‘Zokkomon’ (Hindi)
Director: Satyajit Bhatkal
Cast: Darsheel Safary, Anupam Kher, Manjari Phadnis
As children we are often advised not to talk to strangers. This, of course, is one of many cautionary statements that deserves evaluation. After all, if we did not talk to any strangers the world would remain a fairly uninteresting place. People would largely remain islands if they didn’t interact, but whom do we let in and whom do we keep out? A purely cursory adjudication of affability seems insufficient. Sometimes, however, that is all the time and mental bandwidth we have. The intrepid adventurer in Disney’s 'Zokkomon' has a similar split second decision to make.
Purposely abandoned by his uncle, Kunal has to choose between the sandwich-stealing streets and a strangely dressed Kittu (played by a feisty Manjari Phadnis), who looks like she just walked off the sets of 'Khudah Gawah'. Unsurprisingly, his instinct favours the company of the affable young woman.
'Zokkomon' serves up a curious fusion of childhood memories. From stealing mangoes to jumping in leaf beds in their spare time, the film’s children are shown to live quintessentially small town lives. Yet the film borrows liberally from the books of Rowling and Dahl.
Orphaned by an unfortunate accident, Kunal moves from the city to his uncle’s home in a village filled with more than its fair share of ghosts, godmen and gullible people. The village school, run by Kunal’s uncle Deshraj, is an anglophile’s dream and nightmare. Its teachers preach that true humanity lies in the firm grasp of the English language and then proceed to mangle words well beyond recognition.
Deshraj is at once Kunal’s Vernon Dursley and Trunchbull of the village school, mismanaging the institution and turning it into a monument to his ego. If garish adornments, discrepant accounts and a spotlessly white statue in the courtyard aren’t a sign of Deshraj’s excesses, then the sight of a library filled with broken chairs and no books is sufficient evidence of his embezzling ways. We are told little of why this man turned into such a bad egg, only that he has veered too far to return to the path of righteousness.
In a rather telling scene, Deshraj’s wife returns his toupee, her countenance bearing a look of quiet disgust. Even his closest confidant, the one for whom he embezzles, would much rather gaze upon the image he has created than see his true self. It is a rare moment of insight into a man otherwise painted with broad brushstrokes.
Kunal’s journey in the film introduces him to two Ron-Hermione parallels. He meets the first set during his short stint at Deshraj’s school. Arju and Rani are his partners in crime, goading him to spend a crucial couple of minutes in a haunted house where he will eventually meet his second Ron — Vivek Rai, a scientist he will address as ‘magic uncle’. Kunal’s ‘uncle’ however does not recognize the affections of his nominal nephew. For him the child is only an opportunity to combat the superstitions of the villagers and the control Deshraj exercises over them.
Over the course of their village saving mission, the man of science learns that, sometimes, people are more relevant than ideals. And we are informed, albeit in a rather simplistic manner, that while art and science should find a balance in the lives of children, there should be no room for superstition.
