Bird Idol

Rating:***

There is hope for Indian animation. Any film that stays away from gods and goddesses,the staple (and extent) of our animated flourishes deserves applause. And ‘Bird Idol’ earns more brownie points by giving us an original plot,witty lines,and a cast of chirpy,cheerful characters.

In Bird land,the law is that you cannot mate outside your breed. But Pancham and Pari do,and fly far,far away,to escape the wrath of the cruel custodians of feathered morality—a vicious vulture called Dhamki and his cronies. In due time,a young son is born. He is named Hummi,after their dear pal Hummingbird,and he is a natural born singer.

Along with the cute Surili,and a couple of pals,Hummi heads to the Bird Idol,his parents’ favourite TV programme,and from then on,his life changes forever. We will not reveal any more of the story : suffice it to say that there is everything in here—a little bit of tragedy,comedy,drama,love and a happily-ever-after.

‘Bird Idol’ proves that sure,Indian animation is still in its infancy if you compare it to the kind of technical wizardry we see routinely in the west,and uptil now,there’s been no discernible growth in the sector ( despite an occasional ‘Hanuman’,and ‘Hanuman Returns’) ,but there is huge untapped potential,just waiting to be uncorked. ‘Bird Idol’ gets too wordy in bits,and just a tad too long-winded,but oh,the relief of not having to hear another stodgy avatar,saying in revoltingly saccharine tones; ‘matashri’,and ‘pitashri’.

Hummi in his baseball cap reminds you,as he is meant to,of Himesh Reshammiya. A Bangla Bird Idol judge,with a thick Bengali accent,wears several thick gold chains around his neck: we all know who he’s meant to be. And so on. There’s a smattering of Bollywood references,too,and those are easily,avoidable crutches,but what makes up for it is the smart writing,sharp editing,and a pleasing attention to detail.

The characters rap easily in Hindi and English,using puns like “he’s an early bird’,and ‘it will all fly over the cuckoo’s nest’. Somebody introduces themselves as “aap ka fair-weather friend”,and the newspaper is called “Daily Tweeter”. Ha ha.

Take the little ones,they will have fun. You will,too.

shubhra.gupta@expressindia.com