'Munna Ka Bachpan' review: Explores violence's ramifications; lacks character development
Yudhishtir Urs's directorial debut Munna Ka Bachpan, starring child actors Niketan Bhat and Vansh, alongside Saveree Sri Gaur, Rachit Singh, Amit Saxena, Shaurya Shanker, and Rahul Kumar is streaming on JioCinema as part of its digital Film Festival. An exploration of violence and trauma's ramifications and impact on children, it makes for a decent watch but suffers from the lack of substantial character development.
Story: This is what happens in the film
The short film revolves around Munna, an eight-year-old who crumbles under his father's presence because he's an evil wife-beater. Munna aspires to be a soldier to "save" his mother, but seeing his father's pistol at home suddenly turns him into a different person, and he raises it at his teacher, tired of the corporal punishments the teacher metes out to his friend.
Opening shots offer a contrast that defines Munna's life
The opening scenes of MKB capture the innocence that is reserved for children alone—there is fun, banter, and merrymaking between him, his friend Azad, and a few other kids. However, MKB takes a sharp turn from thereon, and we realize that at eight, Munna has already witnessed more violence than most—his father's cruelty toward him and his mother is embedded in his life.
Sets the stage early on, and describes violence's far-reaching impact
There is an apt demonstration of violence in the opening scenes—the film wants us to fear his father even before he enters the story. Munna Ka Bachpan achieves this quickly, and within the first five minutes, his father's anger (not even his name), is already mentioned anxiously. Screams, slaps, kicks, and obscene, vitriolic language stay with kids forever, and Munna is no exception.
Deals with multiple sub-plots simultaneously
By the time the film wraps up, it addresses multiple issues such as domestic violence, corporal punishment in schools (mainly rural schools), the impact of unresolved trauma in kids, how witnessing violence sometimes lays the foundation for someone to turn into a cold-blooded murderer later on, among others. All these are interconnected with each other and there's space to allow each sub-plot to breathe.
Loopholes: This is why 'MKB' doesn't work completely
However, Munna Ka Bachpan also suffers from a couple of glaring problems that stop it from becoming an excellent watch through and through. Its biggest issue is the lack of character development, and though short films have limited runtime, a few films (like Birha and Bebaak) recently served rounded characters. MKB's characters, unfortunately, are strictly one-note and are never allowed to grow.
Weirdly enough, there are only selected female characters
Another rather interesting problem with MKB is how there are next to no female characters. It isn't a metaphor (because it is nowhere explored) and barring Azad and Munna's mothers, there are no other women here. I hoped to see some girls in their school, but again, tough luck. The film is not populated with enough characters, and hence, feels worn out.
Can be streamed once for the performances
All in all, Munna Ka Bachpan is by no means a perfect film and at multiple junctures, it comes across as trying too hard to get its point across. At times, the dialogues feel unnecessarily eager and in the face. However, these demerits are balanced by the exploration of its central theme, the child actors' performances, and the film's pace. It gets 2.5/5 stars.
