Haami

Story: A Class I student, Bhutu (Brata), is best friends with Chini (Tiyasha), who joins a Kolkata co-ed school after her parents shift from Gurgaon to the city. What happens when their innocence and friendship are subject to adult judgement?

Review: Two children and their innocent queries startle their parents and teachers, their childish mischief gets dragged into adult quarrels and their playtime in school is invaded by warring parents. Is this what childhood should be like? Haami depicts the current scenario where childhood is no longer that unadulterated phase of life where the curious minds are let loose to learn. Haami questions why it is no longer so. Haami also answers what could have probably led to the paradigm shift. The film is as much an entertaining projection of bringing up kids nowadays as it is a serious take on the role of parents, teachers and the society at large.

Like in their past few blockbusters Belaseshe, Praktan and Posto, director duo Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee in this film too dig up a well of emotions while depicting the everyday. They take a page out of mundane lives, add dollops of humour and discuss issues of importance through a seamlessly woven storyline. The central characters of Ramdhanu, Laltu and Mitali, play Bhutu’s parents here. While Ramdhanu focused more on a particular couple’s struggle to admit their son in a reputed English medium school, mirroring many such parents and their strife, Haami delightfully captures the different socio-economic backgrounds of children studying in the same school and how they shape up due to their parents’ influences.

So, while you have a funny Laltu Biswas (Shiboprosad Mukherjee) and Mitali Biswas (Gargee Roy Chowdhury) — a couple that's recently seen riches due to a flourishing furniture business — there’s also the ever-polished and measured Mr and Mrs Sen (Sujan Mukherjee and Churni Ganguly), Chini’s professor parents. They are in stark contrast to Bhutu’s tactless parents. Then again, there’s another classmate Ajatshatru (Aviraj), whose father is the councillor (Kharaj Mukherjee) and mother a loud-mouthed, fierce woman (Koneenica Banerjee). The children reflect similar characteristics. Bhutu is mischievous and unabashed, Chini is soft spoken and has impeccable manners and Ajatshatru has a complaining nature.

An ensemble cast of actors of such potential needs a script that does justice to each one’s screen presence. And Haami does that effortlessly. The school principal (Tanushree Shankar) and everyone’s favourite teacher (Aparajita Adhya) are the other two pivotal characters who enact some endearing scenes with the children. The script manages to convincingly bring up the recent school-parent row over children’s security issues, depicts a loving darwanji (Masood Akhtar) wrongly accused of child abuse and takes you down memory lane when school was your second home and leaving parents at home never evoked sadness. Yes, there is some forced weepie drama when darwanji leaves after 30 years of loyal service. But most would connect with their childhood emotions and it needs to be seen from a child’s perspective.

Despite such screen time that allows each character to develop just enough for the larger story, Haami doesn’t miss an opportunity to revolve around the friendship between Bhutu and Chini. Some naturally expressed and beautifully executed scenes between the two children will warm your hearts. There’s a scene between the warring parents in the principal’s room where they read too much into the bonding between the two kids. You will cringe at the adult accusations and laugh at the silliness of mature minds.

While the blame game is on, the children manage to escape into their play world. But this world of theirs is fast changing. Haami points out how the lines are blurring between what entertains an adult and what raises curiosity in a child. Lives surrounding smartphones and television, use of certain words in front of children and not checking one’s actions in their presence — all contribute to their growing up faster than required. Haami tries to buy time for a fulfilling childhood.