A poor fatherless chap,Arjun Waghmare(Partho Gupte) who works as a helper in a tea-stall in the posh Bandra-Kurla Complex of Mumbai discovers a hidden world - a swarm of kids getting trained in skating by an elusive coach,Lucky Sir and nurtures a dream of mastering the skill.With a backdrop of a sport thats rarely explored on our celluloid, director Amol Gupte weaves a sentimental tale of the underdog.
The mentor and his protégé foster an endearing relationship and Arjun becomes the modern-day 'Eklaava' as mis-spelt by his chillar party friends who put in all their heart and efforts to craft his wheels of fortune and glory - The Hawaa Hawaai.
Gupte's approach is piercingly intimate;bolstered with a profound background score, the camera caresses each of the character's expressions with extreme fondness while depicting their day-to-day chores and some interesting vignettes.It does get preachy at times with an attempt to make the film socially uplifting when it portrays the natural economic inequality between the kids of different strata.
Even you would notice that it tries hard to tag you with its melodramatic elements- like the back-story of the protagonist's dead father ,a cotton farmer(Makrand Deshpande) or the mother-son relationship.And it does evoke tear in our eyes.Morever, what kept me invested was the camaraderie between Arjun and his four closest friends - Gochi,a garage mechanic (Ashfaque Khan), Bhura,a flower seller (Salman Khan), Abdul - worker in zari workshop(Maaman Memon), and Murugan, a rag-picker (Thirupathi Kushnapelli).They are the picks from Gupte's theater workshop.The band of boys spell magic with their sheer effortless performances.
Yet, its Partho who steals your heart with an admirable performance.An underprivileged guy with an unflinching determination to win against all odds and hardships,he unleashes his nuke potential with great ease.Saqeeb Salim , who impressed us in his last outing Bombay Talkies, is in terrific form this time.As Lucky 'Sir',his spirited act imbues the skating coach-figure with flesh, blood and bite.
A well narrated and emphatically told story,Hawaai Hawaai deserves an ovation.Amol Gupte crafts a heartwarming,tear-evoking masterpiece on the triumph of human aspirations and dreams.Do give it a try !
Rating : 3.5/5
The mentor and his protégé foster an endearing relationship and Arjun becomes the modern-day 'Eklaava' as mis-spelt by his chillar party friends who put in all their heart and efforts to craft his wheels of fortune and glory - The Hawaa Hawaai.
Gupte's approach is piercingly intimate;bolstered with a profound background score, the camera caresses each of the character's expressions with extreme fondness while depicting their day-to-day chores and some interesting vignettes.It does get preachy at times with an attempt to make the film socially uplifting when it portrays the natural economic inequality between the kids of different strata.
Even you would notice that it tries hard to tag you with its melodramatic elements- like the back-story of the protagonist's dead father ,a cotton farmer(Makrand Deshpande) or the mother-son relationship.And it does evoke tear in our eyes.Morever, what kept me invested was the camaraderie between Arjun and his four closest friends - Gochi,a garage mechanic (Ashfaque Khan), Bhura,a flower seller (Salman Khan), Abdul - worker in zari workshop(Maaman Memon), and Murugan, a rag-picker (Thirupathi Kushnapelli).They are the picks from Gupte's theater workshop.The band of boys spell magic with their sheer effortless performances.
Yet, its Partho who steals your heart with an admirable performance.An underprivileged guy with an unflinching determination to win against all odds and hardships,he unleashes his nuke potential with great ease.Saqeeb Salim , who impressed us in his last outing Bombay Talkies, is in terrific form this time.As Lucky 'Sir',his spirited act imbues the skating coach-figure with flesh, blood and bite.
A well narrated and emphatically told story,Hawaai Hawaai deserves an ovation.Amol Gupte crafts a heartwarming,tear-evoking masterpiece on the triumph of human aspirations and dreams.Do give it a try !
Rating : 3.5/5