Hari Puttar Movie Review: Good Fun for Kids

Lucky Kohli amd Rajesh Bajaj's Hari Puttar will probably go down well with the children. A children' film in Bollywood is quite a rarity. Hence, a children's film is always welcome. Also, with the film receiving so much pre-release publicity, there is bound to be a lot of curiousity attached to it. The film manages to fulfill some of the expectations, but in some areas it falls absolutely flat. Firstly, the film's story has been generously inspired by Home Alone. A desi Home Alone, if you please. It does, however, have enough masala in it to grip the kiddy section of the audience. The cynosure of all eyes is definitely child actor Zain Khan in the title role of Hari Puttar. He, along with Swini Khara, carry the film on their shoulders, with a little help from Vijay Raaz and Saurabh Shukla.

The film's story is about Hari Prasad Dhoonda (Zain Khan) or Hari Puttar as he is fondly called. A bright, precocious 10-year-old, whose parents (Sarika and Zakir Khan), have just moved to the UK. His father, Professor Dhoonda, is a scientist, who is working on a secret project with the Defence forces and has some confidential information which is stored on a microchip. Meanwhile, the family is visited by Hari's aunt and uncle DK (Lillete Dubey and Jackie Shroff) as well as their children who rag Hari. Uncle DK has arranged for a vacation for all of them. In their hurry to leave for the vacation in the morning, everyone forgets about Hari, who had been sent to sleep in the attic by his mother the previous night as a punishment. The family goes off for the picnic leaving behind Hari and his cousin Tuk Tuk (Swini Khara). The two children actually enjoy their new-found freedom till the goons enter the scene. Kali Mirchi, a don, sends his goons Filter and Diesel (Saurabh Shukla and Vijay Raaz) to steal the secret chip from the house, which is supposed to be empty. Little do the two bumbling goons realize that they have two children to reckon with. Hari and his cousin jump into the fray and save the day. The two kids not only manage to recover the chip but also manage to capture the two goons and become real heroes.

The problem with the film is that everything is very disjointed. The story premise is not very well set and there are just too many loopholes in it for one to make sense. But the children and their antics with the goons kind of makes up for it. The star attractions of the film are Hari and Tuk Tuk. It is on their shoulders that the film' fate rests. The problem with the adult characters is that they are all too sketchy and more like caricatures than real characters. Beyond a point of time, it does tend to get a little too tedious, as the storyline is no state secret.

But what is praiseworthy about the film is that at no point does it get preachy and talk down to its target audience. It is about children and hence is full of a lot of slaptick kind of humour which will go down well with them. Kohli and Bajaj's film picks up pace in the second half with the arrival of the goons. The latter half is definitely more interesting. The film's directors have also managed to do a great job in the character of Hari. He is the right blend of vulnerability and smartness. Tuk Tuk's character proves to be a perfect foil for Hari. The goons are suitably ridiculous to appeal to the kids. And both Raaz and Shukla put in good performances. But not good enough take away the credit from Zain Khan's Hari Puttar.

Sarika is effective as the mother. But the rest of the cast, including Lillette Dubey and Jackie Shroff appear more like caricatures. There is not much that the actors can do beyond a point. Hence, beyond a point, one can hardly blame them. The fault if any, lies with the writers. The film's music by Aadesh Srivatava is just about okay. Nothing much to write about.

In short, Hari Puttar, is a film which should appeal to a kiddy audience. It has enough gags to engage them and a protagonist, who is extremely loveable.