Chintoo feels like a film that was made by a team that really wanted to make a film for kids and show adults a child's point of view. Therein lies the contradiction. If it is a film for kids then why bother showing their point of view to adults? If the point is to show a child's perspective to adults, then the movie needed to be made for adults and not for kids only. Chintoo doesn't have enough material or rather is too childish to be considered a film for adults. Yet, it does work for kids because it does capture their way of looking at things around them and their imagination. Though it is not a must watch even for kids, it's not like kids have too much choice this summer.

Chintoo is full of moments that are both worthy of spending time on and are executed well. But, they do not come together as one complete story. The build-up of the team called the 'waanar vede warriors', their acknowledgement for the need for fitness, the struggle of putting together their stadium, their aspirations, their struggle with an opposing bunch of children, and finally their battle against an adult who can't see their way - are among the many things that Chintoo wants to talk about. In the middle of all this you see various interconnections - parents struggle with today's age of couch-gaming, parents-as-a-unit and their relationship with a child, a mother-son tie, bonding between a grandparent and their child. Unfortunately, all these different things stay different and don't link with each other to form one smooth-flowing story.

What makes Chintoo worthwhile (at least for kids) is that each of these sections is treated with a lot of love and care. For its little bit each section engages you and you look forward to what it is going to end up with. That it doesn't end up in anything substantial, meaningful or interesting is a different thing all together. In that sense, Chintoo might have aimed at the attention span of 10-year olds.

As an adult, what started off for me as a perfect look into familial interactions between parents and children ended up as an overdose of the same whining that I had left behind at home for some peace and quiet in the theater. Yet, let me not speak on behalf of those for whom the Chintoo comics are reason for nostalgia. I didn't grow up with them and wouldn't know what that means to someone who has.

On the other hand, I'd assume the film is directed equally towards people who hadn't read the comics. So, as a part of that audience I know that I have too many problems with how Chintoo panned out. From what has already been said to the innumerable questions that the climax with the many inconsistencies in writing throughout, Chintoo is far from a 'must watch' experience.

Sure, the kids acted well but there was nothing exceptional about the performances. The adults all looked and sounded like caricatures except for Vibhavari Deshpande. But she does have too much make-up on which is extremely distracting. That and Subodh Bhave's wig/hair-do. So distracting that I choose to mention it before mentioning the apt amount of cuteness that the child artists have. Just the typical right amount that is.

Just for the lack of choice that kids have this summer, Chintoo might be a film worth a watch for kids. For adults, we can survive with another week out of the theaters, can't we?

- meeta, a part of the audience