Meet the hero!!!

So..we went to meet our hero. Sorry sorry..not hero. Super Hero! What blasphemy!! How dare I call Bheem…Chota Bheem just a hero?  :) Yes. We took Nandu and Achu to the just released movie on Chota Bheem. Weren’t they excited!! Nandu wanted to go first day first show on May 18^th. But held on and waited till yesterday only because then he could watch the movie with his chechi.

Just in case you are someone living in Mars or Jupiter or have been in a self-imposed coma of sorts and are scratching your head and wondering what this gibberish is all about. Well, this boy, Chota Bheem is sort of a super hero cum action hero cum boy with a golden heart cum a lot of other things. He lives in this fictional town called Dholakpur along with his faithful friends (fans?!) Chutki, Raju and Jaggu.  And there is Bheem’s arch rival Kalia and his witty side kick Bholu and Dholu. Dholakpur is ruled by King Indra Varma who when not singing praises of Chota Bheem, is sitting on his throne in a pensive mood saying “Bheem…you are our only hope. The safety of Dholakpur and its people is in your hands!”  Then there is the princess Indumati, the damsel in distress, who is rescued by our pint sized saviour Bheem.  Tun Tun Maasi, Chutki’s mother who makes the yummiest laddoos for Bheem. And that brings us to the most important thing about our little hero! What spinach is to Popeye, laddoos are to Chota Bheem . Laddoos are the secret of his energy!!!

Amazed how I am so knowledgeable?? An adult who is supposed to be watching if not the news channels atleast the saas-bahu K-serials. Oh well….this is what happens when your kid is OCD about Chota Bheem and POGO channel very generously caters to the brats population by airing episodes after episodes, day in and day out. As if this was not enough, came the Chota Bheem movie, bang in the middle of the summer vacations.

Wow….it was some experience! The entire situation was something like the college culturals of our yesteryears. Nandu and Achu joined the kids in the theatre. Cheered, hooted, jumped and clapped to Bheem’s entry scene. The cheering started right from the word GO! “Bheem, Bheem, Bheem, Chota Bheem Chota Bheem” was the chant on everyone’s lips. I mean only the kids.

As for the movie, it kept the kids glued to their seats. The animation effects though not world class were good enough. Who is worried about nitty gritties like animation and special effects when you can watch Chota Bheem on big screen for a whole two hours! The plot of the story, borrows generously from Harry Potter series. Complete with a Basilisk like villain, dementors, magical land etc. You even had dementor like creatures flying around in the opening scene. Death eater look alikes in the form of kaal sainiks(?!). And the guru. Wow…this is where the HP similarity just struck home. The guru is so much like Albus Dumbledore. The hairstyle, the foot length beared tied up in a bow at the end, the robes, the similarity is just too close to go unnoticed by a HP fanatic like me. If someone watches the movie, please tell me I am not wrong! J Or maybe all fantasy stories follow the same plot? Yes..that must be it. 

The episodes of Chota Bheem on small screen, show Bheem to be the one and only saviour. The messiah who came to save mankind sorts. But in the movie, it is pure team work. I loved this fact. Raju, an archery specialist, is given a magical bow and arrow by the Guru. The arrow would show Raju the way to whatever he seeks (remember Ron’s illuminator from HP and the deathly hallows anyone??). Chutki is given something magical too. It helps her tie up the baddies. (I dozed off at this stage I think. So cannot remember the finer details). Kalia is given the mantra for invisiblity and Bholu-Dholu are taught the duplication mantra. They can duplicate themselves at will. Over and above all this is Chota Bheem’s mantra which takes away the magical qualities of the enemy. So, the basic premise is, in the movie it is team work which wins in the end and not just Bheem. This is something one doesn’t usually see on the TV episodes.Oh and one more thing. The two songs, “the title song” and “jum jum jumboora” were enjoyed by all irrespective of the age! I found myself humming “jum jum jumboora” well into the night.

The kids had a blast. The adults had only one role to play here, that of an escort. I enjoyed watching the kids. But even that couldn’t keep me awake for long. I dozed off in the middle and Nandu shook me awake with a very emphatic ”Ammmmmaaaa!!!”.  He was most offended. 

Nandu and Achu were dressed in Chota Bheem T Shirts in a show of true loyalty to their hero. They were an object of envy to many a kid in the theatre hall. At least, a couple of kids looked back at their moms saying “I want that too!!”. Their already tired parents were giving me killer looks while I gave them back a sheepish smile. So there…mission accomplished!!