POORNA - More than the film, it's the real life achievement of the kids that fills you with amazement, joy and proud all together. (Review By Bobby Sing)

Beginning with due respect towards the makers and their noble intentions backing this unbelievable underdog story of the interiors, POORNA isn’t any classic, masterpiece film in technical or cinematic terms to be very honest. It’s a simple, inspiring and intelligently made film within the limited budgets, which more focuses on the story behind the (record making) expedition, instead of the expedition itself giving you a fair idea. So just don’t misunderstand the film as any exciting adventure movie entirely focusing on the journey towards the highest peak of the world on the lines of the recent English film EVEREST.

Having said that, POORNA still is an important film. Why - because every such film is an important venture indeed, which makes you aware of the rare, lesser known and unbelievable achievements made by the people of your own country, especially by the so young energetic kids still in their teens.

Directed by Rahul Bose (playing a significant role too), returning to direction after 16 years post his must watch gem EVERYBODY SAYS I’M FINE (2001), the film forces you to ask that why on earth he didn’t come up with more such meaningful projects in these years having a far better vision and understanding of the medium than many of the current big names. Thankfully he comes back with another worth praising film having a lot to convey to its audience, particularly the kids, becoming their strong source of inspiration (studying in the rural regions).

Presenting his thoughtfully chosen subject, telling you the story of a teenage (tribal) girl from Telangana, who became the youngest girl to ever conquer the Everest, Rahul follows a simple yet beautiful style of narration with all natural and grounded performances reaching out to his target audience. The highly authentic local ambience of the rural regions makes an instant connect and the well written chain of events don’t let you feel any drag even when you very well know where its all heading and what would be its final outcome. Despite being the predictable story of an underdog Rahul doesn’t go for any usual clichés or melodrama adding to the strength of the film apart from its eye-catching cinematography and the truthful acts.

Child actor Aditi Inamdar plays the lead role with an amazing natural ease and emotions, and S. Mariya as her cousin compliments her really well. Playing the concerned IAS officer himself, Rahul Bose delivers a well-controlled, subtle performance and his scenes with the kids are among the best sequences of the film giving him the deserving due. The supporting cast enhances the overall impact of the film with the presence of veterans as Dhritiman Chatterjee along with Heeba Shah and Gyanendra Tripathi as the approving official and the minister.

Revealing a lot about the present still pathetically backward state of our rural India, POORNA strongly points towards, poverty, unemployment, poor medical facilities leading to deaths and child marriage too in its various short sequences. Plus one particular scene where the girls are shown playing ‘The Poverty Game’ (not Power Game), truly forces you to think hard about the mindset of the kids living in those specific regions.

After a long time thankfully we have a couple of refreshing tracks adding more depth into the film from Salim-Sulaiman, featuring ‘Babul Mora’ and “Hai Poori Qaayenaat” coming at the right moments.

Moving over to the downers, POORNA does compromise a lot in its journey towards the peak due to its budget constraints and Rahul cleverly tries to cover it with extreme close ups, sound effects and more skipping the CGI work. Sadly it still remains the weakest portion of the film showcasing the tough expedition besides the one wherein the regional language dialogues keep on going without any English subtitles. Also I personally felt awkward towards the end, as the film keeps talking about the girl alone and not the young boy, who also climbed the mountain together showing an equal amount of spirit, courage and dedication going through the same struggle.

However coming back to the praises, POORNA is an important recommended film as it makes you aware of an amazing world record made by our own Indian girl of just 13 years. A record which you will not like to believe unless you are told it is a fact and happened just 3 years back in the year 2014.

Honestly I was also not aware of this hard to believe record and thus would like to spread a good word about the film recommending it to all friendly readers of BTC. A simple, straightforward movie made from the heart, POORNA is also TAX-FREE and sure to inspire the energetic kids in the family you should be taking along.

Rating : 3 + 0.5 / 5 (with an additional 0.5 for the courageous choice of subject and making the people aware of this proud achievement.)