Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii belongs to that breed of children’s films made in Bollywood which can be relished by both children and the accompanying adults. The children in the film don’t try to be more adult than adults, and the film puts across its message in quite a simple manner. It probably lacks the magic of a Lagaan or even an Iqbal, but it is still a touching story. Debutant director Kitu Salooja treads very safe territory with this film.

The film revolves around 13-year-old Karan (Zain Khan), who lives in an orphanage run by a man called John Kakkad (Rajesh Khera). The kids are made to do all the work at the orphanage. It almost reminds you of the orphanages in Charles Dickens’ novels. The movie really gets going when the orphanage receives some toys as donation. The toys are to be shared amongst all children. Among the kids at the orphanage is Raghav, who is quite a trouble maker. Both he and Karan want the cricket bat which is a part of the toys received. But Karan manages to get the bat due to the intervention by the caretaker of the orphanage, called Bhola Dada. A cricket fanatic, Bhola Dada keeps regaling the kids with the exploits of the Indian cricket team which won the World Cup in 1983 and about Kapil Dev’s winning knock of 175 against Zimbabwe. Karan is fascinated by the cricket tales and wants to become a cricketer and play for India. His second dream is to have parents. Incidentally, the cricket bat that he gets has the initials KD ’83 on it. No prices for guessing who it belonged to. Very soon our young hero discovers that his bat has magical powers.

The Indian cricket coach (Vijay Crishna) spots Karan with his magical bat and is so impressed by his talent that he inducts him into the Indian team. This is a time when the Indian team is going through a very bad patch. They are playing a series against Pakistan. Karan finds himself sharing the opening with Varun Roy (Rahul Bose), the Indian cricket captain. He also ends up sharing the same room with Varun. There is an uproar when Karan is selected for the Indian XI but it all dies down when he ends up winning the game for India. Overnight, Karan is the most-sought out person in the country. From an unwanted orphan, he becomes everyone’s favourite. His only rival is Raghav from the orphanage, who wants that cricket bat.

India wins two matches against Pakistan with Karan at the helm. But in final match, tragedy strikes as Karan’s magical bat falls apart. As the bat goes, so does Karan’s confidence. He believed that it was the bat which made everything possible. But he is able to overcome his fear finally when Varun teaches him about self-belief.

Karan’s story in the film is the ultimate fantasy for any young kid in our cricket-mad country. And it should be seen as that. But the director manages to give the film that little extra when Karan loses his power (as his magic bat is destroyed). The bit about how Karan manages to discover and tap the power within, is what makes the story very poignant. Zain Khan, who plays the role of Karan is quite outstanding. He puts veterans like Rahul Bose in the shade with his natural, unforced style of acting. Even the kid who plays the role of Raghav is quite good. The kids steal the show from the veterans. Bose as Varun is just about competent. Most of the others like Meera Vasudevan as Varun girlfriend, and Naseer Abdullah as Varun’s father, don’t really have much to do in the film.

This film from the house of Ken Ghosh has music by Salim-Sulaiman, which goes with the mood of the film. The tracks worth mentioning would be the title track rendered by Kunal Ganjawala and Khulla Asmaan rendered by the inimitable KK.

Director Kitu Salooja’s debut venture is very ambitious in nature. But Chain Kulii is not in the league of its predecessors like Lagaan or Iqbal. The message, if we could call it that, that the film tries to portray is similar in nature to them, but it lacks the stature of Lagaan and is unable to capture the spirit of Iqbal. The appeal of the film thus is limited. However, it is touching in parts and quite entertaining on the whole.