The original slumdog

Thanks Maa
U/A; DRAMA
Dir: Irfan Kamal
Cast: Shams, Salman, Almas, Jaffer, Fayyazu00a0
***
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What's it about:u00a0Made way before Slumdog Millionaire, Thanks Maa is a gritty tale of a street kid named Municipality (Shams) who's on a quest to reunite a two year old abandoned baby with his mother. Along the way, we are exposed to the underbelly of the city's street life and also shown some stark truths about the difficult life of street kids. The treatment is brutally honest and doesn't flinch in giving you a true account of how it's to be out there in the concrete jungle.

What's hot: The first thing that strikes you is the realness and authenticity with which the subject is handled.

There are no flowery speeches, or soft moments that seem gimmicky. Everything is brazen and stripped down to bare basics. The ensemble cast of boys do a splendid job of keeping it real without getting filmy. Full of sweet and bitter moments the story builds up its own pace and wins you over with its charm. Unlike Traffic Signal or any other film depicting street life, this one goes all out in showing the horrors street kids face. Using the baby as a catalyst to take the story forward, we meet several interesting characters along the way.

Everyone from peadophiles and adulterous husbands to prostitutes light up the plot and add their own light to the situation. Hope and faith are two important emotions that support the crux of the film.u00a0
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What's not: Second half has a few weak moments and the pace loosens up. Despite the accolades it's won, it's unfortunate that a film like this isn't making the noise it should. The lack of funding or a big studio name flashing in the credits comes in the way of it deserving its true glory.u00a0
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What to do: Thanks Maa deserves some love. It definitely merits your attention. Go see it.