It is seriously so sad that children films in India don’t gain as much as popularity, critical acclaim or even box office revenue. Sad mostly because children films actually house more sensible and interesting plots as opposed to a lot of the films that star perhaps more well-known stars. In more recent times, Taare Zameen Par is the only children’s film that went on to become a box office hit as well as India’s entry to the Oscars. But it was Darsheel Zafary who became the find of the year. Apparently, the young child artist, riding high from his debut hit film, even began behaving like a superstar, tantrums et al. Since then, the Zafary has been missing in action only to be back with Priyadarshan’s Bumm Bumm Bole. The film also starred Atul Kulkarni, Rituparna Sen Gupta and Baby Zia. A remake of the Iranian film, Children of Heaven, Bumm Bumm Bole is set to make you “aw” and gush.
In a suburban village, Khogiram (Atul Kulkarni) and his wife (Rituparna Sen Gupta) live on minimum wages from working on a tea farm, in hopes to educate their children, Pinu (Darsheel Zafary) and Rimzim (Baby Zia). When Khogiram loses her job and simultaneously Rimzim her shoes, the children realize they will have to hide the loss from their parents. Upset by the fact that their father cannot afford a meager pair of shoes, the siblings decide to share the only pair of shoes. They find themselves in quite a few close calls, Pinu decides to take part in the school marathon for which the first prize is a pair of shoes.
Bumm Bumm Bole is a sensitive and sensible film. In fact, Priyadarshan does an absolutely fantastic job of telling a story, making it entertaining and also delivering morals. And yes, you do gush and coo at many moments throughout the film. What works for the film is that it is honest and straightforward; there are no complicated situations that make you scratch your head. The problem with the film is its pace. Initially, you are engrossed at learning more about the family, their problems and so on. However, in the second half, the film slows down and becomes incredibly draggy. The climax goes on and the marathon scene really seems to run on for ages – no pun intended. So unfortunately, while the film works, it also doesn’t. Priyadarshan does an amazing job at shooting the locales and really Bumm Bumm Bole is a fine product. If only more attention was paid to the finale, he would have had a real winner on his hands.
Performance-wise, Darsheel is top notch. You immediately know why Aamir Khan was floored by the youngster and the likes of SRK and Saif Ali Khan realize that this young kid is on his way to becoming some solid competition for them in the future. It isn’t fair to compare his role in BBB to that of TZP. Honestly, they both are completely different in style and characterization. Atul Kulkarni and Rituparna Sen Gupta too are fantastic. They work as a couple together superbly and depict the characters of stressed parents with great
