Jalpari reviews

Jalpari is a childrens movie with an adult message and it manages to combine the two quite well without being preachy or boring.

The movie follows the adventure of Shreya and Sam in their native village where their dad wants to build a hospital. Shreya is crazy about mermaids and wants to learn to swim in a village pond. Only, there is no water found anywhere in the village. Her quest for a pond takes her to a witch's house and then she makes some startling discoveries about why the village has no girls.

The movie is a bit slack in its pace though there is enough action and adventure in the story that could have made it zippier. That may make it a bit slow for the kids who are watching it. However the scary bits are quite scary and there is a very fleeting scene of a foetus floating on the water which I am not sure was needed in a kid movie. The end of the movie is rather tame given the magnitude of the discovery. There could have been more on how the village boys now learn to respect her as an equal and we see a change in their attitude towards girls. But the parting voice over makes it just a story about Shreyas adventure.

The acting is good on all fronts. Parveen Dabas as the dad is easy going and relaxed and Suhasini Mulay as the grandmom is sweet. The kids are very natural with their mix of English and Hindi and show no self-consciousness. Even the village kids are great.

This movie is appropriate for kids above 8. They will identify with the siblings easily and also understand the message that girls are equal to boys and should be treated as such. Take them.

Nila Madhab Pandas earlier film I am Kalam didnt work for me completely and the trailer of Jalpari didnt excite me enough to go watch it in the theatre. To be honest I went to see it only because two of my Facebook friends were involved with this film. Deepak Venkateshan, who wrote it and Utpal Borpujari who is the associate director on this film.

Shreya (Lehar Khan) and her brother Sam (Krishang Trivedi) have never been to their fathers village. There is a reason why Dev, their Father (Parvin Dabbas) has not taken them there.But this holiday everything will change as Shreya along with Sam goes on an adventure ride filled with mystery, fun and learning.

Though the film is about female foeticide it is not preachy at all instead it arrives at the message through a script filled with adventures that will remind you of your childhood days. Those days when in summer holidays you had to think of new ways to entertain yourself and your gang in a world where television existed in limited doses. Daayan, bhaura (top), climbing trees, searching for a pond to swim, sibling nok jhonk its all there in the screenplay.

I wish my 7 year old nephew would watch this film and like it but I dont think he has the bandwidth to sit through it.Sad, that a film like this will not be seen by many kids because their parents might like to drag them to see Joker or worse Bol Bachchan and its kinds.

Lehar Khan as Shreya is the star that shines the brightest in the film. If not for her I would have found the film less engaging. She is instantly likeable.She is shown growing up as a tom boy because her father has not taught the two children the difference between a girl and a boy. Every parent who discriminates between their children just because one is a girl and the other is a boy should take lessons of parenting from this film.

Parvin dabbass character is a masterclass in parenting.

Word of mouth Jalpari is for adults and children alike. Even if this review doesnt convince you to step into the theatre give the film a chance at home.

Rating 3.5 (Good)

Ticket Meter Worth 150 bucks.