The Blue Umbrella (2007)

Once read this somewhere : 'Nothing can make you smile like a fable'. True, absolutely. There is a child in all of us. And we need to pamper it. Pamper to be calm from inside. Pamper to be calm from inside. Pamper to know and to teach that child, difference between right and wrong. And all these sweet little fables prove such a perfect medium to convey these things. I always wish to get more time to read [in that case, I envy Librarian's job :P yes, Beth]. Sigh..cause I can manage a little time for it.

And with that little time, one can always rely on great stories turned into movie adaptations by none other than Vishal Bhardwaj. He has always been such a great story teller. Be it on TV earlier or his debut movie 'Makdee'; he has always perfect art of story telling like our very own Grannies do. And again, his great music sense meeting gems of Gulzar saab, there is no room for sorrowfulness.

Adapted from Rusking Bond's short novel, of same title, The Blue Umbrella tells story of little girl Biniya, played by Shreya Sharma. A cute little  girl living in beautiful village surrounded by ice clad mountains. She is of 'Papa Ki Pari'; and beloved of the village. Except the shop keeper Nandu Khatri [Pankaj Kapur]- who runs a small Tea and Snacks stall. Nandu is greedy, mean and attention seeker but also child at heart. He lives alone and gets help for shop from Rajaram. The loneliness has made him more rustic.

On one beautiful day, Biniya accidently finds an umbrella and instantly falls in love with irresistible Aasmani Chhatri.  Coming to know it belongs to tourists, she barters her Bear Claw locket with the umbrella. And now it becomes life for her. Everywhere she carries it. Plays and sleeps with it.

On the other side, Nandu is getting envious of her, getting all the attention.

Meanwhile on one dark day, Biniya finds out that her beloved umbrella is missing. and goes into deep trauma. Blaming on Nandu, that he has robbed it, police checks but nothing is found. After a few days, Nandu gets a parcel of similar designed Red Umbrella all the way from Delhi. Now Nandu goes high on it, and becomes center of attraction of the village. All admiration comes his way, while Biniya can not forget her loss, and Nandu's new found admiration-she can't come out of sadness.

Does she get her beloved blue umbrella back? Who is thief ? and how interestingly Biniya bonds a relationship with loner Nandu Khatri..that's more to find out on the movie.

Charm of the movie lies in sheer beauty of it. The location is stunning. And equally beautifully designed Umbrella-the central character. [Designer: Sariska Rai] Hills of Himachal Pradesh looks oh so lovely on screen. Cinematographer Sachin Krishn is hero of the movie, indeed. Each frame is a portrait.

While Vishal had the story ready in the books, his characterization and direction is just so perfect. The execution is just so intriguing we feel like living inside the movie. Being one of the character.

Shreya Sharma does perfect job in her debut film. She's clever yet cute little girl. And shows affection to rather lifeless umbrella very effortlessly. Also she doesn't look overgrown as many of bolly kids are. As the movie progresses you can note how multi shade her role is. In a certain scene, I was impressed by her act, that at one moment she's jumping with joy and very next moment she's hiding her tears.

Pankaj Kapur-man of all seasons. One can never go wrong when expecting things from him. His character who is both mean and childish at times. One can see that inquisitiveness in his eyes. He perfects each and every moment he is on screen. Final 20 minutes of the movie, simply breaks your heart by his splendid performance. What a great actor !!

Music is as always-fantastic. What more can you expect from the duo Vishal-Gulzar!! First song 'Mera Tesoo' is a fun kid song. It reminds me of my childhood when I used to play on Diwali. Where we light a torch [with oiled cloth tied on a stick] and visit door to door to collect money to keep the light burning whole night. :)

Or was it Desi Halloween?

Another beautiful track is 'Neeli Aasmani Chhatri'. Visual delight. Watch it below. Such a beautiful picturisation and similarly great lyrics. Love it . Third song 'Burfan Burfan' has sad feeling and sung by Sukhwinder Singh.is another lyrical bliss.

And at last, this movie had Aamir Khan !! Cant believe? see following pic closely :D,

and another pic, showing the Best slogan-must for all shops, below.

Overall, its one fantastic movie which is wrongly categorized as 'Children's Film' [even awarded at National Awards]. Come on, we all are children at inside. The sweet little child, who fears from darkness, feels insecure when alone, needs caring hugs and always having questions in those inquisitive eyes.....aren't we??

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My Rating : 5 / 5
Running Time : 90 Minutes
The movie is available online at Rajshri.com. Watch it !!