Quite a few of us, at some point or the other in life, have experienced that highly unsettling feeling when we are suddenly uprooted from our comfort zone and forced to be a part of the world that we don’t belong to
'Killa'
U/A; Marathi-drama
Director: Avinash Arun
Cast: Amruta Subhash, Archit Deodhar, Parth Bhalerao
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Director Avinash Arun deserves credit for bringing together a near perfect star cast for this delightful film
Quite a few of us, at some point or the other in life, have experienced that highly unsettling feeling when we are suddenly uprooted from our comfort zone and forced to be a part of the world that we don’t belong to. Director Avinash Arun makes us face and analyse that uncomfortable feeling all over again, as he simply but effectively narrates the sensitive story of 11-year-old Chinu (Archit Deodhar).
Chinu is going through an emotional turmoil. Soon after losing his father, he’s forced to move from Pune to a small town in Konkan, as his mother (Amruta Subhash) is transferred there. Even as he seems mature beyond his years and carries a slight chip on his shoulder for being the big city boy in a small town school, his morbid fear of abandonment and adjusting to the new environment peeks through once too often. His fear is best showcased in a stellar scene shot in a fort that he visits with his friends, but later finds himself alone and lost.
After much struggle, Chinu is just about getting out of his painful phase and warming up to his classmates, when in a heart-breaking development, his mother gets into a spot of trouble in her office for which they might be forced to move to another place.
Arun makes a commendable debut as a director and cinematographer. It is also to his credit that he has brought together a near perfect star cast which includes a delightful bunch of competent child actors (Parth Bhalerao, Gaurish Gawde, Atharva Upasni and others) and a proficient theatre actress Amruta Subhash to play the helpless mother. A script laced with subtle humour and poignant lines (written by Tushaar Paranjape and Upendra Sindhaye) only makes it stronger.
Don’t miss this film. It is one of those precious little watches that’s capable of giving a quick bout of spring cleaning to your heart, bringing out a few uncomfortable emotions that one otherwise keeps tucked in untouched corners. And if you are lucky, you get a joyride back to your carefree, childhood days too.