The story
Chippa (Sunny Pawar) is a young lad who’s told that his mother died while giving birth to him and his father ran away with another woman. Since then, this young boy is raised by his grand-aunt, who is a grumpy old grunion. Chippa’s task involves assisting his aunt, who makes piping hot samosas at a prominent street in Kolkata. On the eve of his 10th birthday, he receives a letter from his father written in Urdu. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know anyone who can read the letter for him and a little tiff with his aunt sends him on a quest.The young Chippa has packed his bags, left the house and discovers the night-skies of Kolkata coming alive with a hoard of activities. His encounter with the taxi driver turns out to been quite an interesting one. Over a cup of chai, the young lad engages in interesting conversations with someone who is twice his age. Following this, they go to watch a football match.
The night is still young and Chippa then meets a drunk man. The man rebukes him at first, but later strikes an insightful conversation with the lad. The seemingly awkward basics of philosophy come alive as Chippa leads the conversation. Chippa very sensibly sends the drunk man home in a taxi. Chippa then meets a Pippa, an adorable puppy.
His adventures in the course of the night include hiding in the mail van and getting smitten by the contraptions that help build the infrastructure of the modern day and age. On the brink of dawn he meets a newspaper vendor, who finally helps him with the letter. And, just before proceeding to read the letter the vendor gets teary eyed. When Chippa asks who he is, the vendor smartly takes him to his place. What happens then is for you to watch.
The review
Sunny Pawar is an innocent lad. The goodness in him shines out of his face like beams from the heart-warming sun. He’s got the most captivating smile, winning the hearts of millions of viewer’s from around the world. His speech is simple and clear. He seems to have gotten into the skin of the character with great ease. The background score and the thoughtful animation add extra brownie points to the meaningful plot. The real by-lanes of Kolkata deliver the viewers to the buyout charms of the city. The direction is simple, and build progressively with every passing frame. The timing is accurate, and accords well with the music in the film. Overall, a must watch! After all one cannot often get to relive simplicity in a rather complex world.
Film: Chippa
Cast: Sunny Pawar, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Ronjini Chakroborty, Sumeet Thakur, Tanaji Dasgupta, Joyraj Bhatterjee
Director: Safdar Rahman
Platform: Netflix
Rating: 4.5/5
