Surrounded by ghosts and superstitions in his home village, an inquisitive blind youth, Bishwa, tries to understand what the people around him fear about this so-called ghost. His stubborn, yet fierce love for his family proves to cause trouble and solve problems along the way.
While every part of the film adds value to the story, it sometimes drags, making the film slow to watch at times. There are some uncomfortably long or redundant scenes. Also, the ending does not entirely make sense to me and doesn't wrap the story up completely. The nature shots are beautiful and the film nears IMAX quality. However in one scene, when showing a video within the film, the video plays over a shaky shot that shows that the screen is not actually playing anything. I love the authenticity of the sets and locations as India's villages and cities really do look the way they are portrayed it in the film. There were some adorable Hindi songs included that give a good Bollywood music video feel to the film. But there are two English songs in the film that feel out of place, especially since the entire film is spoken in Hindi. Also there are a few moments when the dialogue changes in quality or doesn't match the actors' mouths when they speak. Siblings Bishwa, Shyam and Hira are played by child actors Yagya Bhasin,, Mann Gandhi and Mahi Soni respectively. The three have a strong bond and work together to solve the issue of the village ghost. No matter how much Bishwa gets himself into trouble, his siblings always have his back. Hira is just as outspoken as her brother and may be even more feisty than he. Shyam is the calmer elder brother.
The message is that loving families, no matter how much they fight, are boomerangs. Family members will get mad at each other, sometimes because they want to protect one other. But, they will forgive because their love is stronger than their pride. Differing beliefs can be so strong that they rip apart family members, but even if a family is broken apart, they will always come back together in the end. Note: there is some smoking shown in the film.
There is a commentary about faith and how, sometimes, people give blind faith to corrupt religious individuals. They will believe anything about things they don't understand, just to have something to hold onto. And, the people that are telling them what to believe in, line their pocketbooks from those that believe in them. It makes us question what institutions we put our belief in and how they are actually affecting our lives.
My favorite part is when Bishwa runs the race and the other contestants purposefully go slowly. Bishwa starts to run outside of his lane without realizing it and others follow him. The men holding the finish line move with Bishwa to ensure that he finishes first and wins the race.
Yagya Bhasin who plays Bishwa and Mahi Soni who plays Hira definitely have star power. They both played their strong willed characters powerfully.
I give this film 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 17. Reviewed by Anokhi L., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic
Surrounded by ghosts and superstitions in his home village, an inquisitive blind youth, Bishwa, tries to understand what the people around him fear about this so-called ghost. His stubborn, yet fierce love for his family proves to cause trouble and solve problems along the way.
While every part of the film adds value to the story, it sometimes drags, making the film slow to watch at times. There are some uncomfortably long or redundant scenes. Also, the ending does not entirely make sense to me and doesn't wrap the story up completely. The nature shots are beautiful and the film nears IMAX quality. However in one scene, when showing a video within the film, the video plays over a shaky shot that shows that the screen is not actually playing anything. I love the authenticity of the sets and locations as India's villages and cities really do look the way they are portrayed it in the film. There were some adorable Hindi songs included that give a good Bollywood music video feel to the film. But there are two English songs in the film that feel out of place, especially since the entire film is spoken in Hindi. Also there are a few moments when the dialogue changes in quality or doesn't match the actors' mouths when they speak. Siblings Bishwa, Shyam and Hira are played by child actors Yagya Bhasin,, Mann Gandhi and Mahi Soni respectively. The three have a strong bond and work together to solve the issue of the village ghost. No matter how much Bishwa gets himself into trouble, his siblings always have his back. Hira is just as outspoken as her brother and may be even more feisty than he. Shyam is the calmer elder brother.
The message is that loving families, no matter how much they fight, are boomerangs. Family members will get mad at each other, sometimes because they want to protect one other. But, they will forgive because their love is stronger than their pride. Differing beliefs can be so strong that they rip apart family members, but even if a family is broken apart, they will always come back together in the end. Note: there is some smoking shown in the film.
There is a commentary about faith and how, sometimes, people give blind faith to corrupt religious individuals. They will believe anything about things they don't understand, just to have something to hold onto. And, the people that are telling them what to believe in, line their pocketbooks from those that believe in them. It makes us question what institutions we put our belief in and how they are actually affecting our lives.
My favorite part is when Bishwa runs the race and the other contestants purposefully go slowly. Bishwa starts to run outside of his lane without realizing it and others follow him. The men holding the finish line move with Bishwa to ensure that he finishes first and wins the race.
Yagya Bhasin who plays Bishwa and Mahi Soni who plays Hira definitely have star power. They both played their strong willed characters powerfully.
I give this film 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 17. Reviewed by Anokhi L., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic
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