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A wafer-thin plot for a kids film

Star performers: Zain Khan and Swini Khara in a still from Hari Puttar -A Comedy of Terrors

Film: Hari Puttar

Direction: Lucky Kohli, Rajesh Bajaj

Cast: Jackie Shroff, Lillette Dubey, Sarika, Zain Khan, and Swini Khara

Remember the days when a peck amounted to promising marriage, when the line between magic and science was imperceptible. As “Hari Puttar” opens, it reminds of that blithe age when moon appears as a ball you can kick around.

Set in picturesque Yorkshire, directors Lucky Kohli and Rajesh Bajaj, manage to capture some excellent chemistry between Zain Khan, in the title role, and Swini Khara, as the cute little girl, who knows more than her age. But that’s about all.

Yes, there is no similarity with “Harry Potter” and “Home Alone” is just an inspiration, but the problem with “Hari Puttar” is the plot so shallow that even the kids, the target audience, will find hard to trust. Nobody expects a layered story in a children’s film, but one does expect the audience being treated as intelligent, irrespective of the age group.

Imagine two mothers forgetting their kids at home just because there were too many kids to look after and they were in a hurry to catch a train! The two crooks (Saurabh Shukla and Vijay Raaz) that Hari takes on never seem intimidating or even interested in what they set out to do. So there is no real conflict.

Their characterisation starts from slapstick and ends as repulsive. Then there is a hideous villain trying hard to copy the popular villain of yesteryear, Ajit. It is improbable that kids will get the desired import.

On and off, the directors introduce a couple of cartoon characters which have no utility in the plot apart from an advertisement for a brand of biscuits.

In fact, their presence hampers the narration. In a film meant for kids, elders seem to believe overacting is the order of the day. Jackie Shroff is out of form. Lillette Dubey is hamming and Sarika is trying hard to make some sense out of a wafer-thin plot. In the end it is just the effervescent Zain who lends some believability to the film. The boy is quite a natural in whatever he does.

The directors have apparently forgotten that kids still watch films mostly in the company of their parents. The story should have something to keep all age groups engrossed.

And recently some Hollywood films have shown how it could be done.

Here the film seems to be a plan of a media house to test Bollywood’s choppy waters. Don’t be a guinea pig this week!

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