Chippa

Chippa
Image source: Google

Ratings: 3/5

Duration: 1 Hr 31 Mins

Director: Safdar Rahman

Genre: Drama

Release Date: 1st June 2020

Streaming On: Netflix

Cast: Sunny Pawar, Joyraj Bhattacharya, Sumeet Thakur, Gautam Sarkar, Masood Akhtar, Kalpan Mitra, Mala Mukherjee, Tanaji Dasgupta, Chandan Roy Sanyal

Plot: ‘Chippa’ a tale told through a single night in the winters of Kolkata is about a street smart boy Chippa (Sunny Pawar), who stays with his samosa-seller grumpy grand-aunt (Mala Mukherjee) on the pavement and works.

A day before his birthday, a letter addressed to him from his father, whom he does not remember was handed over to him. Unfortunately, the letter was written in Urdu hence he needed someone to read it for him. After a fight with his grand-aunt for not lending her a helping hand, along with the letter, the little boy decides to leave his pavement abode at the stroke of midnight, on his 10th birthday. Therefore, Chippa grabs a bag and heads out to discover the city and its street nightlife, while trying to locate a person who knows Urdu.

Review: ‘Chippa’, the film where the Kolkata city is seen through the eyes of a homeless child, who is yet to figure out exactly how unfair life has been to him. There is warmth in his story and Safdar Rahman, debutant writer-director has managed quite aptly to keep the narration of Chippa’s adventure simple.

As being a children's film, the glare of neon lights is inevitably less harsh. Though the film does not shy away from revealing an urban underbelly of streetwalkers, alcoholics, migrants and construction workers struggling to get by in an environment loaded against them, however, the core idea is to showcase a little boy from the streets, who finds hope in a letter that he cannot read, and that gives the film an engaging plot.

When it comes to the performances, Sunny Pawar (Chippa) is back with another magnificent act. He played Dev Patel’s younger on-screen self in the 2016 film Lion. He, yet again, delivers a spirited performance that transmits warmth and brightness and can be seen standing strong against actors’ way older than him. The rest of the star cast Sumeet Thakur, Tanaji Dasgupta, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Gautam Sarkar, Masood Akhtar, Mala Mukherjee among others - are excellent actors as well, who populates his night-time adventure and triggers an aspiration in the boy.

The night, which is long that leads Chippa into little episodes shows the audience a few joyful rides along with a few bumpy ones of his journey. And amidst all of them, stands Chippa-petting his dog, Pippa, and smiling through the sad world of adults, and that makes it a feel-good film.

The film Chippa that has been to a few big festivals before landing up in the OTT space is a heart-warming and life-affirming film, which has touched an instant chord without overplaying its hand.