Chintu Ka Birthday (Chintu's Birthday) is a difficult film to review because although it has its heart at the right place the constant flipflopping between comedy and thriller made me slightly uncomfortable both as a viewer enjoying good cinema and a discerning entertainee trying to not describe such a proceeding therefore as contrived. The idea of a sweet, small Indian family of five trying to celebrate its youngest member's birthday in a war-torn Iraq soon after the fall of Saddam Hussein is a unique one. And I love how the film takes place within the span of a few hours and yet does not lose sight of time. I don't know who comes first in acting here when you have Vinay Pathak as the father who will remind you of your own paternal figure, or the supremely talented and film festival feature usual Tillotama Shome whose one smile is enough to make you fall in love with whatever character she is playing (and she also sings in this with Seema Bhargava),or Bisha Chaturvedi the daughter whose expressions have been shot so well you will love that particular scene when she's looking at her father, that brave man who just rolled some magic into the wind because all he wants is to celebrate the birthday. I struggled a little with the overzealous performance and slightly pretentious writing of the Iraqi character played by Khaled Masso as well as the mercuric characteristics of the two American soldiers who enter the screen sometime in the second act but when I look at the underlying message and the idea that has been used to convey that, I cannot stop singing praises of Chintu Ka Birthday, a film that is as sweet as the marvelous vertically scrolling animation snippet that takes you into itself at the beginning softly narrated by Vedant Chibber the innocent-looking young boy who plays Chintu. TN.

(Watched at a limited screening at Matterden, Mumbai.)

Chintu Ka Birthday is a heartwarming little movie that requests you not to shed your last ounce of optimism during trying times. It's an international collaboration starring Vinay Pathak, Tilottama Shome, Seema Bhargava, Nate Scholz, Reginald L. Barnes, and a few others. Written and directed by Devanshu Kumar and Satyanshu Singh, the story revolves around an Indian family living in 2004 Iraq and how they're prepping to celebrate the birthday of six-year-old Chintu, the youngest member.

While it begins as a feel-good film with all elements in place, including cute Chintu (Vedant Chibber, who never goes overboard),his sweet sister Lakshmi, their loving parents Sudha and Madan along with Nani, the story takes a turn when their Iraqi landlord Mahdi pays a visit during the occasion, followed by Chintu's Iraqi friend Waheed. You even get a little comic-book-styled backstory of Madan's family and how they ended up in Iraq. Some laughs ensue, courtesy Waheed and his great comedic timing.

However, things get serious when two American soldiers knock on the family's doors. I appreciate the filmmakers for not toning down the language or the extremities at play in the later acts. Yes, there's a certain suspension of disbelief since nearly everything takes place within the confines of the house, but the warm performances of the ensemble carry it all the way through. While I'm quite sure that a lot of viewers may perceive the optimism displayed by Madan (Pathak) as a little excessive, it works given the circumstances that we find him in. Everyone in the movie's got a conscience.

This is a film with its heart entirely in the right place, and it was indeed touching to see the Tiwaris not giving up on wanting to celebrate Chintu's birthday, no matter what. You get a scene where the family goes through a harsh interrogation, but their bigger concern is how Chintu's birthday cake gets burnt. Several moments like these light up the film. And our hearts!

Chintu Ka Birthday is a desperate attempt of a father to ensure that his son cuts the birthday cake in a war-torn country. Will Chintu be able to cut his 6th birthday cake in this current-reflection-of-the-situation film ? Let us find out

Chintu ka Birthday is a fictionalized story of an Indian family who are stuck in a lock down situation at the backdrop of real events which occurred after US invaded Baghdad, Iraq and captured Saddam Hussein.

There were times Bollywood used to make simple and warm stories on lives of middle class family. Films like Baaton Baaton Mein, Chhoti Si Baat, Sansar or even the recent Tumahri Sulu which touched the hearts of the audience as you could connect with real-life characters. Directed by Devanshu Kumar and Satyanshu Singh, Chintu ka Birthday shows "How far can you go to bring happiness to your family" which is packed with powerful performances.

Chintu ka Birthday opens on a light note with family preparing to throw a birthday party for 6 year old Chintu who, unfortunately, has never been able to cut a birthday ever since they moved to Iraq. The situation gets worse when Chintu meets guest at his door in form of US soldiers who arrive at the premise to investigate a car bomb which exploded few meters away from family's abode. This is where the plot thickens and Chintu ka Birthday becomes further interesting to watch

While the frst half is pretty solid, the later part of the film loses the steam. Few questions do comes to your mind - inspite of US soldiers exploring the entire house and finding only DVDs of extremist and landlord hiding in the house since he was scared, they keep on inquiring and threatening the family to divulge the truth, which was not convincing. The screenplay falters and could have been better prepared to make it engaging, especially the interaction between the family and soldiers. The climax, though decent, could have been made to make it a memorable film. While editing is sharp (the length of the film is just 1 hour 20 minutes),art direction, background score and cinematography is good to make you feel like a war-ongoing-situation.

Few actors have evolved themselves over the years with time and age like Vinay Pathak, especially with films like Bheja Fry, Dasvidaniya and Chalo Dilli. I admire his performance since he plays character of a desperate father who would do anything in the world to celebrate his son's birthday with ease and utmost sincerity. Tillotama Shome would surprise you with her Bihari accent as if she is actually a middle-class mother who supports her husband in the time of turmoil. The child actor who plays Chintu is good while Seema Bhargava as usual is dependable. Rest of the star cast do justice to their role.

Overall , if you are looking for some good family film which perfectly resembles the current situation we are going through , Chintu ka Birthday is the right choice for you. Adding in Vinay Pathak and Tilotama Shome's amazing performance , it will be a treat for you. Good 3/5