Hawaa Hawaai Reviews

They not only make us think differently, but also make us weep and value our relationships and often, instigate us to do the impossible. Yes, that's what inspirational films like 'Hawaa Hawaai' do to us. Interestingly, Amole Gupte's much-anticipated film, which features son Partho and actor Saqib Saleem in key roles, not only mentors the viewers, especially kids to dream big, but also sends out a strong and positive message about business practice. Read on to know the lesson that cine-goers, irrespective of their age, profession and economical background, can learn from 'Hawaa Hawaai'.

There are spoilers ahead so if you haven't seen 'Hawaa Hawaai', we would suggest you to come back to this write-up later.

2011's Stanley Ka Dabba was a real victory for Hindi cinema. Amole Gupte's first film as director won us over with its gentle, unhurried narration and heartwarming story. The film ended on a rather grave note, shaking us up with the reality of its protagonist - a young boy who worked for wages at a dingy restaurant late in the night.

Gupte's second film, Hawaa Hawaai, in essence, takes off from where Stanley Ka Dabba ends. The lead character, Arjun Harishchandra Waghmare (Partho Gupte; he played the central role in Stanley too), is a pre-teen who works as a tea vendor. In the first few minutes of the film, we see Arjun slog his way through his first day at work in the sweltering heat, his eyes droopy from tiredness as night approaches.

You meet Arjun's friends, all working kids - a ragpicker, a gajra seller, a factory worker and a mechanic - while a sequence intercuts shots of the five kids going about their routines with that of children who lead more "normal" lives, going to school, practicing art, playing sport, etc. Cinematographer Amol Gole captures these moments with a loving hand, while Hitesh Sonik's score complements Gole's meticulous frames and editor Deepa Bhatia's seamless transitions.

You know that Gupte is aiming for something higher here - Hawaa Hawaai asks uncomfortable questions, making us extremely conscious of our passiveness to kids' issues. How often do we say a kind word to a child selling magazines at a traffic signal? Do we ever wonder if the newspaper delivery boy heads to school after finishing work? Are we always in the know about the lives of our help's children? Are the aspirations of kids from the lesser-privileged strata of society not as important as that of those who are well-off?

Soul-searching is integral to your Hawaa Hawaai experience. To the film's credit - and a testimony to the brilliance of the child actors - there's never an obvious effort to gain sympathy. There's poetry in the kids' actions, like when the ragpicker rolls down a heap of garbage, and then helps his friends look for scrap to build make-shift skates for Arjun. Arjun's dream - of being able to roller-skate - becomes their ambition, even if it requires them to let go off their own aspirations temporarily. "Ek time pe ekach sapna," is how young Gochi puts it.

Partho, miles ahead of most first-time actors in Stanley Ka Dabba, is older, wiser and a lot more comfortable in his skin in Hawaa Hawaai. Ashfaque Bismillah Khan (Gochi), Salman Chhote Khan (Bhura), Maaman Menon (Abdul) and Thirupathi Kushnapelli (Bindaas Murugan) are all extremely endearing as Arjun's gang of buddies. The five actors perform some of the most crucial scenes with a kind of awe-inspiring ease, which is a real triumph for Gupte as director.

Biting his teeth into a meaty role is Saqib Saleem, who gave us no reason to complain in his earlier films. He continues in the same vein in Hawaa Hawaai, and is extremely competent. Saleem plays Arjun's coach, Aniket Bhargava, who seems to have more riding on Arjun's success than Arjun himself. In a role-reversal of sorts, the guru seeks inspiration from his shishya ("Eklavaa"), and in exchange proves to be the father figure the boy often finds missing.

If there's a grouse with the film, it's that it places a bigger emphasis on winning than it probably should. Life being as tough as it is for Arjun, and with the odds firmly stacked against him, ending up in a state-level rolling skating championship race seems like quite the Herculean achievement in itself. Probably, in its efforts to appease audiences (everyone loves an underdog story) - and due to a grating, melodramatic flashback scene that seems far too manipulative for its own good - Hawaa Hawaai forsakes tonal consistency for a crowd-pleasing finale.

Yet, there's so much goodness, so much warmth and such honesty in Hawaa Hawaai's intentions, it's hard to not have your heart melt. Chances are, the film will also make you want to put on those rolling skates, even though at the risk of landing you hard on your behind or - as Gochi calls it - "naram naram bun pav".