Movie: Chintu Ka Birthday
Direction: Devanshu Kumar, Satyanshu Singh
Cast: Vinay Pathak, Tillotama Shome, Seema Pahwa, Bisha Chaturvedi, Vedant Chibber
Music: Naren Chandavarkar, Benedict Taylor
Cinematographer: Siddharth Diwan
Editor: Charu Shree Roy
Genre: Drama
Rating: ∗∗∗½
Chintu Ka Birthday, an AIB production is a beautifully scripted family drama with a combination of love, fear, hatred, comedy, nationality, emotions, anger and enmity. The film is about a middle-class family who are illegal immigrants from India, stranded in Baghdad and are unable to return to India due to various reasons. The whole story revolves around the six-year-old Chintu’s (Vedant Chibber) birthday celebration.
As the day begins and every member in the family gears up to make Chintu’s birthday extra special with their exclusive skills and ideas, eventually one by one the plan falls apart and finally leads to a complete disaster leaving the viewers with no hopes of witnessing Chintu’s birthday celebration. A day in the life of these family members is excellently captured inside a house as they handle so many problems all through the day with ease but still understand and respect the emotional state of a child on his birthday. The entry of the two American Soldiers inside the house creates a huge chaos among the members and shatters them emotionally. The story slowly builds in the tension among the audience and keeps the same momentum till the end.
The writer-directors Devanshu Kumar and Satyanshu Singh have sketched every character in the film with a great detailing that reflects all through the eighty three minutes of movie. Excellent and natural acting by the entire cast, taking from Vinay Pathak as a guilty, straight forward and innocent Chintu’s Father, Tilotama Shome as an adjusting, simple and loving Chintu’s mother, Semma Pahwa as the all time irritated and annoying Chintu’s Grandmother, Vedant Chibber as a cute, well mannered, young yet matured Chintu and Bisha Chaturvedi as a caring and responsible Chintu’s Sister. The supporting characters like the landlord Khalid Massou was brilliant as he showcased his fear for rats even during the deadliest situation, Mehroos Mir as Chintu’s friend Wahid was very impressive with his smile and provoking character and to top it all the two Americans exhibited a splendid performance within a short screen space given to them.
The Camera work was very good. The Sound effects complemented the storyline very well. The costumes were very apt for each of the character and the entire set that was arranged matched the requirements perfectly.
The movie lagged in a few areas like there could have been a more elaborate war scene being highlighted outside the house, a better introduction for the Americans entry into the house and the reason for the landlord to hide himself.
Verdict: Being Human is given, but keeping our Humanity is “OUR CHOICE”. Chintu Ka Birthday spreads a Hope of Positivity and Faith in Humanity in a very simple and classy manner. It’s streaming on ZEE5.
Watch the trailer here:
