MOVIE REVIEW: TAHAAN
RATING: * * 1/2

It surely is the age of child actors. At a time when most of the new Bollywood crop is busy delivering flimsy performances and hard selling their looks to camouflage the lack of their acting capabilities, the cornucopia of acting talent among the child actors is only beginning to become more and more formidable. Tahaan has an excruciatingly slow pace and extremely confused plot. But the role of the central protagonist, Tahaan, played by Purav Bhandare is a role played to the T. And what is really awe inspiring is the innocence and honesty with which the actor portrays his character. Dheirya Sonecha, the other child actor in the film has a short role but delivers a great performance in it as well. The acting of both the kids is so effortless that they appear almost real.

The story, set in the picturesque valley of Kashmir amidst its glistening snow clad peaks, is about an eight year old boy called Tahaan who lives with his grandfather, mother and sister. His father has been missing for almost five years and the only memory he has of his father is a donkey he was gifted as a child whom he fondly calls Birbal. The movie explores the connection between the animal and the child which is shown to be so unique and loving that Tahaan would do anything to keep his Birbal by his side.

While the movie is charged with emotions, it meanders through issues such as missing Kashmiri men who have left behind families in waiting for whom the time machine has stopped and terrorism in Kashmir which is hugely operated through misled young Kashmiri boys. The movie also touches upon the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. The sad part is that it fails to explore none properly, leaving the viewer confused and more often bored. 

The movie may fail to be a hit such as Taare Zameen Par but it surely deserves equal mention for the powerhouse of talent that young Purav Bhandare and . Dheirya Sonecha epitomize.