Hansa (2012) Review by Shivom Oza - Life In The Hills!

3/5 Stars

At a mystical Himalayan village in Kumaon; Cheeku, a seventeen-year-old girl battles the ugly world of bureaucrats and landlords, while searching for her absconding father. Her brother, Hansa, meanwhile, along with his friend, is being chased by a local bully Bunty, for he has stolen his five-rupee-coin. A marvellous take on life in the hills told through these two charming stories.

‘Hansa’ is a fine film. The young boy, who plays Hansa’s best friend, gives the best performance of the film. Although the story does slack a bit in the middle, the fine performances and the brilliant cinematography pull the film through.

The film, on the outset, tackles various issues – bureaucracy, sexual abuse, corruption, and childhood troubles among several more. There's a scene in the film where Hansa (Suraj) has borrowed his best friend's prized possession, a ball, and has inadvertently gotten it stuck on a treetop. The ball keeps hanging there, quite predictably, till the end of the film. During the run-time of the film, we are shown that sight again and again till the end. Abandonment forms a major crux of the film as both Hansa and his elder sister Cheeku (Trimala Adhikari) have been abandoned, along with their pregnant mother, in the hills. Cheeku is looking for her father, who has disappeared since a year, and is trying her best to save their house from being taken away by their lecherous landlord, Bajju Da (Kumud Mishra of ‘Rockstar’ fame). Cheeku’s younger brother, Hansa, steals the local bully’s five rupee coin and ends up becoming a strong suspect. The intimidating bully Bunty tries to get the better of Hansa, but is fooled by the little kid every time. While, Hansa and his best friend are on about their little adventure, Cheeku is facing all kinds of trials and tribulations over their home, the landlord’s indecent propositions, taking care of her pregnant mother and the search for her lost father. The concept of the film isn’t really anything different. It deals with issues that the people living in the hills face. Be it abandonment or dealing with increasing urbanization, these people start to find themselves alien in their own land. This aspect was well attributed in films such as ‘Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan’ and ‘Bom’. However, what makes ‘Hansa’ different is that it focuses on the same issues through the eyes of children. Debutante director Manav Kaul extracts wonderful performances from the actors, especially the two actors playing Hansa and his best friend. Can’t seem to find the name anywhere on the web, but the boy who plays Hansa’s close friend delivers the finest performance in the film. The scenes, involving both the friends, are absolutely delightful. The cinematography, by Sachin Kabir, wonderfully captures the serenity of the Himalayan foothills. The pace is meditative at some junctures in the screenplay, but overall, the film does manage to charm the viewer.

Although it’s a film which features children, the story will definitely strike a chord with adults. There are some very important issues that have been portrayed in the film. What works for this film is that it embeds within itself all these issues and still manages to entertain. While ‘Hansa’ is not the best film to come out of PVR Director’s Rare this year, it does work its charm. If not a theatre viewing, the film should definitely be watched on DVD. Try catching it on the big screen anyway! 

Given below are the show timings - 

HANSA Theatre Listings and Show Timings - Dec 28 to Jan 3
Mumbai
PVR Juhu	3.30 PM
PVR Goregaon	8.30 PM
PVR Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel	5.30 PM
PVR  Mulund	2.45 PM
PVR ECX, Kurla	2.30 PM
Pune
PVR Phoenix Marketcity, Vimaan Nagar	3.00 PM
Delhi NCR
PVR Anupam Saket	10.15 AM
PVR Naraina	10.00 AM
PVR MGF Mall, Gurgaon	10.05 AM
Bangalore
PVR Forum Mall, Koramangala	7.30 PM
PVR Orion Mall, Malleshwaram	10.00 PM
Ahmedabad
PVR Acropolis Mall	2.00 PM
Surat
PVR Rahul Raj Mall	3.15 PM

Shivom Oza