Satrangee Parachute

Vineet Khetrapal's 'Satrangee Parachute' could have worked as an enjoyable children's film had it not been for the terrorist track. It starts off well introducing us to a slice of life in a small town. It centres around a spirited adventurous little boy, Pappu, and his desire to learn about life outside Nainital and to tell his friends about it. The innocence of the children is beautifully displayed and the small town life is presented with a dose of humour. Khetrapal has also selected a beautiful location for the Nainital setting. The young cast, who play Pappu (Siddhartha Sanghani) and his friends, perform alright except that their dialogue delivery appears theatrical and rehearsed rather than natural. Zakir Hussain is very good as Pappu's father and Rupali Ganguly is superb. Kay Kay Menon and Rajpal Yadav provide fine support.

'Santrangee Parachute' rapidly heads downhill after the terrorist angle is introduced. The movie resorts to violence and clichés (for example, portraying all the terrorists as Muslims). Moreover this subplot isn't developed at all.

In the end, it's a forgettably okay fair that had potential of being more. Not too bad for a one-time watch with the family...