Satrangee Parachute Movie Review: Odd, 'Atrangee Parachute'

'Satrangee Parachute' is an example of how the script and story can pretty much make or break a film. And unfortunately, the film at hand is a broken one.

The cast and the technical crew here turn in some pliable performances, but are wholly let down by an ill constructed story, a dull screenplay and rather drab, dry dialogues. Purportedly a children's film, 'Satrangee Parachute' holds appeal for none.

The story revolves around Pappu, a little boy from Nainital, a bright child, but prone to dwelling in his own fantasies. Pappu is a good child, but frequently runs away from home to see the sights and sounds of the world outside. Though his father Chhotulal, a snow cone seller and mother Sumitra, love him dearly, his frequent vagaries have made Pappu a headache for the whole neighbourhood, parents included. Pappu's friends include his classmates, Shimit, Lateef, Adeeb and Monu, the last one the only son of local 'policiya' Pratap Singh. But Pappu's dearest friend is Kuhu, a little blind girl who he spends all his time describing the world to. When Kuhu decides she wants to know how it feels to fly, Pappu and his friends run away to Mumbai to buy a parachute for her, landing themselves in more trouble than they bargained for.

Vineet takes up almost three quarters of the entire film establishing Pappu as an innocent, precocious child, something that is evident even in the first ten minutes itself. A story which could otherwise have been told over a twenty minute short film instead gets stretched without substance over two hours. Characters like that of Jackie Shroff and his ATF team are introduced without elaboration in the first half, helplessly flailing around till the last ten minutes of the film when the story finally gives them a purpose. Even characters like that of Sanjay Mishra's Pratap Singh and Rajpal Yadav's Masterji float around without anything to do through most of the film.

Pulakesh Bhowmick's story and screenplay drag the film down and crash into the most unrealistic, haphazard ending possible, with no trace of structure or character development present, while Anupama Mishra's dialogues offer nothing memorable. Soumik Haldar, on the other hand, paints a beautiful picture of Nainital in his cinematography, creating vivid visuals of the greenery and mountain sides of the region.

Musically, Kaushik Dutta and Shamir Tandon come together to create a rather ho hum soundtrack. The track 'teri lori' tries its best to tug at the audiences' heartstrings, but comes off as a cheap imitation of 'maa' from 'Taare Zameen Par'. Tandon's sole talent in composing seems to be the ability to persuade Lata Mangeshkar to sing on his albums, even if her voice is wholly unsuited for the number. Here, he gets Lata to voice 'tere hasne se', but the ill arranged number simply doesn't work.

On the acting side, Siddhartha Sanghani takes the lead as Pappu. Though he plays a charming child, at times, Sanghani's precociousness comes off as a bit forced. There's also quite a bit left wanting in his dialogue delivery. Directors must realise now that even the bar for child actors has been raised after films like 'Taare Zameen Par' and that one must hold more rehearsals and workshops for films like these. Fortunately, Rajvi Patel, playing the visually impaired Kuhu, saves the day for the younger lot, playing the little girl very naturally. The other child stars are fairly average.

Amongst the adults, Zakir Hussain and Rupali Ganguli play Pappu's parents with a lot of sincerity. Sanjay Mishra, however, is wasted, unfunny in the comic scenes and a bit funny in the emotional scenes in the second half, failing to evoke any reaction from the crowds. Rajpal Yadav is also equally wasted as Pappu's masterji. Kay Kay Menon and Jackie Shroff get less than five minutes of screen time each and are both fairly okay.

'Satrangee Parachute' is the sort of children's film one would have though B'town left behind a long time ago. An ill conceived story and a badly constructed screenplay make this a film without any appeal. Vineet Khetarpal needs to sharpen his skills a whole lot more before he takes the filmy plunge again. On the whole, more than 'satrangee', this is an odd, 'atrangee parachute'.