Key Media Works and Smiley Films’ Chidiya is the story of two school-going brothers who live in a lower middle-class row house with their widowed mother and who are fascinated by the game of badminton.
Shanu (Svar Kamble) and Bua (Ayush Pathak) are little school-going kids who live in a lower middle-class chawl with their widowed mother (Amruta Subhash). The two kids visit a film set one day, where their Bali uncle (Vinay Pathak) works as a spot boy. Shanu is lucky to get a shuttlecock from actor Shreyas Talpade (Shreyas Talpade himself) on the set. The shuttlecock becomes their life as they dream of playing the game. Bali’s daughter, Ishani (Hetal Gada), who is the cousin of Shanu and Bua, also joins the two in their endeavour to find a place where they can play the game. They clear a space in their compound in which junk is lying. They also ask the neighbourhood tailor, Taj Bhai (Inaam-ul-haq), to make a net for them. Just as the stage seems set for the trio to play the game, Bali uncle asks the two kids to accompany him to the shooting as he has luckily secured jobs for them so that they can supplement the family income. Shanu and Bua are devastated at the thought of not being able to play badminton. After the Bombay shooting schedule, the unit shifts to Panchgani for further shooting. They are now convinced that they would never be able to play the game. Is their fear for real or is it unfounded?
Mehran Amrohi has written a very heartfelt story which, while talking of the two kids and their childhood fancy, also underlines the issue of child labour. The story has excellent moments. Mehran Amrohi and Amitabh Varma’s screenplay is fairly fast-paced and doesn’t lose grip on the viewers’ attention even for a minute. The drama is so poignant that it touches the viewer’s heart. The innocence of the children is so beautifully brought out by the writers that one must applaud them. The climax is understated and is a fitting finale to the drama. Mehran Amrohi and Ganesh Pandit’s dialogues are absolutely real and touch the heart at many places.
Svar Kamble shines in the role of Shanu. He is natural to the core. Debut-making Ayush Pathak wins the hearts of the viewers with his effortless and sincere performance as Bua. He is just too endearing. His repeated question to his mother about how he was born brings a smile to the face. Amruta Subhash deserves full marks for a performance which is brilliant. As the harrowed mother of Shanu and Bua, who is trying hard to make two ends meet, she is phenomenal. Vinay Pathak lives the role of Bali. Not once does he try to overshadow his co-actors — and that’s so heartwarming. Hetal Gada makes her presence amply felt in the role of Ishani. Inaam-ul-haq lends terrific support as tailor Taj Bhai. Brijendra Kala has his moments as Suraj. D. Santosh makes a fine impression as Ganesh Ratnam. Rahul Gandhi (as the film director) is realistic. Prarthana Behre leaves a mark as the film heroine. Shreyas Talpade plays himself well. Pratibha Bhagat (as Bali’s wife), Sandeep Pathak (as Tapan), Brijesh Karanwal (as Hari), Chinmay Jadhavrao (as Sultan), Janardhan Kadam (as the scrap dealer), Ashish Thorat (as Maadu), Mohammed Hanif (as the maulana), Anand Parasnis (as Patel uncle), Anil Nagarkar (as Rohitdas Kamble), Somnath Vaishnav (as the sports shop security guard), Khushi Deepen Shah (as the girl who offers ice cream), Muzaffar Khan (as Govind), Adithi Kalkunthe (as Rachel), Prasad Shikare (as the film hero), Avantika Shetty (as the film heroine), Ketaki Narayan (as the hero’s manager), and the others lend lovely support.
Mehran Amrohi’s direction is nice. Mehran has made a film straight from the heart and it touches the viewers’ hearts. His narration is totally and completely honest. Shailendra Barve’s music is quite good. The Sasura mera song is very well-tuned. Lyrics (Jitendra Joshi and Mehran Amrohi) are appropriate. Song picturisations (Punit J. Pathak and Anthony) are natural. Shailendra Barve’s background music is appealing. Vikas Joshi’s cinematography is of a fine standard. Preetesh Kushwaha’s production designing is alright. Mohit Takalkar’s editing is sharp.
On the whole, Chidiya is a lovely film which, unfortunately, will go unnoticed due to lack of awareness among the public about its release or even its existence.
Released on 30-5-’25 at Gem (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Reliance Entertainment. Publicity & opening: poor. …….Also released all over. Opening was weak everywhere.