Hardly Anything About ‘Atkan Chatkan’ Works Except Its Intention

The web world is certainly a platform which has not only liberated creators but even the viewers in several ways where they have a plethora of content to choose their pick from. And while that is a good thing, the idea of getting bombarded is more common now than ever and only a few standout projects get their due recognition. Zee5, as a platform has been home to good content but unfortunately, Atkan Chatkan isn’t a part of it.

Little Guddu works at a tea stall and has a knack for understanding and creating music out of every sound possible in this world. He aspires to be a musician but needless to say, nothing works out for him as he is slammed, harassed and thrown here and there – from his employers as well as his drunk and good-for-nothing father. Things start gradually changing when he encounters similarly aged child nobodys who have their share of being harassed and fighting to survive in this unforgiving world. A school competition and an unknown past makes up for the rest of the film and of course, it ends happily for everyone.

It is rather saddening that with a core concept so unique, the makers chose to go with the clichéd route to express their message, or so tell a story. What could have been about finding his music through unconventional ways and sounds ended up being the boring see-that saga about a nobody rising through the odds. The treatment of a beautiful concept like this is so dated that you almost feel like switching it off after a while. Apart from the obvious stereotypes, I fail to understand as to why and how would a random school principal be intertwined in a slum kid’s life so much just to win a competition? 

Casting kids is usually a smart idea as they have a sense of innocence and are unfiltered with their performances thus bringing in authenticity. However, that is another downer for Atkan Chatkan where the kids try their best to emote, sometimes too much and barely anything feels organic and impactful. I am guessing this film’s dubbing was done during lockdown because it is so badly done that the protagonist’s voice seems entirely off from the emotion going on-screen.

The only one thing that probably works for the film is the intention behind it. As mentioned, the concept of the film is beautiful where a little kid constantly facing all the struggles in this brutal world finds a reckoning with music and that too, unconventionally. This would have been the idea which was turned into a clichéd old movie being presented in 2020 today. Atkan Chatkan would have been a lot more but ending up being a totally lost opportunity.

Rating - *1/2 (1.5/5)