Too many parallel stories and melodrama take away the charm from the simplicity of this tale, which could have been its strengthNotes on life

Gurnaaz Kaur

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The film Atkan Chatkan, streaming on Zee5, is the story of a 10-year-old boy Guddu (Lydian Nadhaswaram), who loves music. Everything is music for him and he can create a tune in sync with any action — be it washing utensils or sweeping the floor! He has no knowledge of musical instruments, but has the sense of creating his own instruments from scrap. Although he works at a tea shop, he dreams of joining a prestigious music school, but he has the responsibility of feeding his family and looking after his sister because of an alcoholic father and an absent mother.

His friend Madhav (Yash Rane), a specially abled child, who sells books on the roadside and loves to read, is his only support.

In his pursuit of music, when Guddu loses his job, he struggles a lot but finally finds work with a scrap dealer. Then, one witnesses his talent of making instruments out of junk. It does surprise you, but much later in the movie you find out that his talent is genetic. He has a singer mother and a percussionist father, both of whom fail to pass any learning to their children because of their estranged marriage.

Soon after, Guddu loses this job too and again, Madhav comes to his rescue. Madhav has two other friends, Chuttan (Sachin Chaudhary) and Meethi (Tamanna Dipak), who beg, or dance and sing on roads to earn. After many struggles, there is a light of hope as these kids share the same interest in music.

Here comes Atkan Chatkan, the band that has these four full-of-life kids. Seeing them make their instruments, write songs and perform lights up your heart. But the simplicity of this story, which could have been the strength, gets compromised as the director introduces too many characters and dollops of melodrama, which takes away the charm.

There are too many parallel stories and you keep waiting for the focus to be back on the protagonists —the children.These extra elements make the story weak and boring in parts. But worth mentioning is Amitriyan Patil, who plays Guddu’s drunkard father. He is sinister and exceptionally good at that!

Another point that is over-the-top in Atkan Chatkan is the exaggeration of the hardships of the four kids. Yes, there are millions of kids who are fighting such battles, but isn’t this a story of hope, inspiration and childhood innocence?

As Guddu and his band is discovered by the principal of a music school, who enrols them for a prestigious competition, the movie does get back to its core of ‘dare to dream’ or ‘dreams do come true’. During the competition where schools from various states participate, you know who the winner would be, but the competition is so real!

Set in Jhansi, small-town life is well captured. The film could have been kept short and crisp. For a movie on music, other than the title track and the one song by Amitabh Bachchan, the background score may not catch your fancy. However, if you are looking for some motivation towards your passion or how to pursue it, these kids will help you!