Movie Review : Thanks Maa

Movie Review : Thanks Maa

Movie name : Thanks Maa
Director : Irfan Kamal

A 12-year-old street kid named Municipality [Shams Patel], while on the run from the reformatory, finds and saves a two-day-old abandoned baby from becoming the prey to a ferocious street dog. Failing to find any takers among the people whom he deemed responsible and respectable, Municipality takes up the onus of finding the mother of that abandoned baby himself.

THANKS MAA has several poignant moments and most of them keep you on the edge. Especially when the street kid encounters the head eunuch [Jalees Sherwani; powerful performance], a prostitute [Mukta Barve; effective] and of course, the mother of the abandoned child. The street lingo and the generous usage of expletives does raise eyebrows initially, but well, THANKS MAA is a real film. So you need to accept it the way it is!

On the flip side, the writing is slightly loose towards the second hour. A few sequences seem unwanted. However, the climax is simply outstanding and comes as a complete shocker.

Irfan Kamal makes a solid impact as a first-time director. His choice of the subject as also the handling of the material deserves brownie points. The writing [Irfan Kamal, Vishal Vijay Kumar] is gripping at most times. The background score [Ranjit Barot] is effective. The camera [Ajayan Vincent] follows the protagonist like a shadow and the viewer looks like a participant in the entire exercise.

THANKS MAA has sparkling performances by every member of the cast, especially the street kids, but the show belongs to Shams Patel [who has bagged the National Award] and who delivers an astounding performance. The street kids - Salman [as Soda], Fayaaz [Cutting], Almas [Sursuri] and Jaffer [Dhed Shanaa] - are outstanding. A number of actors appear in cameos, which include Alok Nath [tremendous], Raghubir Yadav [loud], Barry John [okay], Sanjay Mishra [splendid] and Ranvir Shorey [believable].

Verdict:THANKS MAA is truly original, innovative and pioneering cinema. The film has won several awards and adulation across the globe and deserves every bit of it. This is one meaningful film you can't afford to miss!