Movie Review: The Blue Umbrella

Chhatri Chor (The Blue Umbrella) is another treat from Vishal Bharadwaj's after Makdee, Maqbool and Omkara.

A little girl in quaint little village in the Himalayas, discovers a blue umbrella that transpires her life. The villagers have almost no touch with the outside except for occasional tourists who come to visit this pretty little place. And that is how Biniya discovers a beautiful blue Japanese umbrella. After an exchange with her precious necklace, for Biniya the umbrella soon becomes a "neighbors envy and owners pride".  The scenes that depict this are funny in their own innocent ways. Pankaj Kapur a miserly baniya too falls in love with the umbrella and despite much coaxing (free "chai-biscuit" and toffee) and cajoling fails to convince Biniya.  All of sudden the umbrella vanishes and Biniya is left completely distraught. I will not let out the any more details except that the movie ends on a happy note.

The marvel of the movie is in its simplicity. The story is based on a Ruskin Bond story "Blue Umbrella". Vishal Bharadwaj manages to transform it into real characters very beautifully. Pankaj Kapur is brilliant with a "pahadi accent". Shreya Sharma does justice to the adorable Biniya, although she doesn't have as many dialogues as Shweta (Chunni and Munni in the movie Makdee).  The movie carries you to a different world altogether..where everything is uncomplicated, laidback and beautiful. In sum the entire movie is really cute (so much so that I am planning to buy a DVD) and you should watch it irrespective of your age.