Chhota Bheem: The Curse of Damyaan – Adventurous, but less fun

Cast: Yagya Bhasin, Anupam Kher, Makrand Deshpande, Navneet Kaur Dhillion, Mukesh Chhabra and others

Director: Rajiv Chilaka 

Writers: Shridisha Dilip, Niraj Vikram

Stars: 2 and a half 

The film begins at Dholpur, which is ruled by King Indraverma, where Bheem (Yagya) and his friends Chutki, Kalia, Dholu, Molu, Raju and others are living their life in peace as usual. But they are unaware of the fact that soon the two trusted aides of Damyaan (Sumit Keshri) – Takshika (Navneet) and Skandhi (Makrand) – are going to create havoc in their paradise. Takshika and Skandhi have taken it upon themselves to free their master from a curse which has trapped him under the ground before he could rule the world with his wicked powers. They first win over the trust of the king and push him to step out of his safe place by pretending to save the village and take him to Sonpur, where Damyaan has been under the ground for the last 1,000 years, waiting to come out.

Bheem and his gang manage to find the village of gold, that is Sonpur, and end up bringing back cruel Damyaan. He immediately starts his strategy of ruling the world by turning all human beings into snakes. Now superhero Bheem has to stop him from becoming a superpower, and to do that he has to time travel and with help of Guru Shambhu (Anupam) and Gulaab Chand (Mukesh). How Bheem frees the world from the clutches of Damyaan is the story to watch out for.

Although the film’s target audiences are kids, one feels that the story of the film is predictable and the dialogues are ordinary, lacking the punches. Director Rajiv has created this character as a cartoon and has been associated with the animated show since its beginning. He chose to do this live action adventure film and has managed to win over the kids with his formula of entertainment, as the kids present at the cinema hall were heard giggling at some gigs and were impressed with some of the stunts performed by Bheem.

The casting of the film is just fine. The child actor playing Bheem and his team have done a decent job in their respective roles. Anupam and Mukesh were just okay, while Makrand and Navneet looked a bit overdramatic. Sumit Keshri’s voice is perfect for Damyaan. The best parts of the film were the VFX and the sets, which were impressive. The editing and cinematography was alright. Composer Raghav Sachar understood his assignment well and delivered the right product. Overall, the songs sung by Shaan (‘Zara Muskura), Sukhwinder Singh (‘Jamboora’) and the rest of the songs were not bad.

The movie is just the right kind of entertainment for kids who are enjoying their summer vacations and a respite from the heat outside. Sadly, there aren’t too many films made for children in India, who are starved of good homegrown stories and heroes. The only options that they have are Bollywood and South Indian action thrillers or the latest editions of the Marvel Universe from Hollywood.