Makdee: a glorious return to children's films

Finally, I managed to grab a look at Vishal Bhardwaj's début as director (and co-writer and screenwriter too!). It's not a masterpiece, and the ride is not without its obstacles. The songs are free-form, and often fun. Shabana Azmi has a field day playing the evil witch (for free, as it were). Makrand Deshpande takes top honours in my book as Kallu the butcher. Shweta Prasad makes playing twin sisters seem so wonderfully effortless. And then we have Gulzar's lyrics. While often potentially scary at times, the film is a welcome entry in the sadly arid milieu of children's cinema. Pity that the marketing bigs didn't think much of this film, which has survived and will continue to survive by sheer word-of-mouth.