The
tone
of
the
film
may
be
gloomy
but
it
is
never
tragic
or
hopeless.
Like
millions
of
underprivileged
people
who
find
joy
in
small
things,
Shanu,
Bua
and
their
mother
keep
their
heads
above
water,
notes
Deepa
Gahlot.
The
release
of
this
small
film,
Chidiya,
is
a
story
of
persistence,
quite
like
the
never-say-die
spirit
of
its
two
young
lead
characters.
Made
in
2016,
the
film
took
almost
a
decade
to
reach
the
theatres,
and
its
box
office
fate
is
pre-ordained,
unless
a
miracle
happens.
‘Making
an
indie
film
is
hard
but
releasing
it
is
even
harder,’
reads
a
card
handed
out
at
the
screening.
That’s
so
true.
Mehran
Amrohi,
director
and
co-writer
of
Chidiya,
is
not
a
complete
outsider.
He
is
related
to
Pakeezah
Director
Kamal
Amrohi
but
his
career
as
a
filmmaker
took
a
very
different
route
from
the
mainstream.
Chidiya
is
set
in
a
Mumbai
chawl,
where
a
pre-teen
Shanu
(Svar
Kamble)
and
his
younger
brother,
Bua
(Ayush
Pathak),
live
with
their
widowed
mother,
Vaishnavi
(Amruta
Subhash),
struggling
to
make
ends
meet.
Their
kindhearted
uncle,
Bali
(Vinay
Pathak)
lives
a
few
doors
down
with
his
wife
and
teenage
daughter,
Ishani
(Hetal
Gada).
Their
mother
cannot
afford
to
send
them
to
school,
so
the
kids
loiter
around
all
day,
and
carry
to
and
from
the
tailor
(Inaamulhaq)
the
saris
their
mother
works
on
at
home.
Bali
works
as
a
spot
boy
with
a
production
company
and
on
Vaishnavi’s
ardent
request,
he
takes
them
to
the
studio,
where
he
hopes
to
get
them
work.
On
the
day
they
visit,
an
actor
(Shreyas
Talpade)
is
doing
a
badminton-playing
scene,
and
the
boys
are
fascinated
with
the
game
—
they
don’t
even
know
what
it
is
called.
It
quickly
borders
on
obsession
when
the
actor
gives
Shanu
a
shuttlecock.
The
boys
first
have
to
find
a
place
to
play
—
which
they
do
with
some
difficulty
—
then
somehow
acquire
the
other
equipment
the
game
requires,
with
a
lot
of
jugaad.
But
against
all
labour
laws,
the
two
underage
boys
are
employed
as
tea-servers
on
the
set,
as
their
uncle’s
buddy
(Brijendra
Kala)
makes
endless
glasses
of
tea
for
the
film
crew.
They
work
from
dawn
to
night,
and
do
not
have
the
time
to
play.
The
story
is
set
in
a
world
that’s
helpful
and
generous.
The
‘villain’
is
the
boys’
poverty
that
steals
even
their
childish
desire
to
play
a
sport
that
is
not
meant
for
them.
Like
the
other
chawl
kids,
they
could
play
gully
cricket
or
other
easy
games
but
there
is
no
arguing
with
a
heart
that
is
set
on
something
that
is
out
of
reach.
Like
the
Iranian
films
about
precocious
kids
that
were
once
all
a
rage
on
festival
circuits,
and
slightly
reminiscent
of
the
Tamil
film
Kaakkaa
Muttai
that
was
about
two
slum
kids
who
want
to
eat
pizza,
or
the
Marathi
film,
Taryanche
Bait,
in
which
a
child
wishes
to
spend
time
in
a
five-star
hotel,
Chidiya
is
about
ordinary
aspirations.
The
brothers
in
Chidiya
are
disheartened
by
their
circumstances
but
do
not
rebel
or
break
the
moral
code
their
mother
lives
by.
Mehran
Amrohi
builds
up
the
story
in
a
gentle
way.
Whenever
they
are
a
step
closer
to
their
goal,
something
happens
to
stop
them.
The
tone
of
the
film
may
be
gloomy
but
it
is
never
tragic
or
hopeless.
Like
millions
of
underprivileged
people
who
find
joy
in
small
things,
Shanu,
Bua
and
their
mother
keep
their
heads
above
water.
The
film
is
realistic
in
its
approach.
There
is
no
foolish
optimism,
no
angel
steps
in
to
pull
the
family
out
of
their
dire
condition,
but
they
are
not
crushed
by
their
unfulfilled
dreams
either.
The
three
children
are
talented
and
act
with
ease
and
confidence.
Amruta
Subhash
and
Vinay
Pathak
as
the
adults,
who
want
the
best
for
their
kids,
are
endearing
too.
In
an
ideal
world,
Chidiya,
which
did
not
give
up
on
a
theatre
release,
would
find
an
appreciative
audience…
and
hope
floats.
Chidiya
Review
Rediff
Rating:
