks, one of Khogiram and his struggle to make ends meet and that of the kids. The terrorism angle also gives another dimension to the plot and is well handled.
Darsheel in his first appearance after his debut film Taare Zameen Par proves he was no fluke. Right from his body language to expressions he succeeds in touching your heart. Atul Kulkarni never disappoints and again delivers a first rate performance. Rituparna is excellent too. But the show stealer is little girl Ziya. Every time she comes on screen, a smile automatically comes on your face. An extremely natural performance by some one at such a tender age.
The film is deliberately slow paced given its setting and story. The dream sequence title song using top of the line animation is very imaginatively shot.
Watch BBB as it’s the kind of a film where content is super strong, is well directed and has finest natural performances by its main leads.
Rating: 3.5/5
Starring: Atul Kulkarni, Darsheel Safary, Ziya Vastani, Rituparna Sengupta
Director: Priyadarshan
