• Friday, June 12, 2009

• Language:

  Hindi

2009

Zor Lagaa Ke... Haiyaa is about how a group of children, with the help of a homeless man, overcome all the obstacles to save a tree from being razed by a money-minded construction giant and his contractor. Their quest mirrors the apathy of contemporary society to such types of environmental issues. Through nonstop action, comedy and adventure, the children finally realize what it takes to stand their ground in the battle against concrete.

Character Sketch

Mithun Chakravorty - Raavan
A talented loner with a mysterious past and a love for his own space and privacy; much more to him than what meets the eye

Gulshan Grover - Bakshi
A conniving, sadistic and money minded builder who gets the job done at any cost, especially at the expense of Mother Nature.

Mahesh Manjrekar - Gupta
A foolish contractor whose intelligence and experience repeatedly fall short when there's work to be done.

Riya Sen - Chamki
A sweet petite construction worker who works on Mr.Bakshi's construction site, who otherwise is distinguished as Mr. Gupta's love interest.

Seema Biswas - Aai
A woman who sees no hope for a better tomorrow, and is constantly in the fear of her employers, Gupta and Bakshi.

Sachin Khedekar - Vivek
Karan's father, who has a typical middle class mentally as he complains constantly about everything without making even the slightest effort to bring about change.

Raj Zutshi - Asthana
The typical rich client, who in search of new homes for the purpose of investment.

Laddu
A complete foodie, his world revolves around food, food and only food.

Ritesh
The shrewdest kid in the gang, he knows how to get his work done by putting his friends in trouble.

Priya
Though very beauty conscious, she is the one with aspirations to be the next Miss India. She is also the smartest in the gang.

Karan
The head of the gang, but always simple, humble and emotionally bound to his family and friends; one who never backs down from fighting for what he loves.

Ram
Labourer at the site who aspires to be an architect; he knows how to tackle his adversaries and brings solace to his mother and little brother.

Maxabout Review

Strictly ‘kiddish' Fare.. !

Zor Laga Ke... Haiya starts off on a promising note, with five kids up to the serious business of playing pranks and generally seeing monsters in harmless beggars. However, as the film progresses, you realize that the filmmaker has made unnecessary attempts to make the film more entertaining - right from incorporating out of tune songs to sudden scenes from the Mahabharata, enacted by the five kids. The attempt at humor fails miserably.

The environmental message that the film propagates is perhaps Zor Laga Ke... Haiya's only saving grace. One wonders why it has won so many awards at film festivals.

If only Indian filmmakers would take kids' films seriously, their cinematic world would be so much more entertaining. Unfortunately, filmmakers have constantly fallen into the tempting trap of dishing out childish fare to a generation which has access to Harry Potter and Narnia, not to mention the brilliant Hollywood animation films which entertain adults equally.

The best thing about Zor Lagaa Ke is that the children in the film behave their age unlike typical filmy kids and their behaviour in this film is definitely relatable. Girish and his writer’s team have come up with some really good emotional moments especially in the second half.

It`s quite funny to watch the kids and the beggar work up some really naughty tricks to save the tree. Gulshan Grover is at his villainous best, and his side kick, played by Mahesh Manjrekar, gives the film a comical appeal.

ZOR LAGAA KE... HAIYA has its share of unexciting moments. The portions between Mahesh Manjrekar and Riya Sen are irritating and could've been avoided. The comedy too seems forced. Director Girish Girija Joshi could've made an absorbing fare, given the fact that the concept is indeed novel. Music too is weak.  It does get shallow on its social scope and, to an extent, also has the trappings of a Pogo channel TV show. But otherwise the film is a decent attempt with dignified intentions. The film fruitfully adds life to a wooden concern.

Each single kid has leaves you very impressed with his/her endearing act. While Ashwin Chitale the child star of India’s Oscar entry Shwaas is simply superb in emotional moments, the burly Hardik and also Meghan, Ayesha and Ritwik enact their parts naturally.
Mahesh Manjrekar is the most entertaining amongst the adults. The constant bearing he has maintained of his mannerisms is howlarious. Seema Biswas is remarkable as usual. Gulshan Grover is menacingly good. Riya Sen manages a cute cameo. But it is Mithun who towers over the film with his absolutely brilliant acting. This old war horse has proved yet again that if you give him a good role and a nice script and he will show you why he is such a multi National Award winning actor.