A CUTE KID ENTERTAINER
By Satyajit
Critic's I-view "Kya Tum Mere Dost Banoge…" the innocence of a kid seeking a bond of friendship with his favorite deity makes things happen as the kid is energized as super-kid. It is a land of magic as all problems get solved through Lord Ganesha's might and strength. It's a land where magical things turn world upside down with the grace of Lord Ganesha. It's animation cinema and is growing fast but demands lots of improvisation and innovation. 'My Friend Ganesha', the fun-filled kid entertainer belongs to multiple genre of cinema as it unravels many facades of filmmaking. After 'Hum Tum' and 'Bhagamati - the queen of fortune', comes 'Ganesha' that mixes animation in a feature film for its story narration. The multifaceted success of mythological animation films like 'Hanuman' and 'Krishna' have been the ideal driving force for the film. 'My Friend Ganesha' is a devoted presentation to Lord Ganesha as it encapsulates the age-old story of "Mushakraj" and also explains many synonyms given to the deity. At a time when there is a rat race for Hollywood DVD's rip-off, remakes and erotic thrillers, it needs load of courage and will to swim against the tide. The film is one such example as it dares to be different and innovative in its treatment and presentation. Now to analyze film like 'My Friend Ganesha', you have to be a kid at heart to understand the skin and soul of the characters. There is a need for a genuine critic to analyze this kid entertainer and not a sadistic cynic to pick and choose rough spots and then lambast it. Definitely, it's not a contemporary entertainer as the target audiences are kids, so you have to be a kid to visualize it. The film works as a mythological folklore explained in animation format and thereafter the animation is submerged with real life characters. It's a devotional presentation that has been narrated from the mindset of a child though the scripting needs to be well conceived. It's a kid friendship journey with Lord Ganesha that forms the core element to the script. The real story of "mushak" (rat) and its association with Lord Ganesha and the "vignaharta" depiction and presentation of Lord Ganesha are the two major aspects of the film. Firstly, its mythological aspect! The story of evil "mushakraj" converting into a meek rat by the might of Lord Ganesha holds significance as many of us are unaware of this folklore. Secondly, it's the "vignaharta" attire of Lord Ganesha as he removes all the obstacles in the way of his devotees. Lastly, it's the entertainment content that comes more as fictional work where Lord Ganesha in its kid depiction befriends a loner kid and saves her family from all sorts of fiascos. The story of 'My Friend Ganesha' revolves around an affluent family of Mumbai. It's the story of lovable kid Ashu (Ahsaas Channa), who shares the bond of love, and affection with her father Aditya (Kiran Jangiani) and mother Arti (Sheetal Shah). She has affectionate "bua" (father's sister) Aditi (Aarya) living with her. Gangutai (Upasana Singh), an extrovert and loud mouthed maid of his house is a staunch devotee of Lord Ganesha. The story of the film takes a whirlpool of twist "n" turns when Ashu rescues a rat from drowning. The poor rat's life is saved at a time when the whole Mumbai faces a natural catastrophe of flood and heavy rain downpour in the city and its surroundings. Gangutai, an ardent devotee of Lord Ganesha, explains the importance of "rat" in Lord Ganesha's life and how "mushak" (rat) became Ganesha's "vahan" (vehicle)? The story gets transformed into an animation format where the story of evil "mushakraj" is narrated by Gangutai to Ashu. The story holds its magnetism as Ashu demands to have Lord Ganesha at her place. Unfortunately, both of her parents face a crisis in their relative professions - Aaditya (Ashu's father ) is entrapped in a bank scam and his mother is terminated for negligence at her working place. Gangutai helps them in getting Lord Ganesha at their place with full rituals and customs. Ashu, a loner by heart, cries for friendship in front of Lord Ganesha and finally the latter appears in its "kid" avatar! The arrival of Lord Ganesha in the life of Ashu changes the complexion of the film. Little Ganesha gets into the body of Ashu and confronts goons and his enemies. He even solves the problems of his parents with his might. Finally, he converts a sleazy MMS of her father's sister into frolicking animation clip. That's not all; the film brings the devotional aspect of the film through devotional offering sung in traditional prayers and lovable soundtracks. It's a decent attempt but lacks the innovative skills to make things happen in positive ways. As far as animation is concerned, 'Hanuman' still holds the distinction of being the most finely crafted animation film in Hindi films. It's no great technical wizardly as the special effects (radiant animation) look contemporary but appeal to senses at many places. Even the scripting loses its control at many places. Aarti's termination at her office looks absurd and her patch-up with her boss sounds even more artificial. Aaditya's bank scam plot is half-baked while Aditi's love story and blackmailing are not well narrated. Besides these loopholes, if one looks at positive aspects, the film entertains to a large level of kid audiences. Screenplay and dialogues (S Sachinder) are decent but deserve to be still better as such a fragile subject demands great innovative skills. The last sequence of "Ganesha Visarjan" is finely executed but the story of "Mushakraj" has to be curtailed. Sound (Ashfaque Rentia) works well in the contents. Music (Sameer Phaterpherkar) is finely delivered and it entertains in title track "My Friend Ganesha" and "Mangal Arti". One wonders why the music company "Kaleidoscope" hasn't taken any pain to promote its music album as it could have been a surprise like 'Hanuman' or 'Krishna'. 'My Friend Ganesha' completely belongs to child artiste - Ahsaas Channa and by all respect she (yes she is baby girl and not boy) deserves all accolades for her confident screen presence. Year 2007 has been proving to be a "wonderful" year for child actors and the encouraging news continues with 'My Friend Ganesha'. Ahsaas did a splendid job in 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna' (Shah Rukh's son) and now she excels to perfection in all frames. Kiran Jangiani delivers his most decent performance as he was relegated to playing sleazy roles in B-grade entertainers. Shital Shah and Aarya have worked mechanically according to the need of the character. Upasana Singh shows her experience and witty acting skills in portraying a significant character in the film. After films like 'Loafer' and 'Aitraaz', she comes up with another frothy performance and deserves all positive remarks for her role in the film. Director and writer Rajiv S Ruia has matured well from B-grade entertainers like 'Jalwa- fun in love' and 'Mission Mumbai' to this decent kid entertainer. There is nothing ground-breaking or extraordinary about it but he should be applauded for attempting an innovative script with technical vision. Bollywood still has to cross many miles in establishing themselves in child fiction and animation genre. 'My Friend Ganesha' proves to be a decent fanfare for child audiences but won't be anything promising for its distributors or producers. If it enjoys a "good word of publicity" then certainly it will add to it merits, otherwise biggies like 'Aaap Ka Surror', 'Apne' and 'Awarapaan' are already ruling the box office. Next week the fight will become tougher when the fifth version of Harry Potter series "Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix" will be hitting theatres. Let's hope and pray that Lord Ganesha makes it a winning statement as the tinsel world is yet to experience a super hit in the child fiction category. |
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
CID
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