Smile on. The knee-high boy is one helluva smarty-pants, pinching a Rs 50 note from right under the nose of his meany-beany uncle. An orphan, he’s woken up early to brush his teeth with the remains of a toothpaste tube and goes around his menial work in a junkshop, behaving as if life was one big sugar-coated jujube. No complaints, no self-pity, no worries. Way to be, kiddo.

The most endearing aspect of Rajan Khosa’s Gattu is its eponympous pre-teen boy, who may scream in protest once a bluish moon, but isn’t even aware that he’s caught up in the vicious circle of child labour. No need to go into a funk. The boy releases his pent-up feelings by flying a kite from any terracetop which he can access. And if a menacing black kite rules the skies, so what? Maybe some day the David-like kid will defeat the Goliath of the kite sport in a mythical, central India township called Rudki. No dreams, no glory.
The basic storyline and even the director’s approach towards the subject is very similar to the wonderful series of Iranian cinema over the last two decades, in which children are the superheroes. And heart-tugging plotlets set in contemporary Iran — be it the loss of a shoe or entrapment in a locked house — are the sort which are not only believable but comment sharply on issues.
Khosa, who had directed the widely praised Dance of the Wind (1997), advances the imperative of education and the pursuit of aspirations, big or small. The sky, as they say, is the limit. Indeed, kites have served as metaphors for the soaring spirit of guileless children, be it in Khaled Hosseini’s book The Kite Runner or Yeh Khula Aasman, a bagatelle released earlier this year.
Like it or not, then, Khosa’s attempt does suffer from the me-too syndrome. Also technically, the effort’s inconsistent, especially the photography which is moodily-lit at times but just about functional at others. As for the screenplay (co-written by as many as four writers), it hiccups, abandoning ticklish situations to dangle in the air. Example: the local tailor’s bid to romance a shopgirl with love letters. In addition, the Mean Uncle carroms all too facilely from behaving oppressively to exuding the tonic of human kindness. And the music score by Sandesh Shandilya doesn’t get the “sur” right: the songs and background blasts are alternately obtrusive and restrained.
Yet undeniably, here’s a production from the Children’s Film Society of India (could it please update its cheesy pre-credits logo please?) which is a cut above, wears it heart on the sleeve, and is Pashmina-warm while depicting the highs and lows of its kiddy squad. Hence, you do feel connected to Gattu (Mohammad Samad) who gatecrashes into a primary school purely with the agenda of flying his kite from its terrace. Jampacked with adorable kids, including an intently studious girl and a shy, well-heeled boy, the school opens up another world entirely. Detective comic books are shared, so are lunch boxes. And a hare-brained scheme is hatched to save the school from a gang of imagined terrorists.
A greasy security guard, a huffy principal constantly harping on the “moe-to” of Satyamev Jayate, and a 32-teeth-displaying science teacher, are some of the adults surrounding Gattu and his gang who may or may not triumph over the preening black kite ruling over the skies despotically.
Inspiring and absorbing enough, the patang-’n’-manja 80-minuter is a valuable addition to the lean output of children’s films.
Given the competition kiddy tales face from Hollywood’s multi-million-dollar animation and live-action films, at the very least Khosa’s ode to the baccha log is rooted in familiar soil. As importantly, it is relevant to the state of underprivileged kids in India, of whom millions are coerced by circumstances of birth to miss out on their childhood. It’s a theme which was also dealt with effectively by Amol Gupte’s Stanley Ka Dabba, and receives its due reiteration from Rajan Khosa.
Of the acting ensemble, Jayant Das as the gruffy school principal, is impressive. Doubtlessly, Mohammad Samad as Gattu is the scene stealer — cute, confident and ultra-cool. So do go fly a kite with him, with the children.