I will never stop repeating myself when it comes to saying only nice words towards Bollywood films. The world, culture, and its vision is what makes the Indian Film Industry absolutely unique. Most of the films, especially the beloved old classic ones have beautiful songs, dances and storylines that will make you cry. Yes, indeed it does have lots of dancing, but that does not mean it fails to deliver its point.

Anjuli Shukla’s “Happy Mother’s Day” explores a subject that, I must admit, have not seen in any film made for children. It follows an extremely poor family who barely make ends meet. However, what they have, even some well-off families do not have – pure love, dedication and unconditional care for a mother whose children try to figure out what kind of gift to buy for Mother’s Day. But soon, Kaku and Vicky will come to a conclusion – there is no such gift that could measure their love for their mother, not even all those fancy gifts like a necklace or a lemon tree….

“If you want to get a gift for your mother, then become a good child, grow smart, and be successful”, says their wise and warm-hearted grandfather when Vicky and Kaku asked for help in search of a good gift for their mother. Since this holiday was new to their town, the determined children try to do their best to show their mother their big love. The financial difficulties they have in their family does not allow Kaku and Vicky to collect enough money, so the clever kids decided to save the money meant for their bus ticket.

As you watch the film you feel the joy and the delight the filmmaker tries to share with you via the silver screen. Even though you might find “Happy Mother`s Day” a bit long, you won’t really get disappointed by this, as long as Anjuli Shukla keeps up the positive mood of the film. And this what exactly happens. It is also interesting to see how well she stretches the story in a way for you to completely understand the environment the characters live in and justify the children’s journey on their way to surprise their mother.

In conclusion, there is no better film to watch with your little one. It has everything a child can learn from – how to be kind, respect parents, appreciate their hard work every time when the opportunity comes and cherish unique moments of joy, which sometimes for a family like Kaku and Vicky, does happen often.

Schedule: 

FRI APR 15 12:00 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox SUBTITLED

WED APR 20 12:00 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox  SUBTITLED

For full programming and schedule click here.