28th Sept 2019, arriving at the Jagran Film Festival 2019 Mumbai Chapter, an hour prior to the screening of what was personally the most awaited cinematic project for me, we met Satyanshu. He greeted us with a very subtle smile. It was during this 15 min rendezvous with him where at the end of which he said & I quote “I feel this film can never lose its relevance” Meaning it was timeless. Little did we know, what remained in front of us was magically the most flawless yet the most humble piece of art anyone might have witnessed in a long time.
To begin with, I’d like to describe the movie in the shortest form possible. Tiwary’s, a normal ‘Indian family next door’, is in a not so normal setting of the Iraqi Captial City, Baghdad, which is in midst of a Political tension between the then ruler Saddam Hussain and America (American Uncle as Chintu likes to address the American Prez, George Bush). The family embarks on a tough and challenging journey of celebrating a normal Birthday for the smallest member of the family, Chintu. What happens next and how the tension unfolds is a delight to watch in itself.
The movie begins with making the viewers realize the social setting of the characters, their subtle yet firm relations with each other. You can feel the love, in between them, as well as the tiny tension that prevails in the family. Slowly we are made aware of the surroundings these characters are meddling in. And that is done with very creative animation, an account of Chintu’s Point of View. This little element establishes the innocence of the whole setting when suddenly there’s a panicking situation taking place. The rest of the movie is basically how the whole family reacts to it.
What makes the most impact on the viewer is how the actors react to every situation coming on to them. Their basic nature, their instincts, their growth as the plot proceeds, everything is shown in what you can call a very smooth transition. And you would never feel how the 80 mins flew by.
There are these tiny bits like conversation between Chintu and his father, Chintu and his friends, Madan Tiwary explaining his name to the soldiers by referencing Kamasutra and these big bits like Madan reasoning with the soldiers in the simplest yet impactful way, after being detained and labeled as a threat, are the bits which gives you so much satisfaction as a watcher that you cannot resist but sympathize with the tragedy, yet laugh and chuckle during the same time.
A visual treat by the two brothers, Satyanshu Singh and Devanshu Singh starring Vinay Pathak & Tillotama Shome, as the parents of Chintu, Seema Bhargava as Nani, Nate Scholz & Reginald Barnes as the two American Soldiers, Vedant Chibber as Chintu himself, and others. Produced by AIB First draft, Tulsea Pictures and the boys from All India Bakchod, Tanmay Bhatt, Rohan Joshi, and Ashish Shakya.
You should watch the movie if you believe in miracles if you believe in truthfulness if you believe in good deeds. And you will never regret even a single second spent. You should definitely watch the movie because you will never taste a Cake so good, and would’ve never witnessed a birthday which had such a blast. In literal senses.
-Rishabh Jain,
IG:@kanjoos_maarwaadi
